A very long two days on the Chesapeake Bay. In looking at the buoy data it was actually calmer in the open ocean over the last two day than in the Bay. It really is an amazing body of water.
Started out yesterday at the Ocean Marine Marina in Portsmouth. The plan was to make our way north for as long as we could stand it, but as a goal try to make Deltaville, Va. The wind was blowing 15 knots and wind chill was 34 when we started at 0730. It never did warm up much as the day went on. We were moving well through 2-3 foot seas in the southern bay and didn‘t have any tanker or military traffic to deal with as we passed Newport News. As we got north of Mobjack Bay, the wind picked up to 20 knots and the waves increased to 3-4 feet. All in all not very pleasant. I wasn’t feeling well, so James had to stay at the helm without relief for 10 hours. Here at Team Helios we have a saying to describe this kind of amazing display, “It would have killed a normal man” . We ended the day in Fishing Bay on the Piankatank River in Deltaville. Counting getting into the river from the bay, we went more than 60 miles. We made our goal, but were truly wiped out by the whole experience. After a bowl of stew to warms ourselves. it was early to bed.
The weather forecast has not been our friend this whole trip, but this week it is really starting to get on my nerves. First it is the coldest April in 107 years. Second, there is approximately 1 nice travel day in 4 to move on the water. Take the forecast for the rest of this week on the bay. This says we can travel again on Saturday.
402 PM EDT WED APR 11 2007 NWS Forecast
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON
TONIGHT SE WINDS 20 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 KT. WAVES 3 TO 4 FT. RAIN. VSBY 1 TO 3 NM.
THU SW WINDS 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 KT. WAVES 4 FT. SHOWERS LIKELY.
THU NIGHT W WINDS 20 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 KT. WAVES 3 TO 4 FT.
FRI NW WINDS 15 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 KT. WAVES 2 TO 3 FT.
FRI NIGHT NW WINDS 15 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 KT. WAVES 2 TO 3 FT.
SAT NE WINDS 10 KT. WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.
SAT NIGHT E WINDS 15 KT. WAVES 2 FT. RAIN.
SUN NE WINDS 20 KT...BECOMING NW WITH GUSTS TO 35 KT DURING THE NIGHT. WAVES 3 FT. RAIN...THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS.
MON NW WINDS 25 TO 35 KT. WAVES 3 TO 4 FT.
Today was forecast as a marginal travel day. There was a call for 15-20 knots and 2-3 foot waves with rain coming in after 2pm along with increased winds and seas. We wanted to move up the bay about 35 miles so that when we finally had a good travel day we could get to the Solomon Islands, MD in one day. So our goal for the day was Reedville, VA in the Great Wicomico River. We headed out at 0700 and made our way back into the bay. First thing we noticed was the winds were already gusting above 20 knots and the seas were at least 4 feet (wave forecasts don‘t include the swells so 2-3 feet can be much higher). The only way we could move comfortably was to tack our way up the bay, alternately riding into the waves and then surfing them toward the shore before turning again into the waves to make our way north. As the morning went on, the waves continued to increase until we were crashing through 6 footers. It was quite the sight with the spray coming off the bow and landing behind us on the stern of the boat. Did I mention that is was also cold. No umbrellas in the drinks on this cruise.
Team Helios was ready for the ride with gear stowed and everything tied down that could be secured . We had on multiple layers of poly and cotton under our foul weather gear to stay warm. James declared this morning that he has had on so many layers of clothes this week that when the trip is over he was “gonna have to reintroduce my thighs to each other”. The boy is a poet.
It felt great when we surfed down that final wave into the mouth of the Wicomico around noon and made our way up the river to Reedville. There isn’t much here, but we have a place to rest and wait out the storm. There was no one at the Reedville Marina and “Crazy Crab” restaurant when we arrived so James pulled the boat along side and did a flying leap to the dock to place the loop around a pylon. After tying up we strolled up the street for a little ice cream. In a town with no stop light, there are two ice cream parlors across the street from each other. Go figure.
Until we can move again it will be sleeping in late, reading books, watching movies and cooking at the dock. When we started this little adventure we were more worried about the time then the weather. Experience really is the best teacher.
Cheers for now,
P & J
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