Newport to Norfolk
We sailed from Block Island to Fishers Island New York and spent one night on a mooring and walked the quiet town where the rich and famous stay anonymous. We sailed from Fishers Island to Port Washington (town of Manhasset) New York; spent two nights on a mooring. Used the launch to get to town to do laundry, provision, etc., and ate at a fabulous French Bistro.
We timed our departure from Port Washington to make Hell’s Gate and get through New York City at slack water; motor sailed down the Hudson past the Statue, and over to Sandy Hook New Jersey where we rested for two hours and geared up for our overnight trip down the Jersey coast.
Had a full moon for the 120-mile trip down the coast, Sandy Hook to Cape May, with timing intentional to get us to the Cape May entry in daylight. Dropped the hook in Cape May where it was off-season and pleasant: we walked the beach, swam the waves, and ate fresh seafood!
Left Cape May after two nights at anchor with timing to get
slack water up the Delaware Bay. Followed a race boat (with a full-time navigator)
through the skinny water along the Cape May shore and transited the Chesapeake &
Delaware Canal in daylight. Anchored in the Sassafras River, our first stop in
the brown and shallow Chesapeake Bay.
From Sassafras we sailed to Annapolis and spent five nights on a mooring right downtown in front of the Maritime Academy; we did morning runs on the brink cobblestones, played pickle ball, wandered through historic neighborhoods and government buildings, and met other cruisers preparing for the trek south.
We sailed from Annapolis through the Chesapeake Bay with two uneventful stops where we did not get off the boat: one stop in Solomon’s Island. Maryland, and one in Deltaville, Virginia. Then we made the long slog to Norfolk, Virginia where the US military machine is fully evident. At the downtown waterfront marina we met up with a second boat from our cruise 17 years ago, Aura (Patty and Paul from Martha’s Vineyard). It was fun to see Aura, Irazu (Jeff from Salem, Mass.), and Khira all at the dock together again! Did a couple of nice runs with Patty and had a fun night together in a Norfolk Irish Pub!
Due to concerns about offshore weather, from Norfolk we motored down the Inter Coastal Waterway for three days. It was comforting to have the three boats traveling together as the ICW is tedious and boring. Our first stop together was in Coinjock Virginia, where we tied up to the ICW canal wall with lots of sport fish power boats in the middle of nowhere. Our second stop was at anchor in the shallow brown Albemarle Sound, where we did not get off the boat (except for a kayak paddle to nowhere), and the last stop was in the Alligator River, where we were stuck on the boat for a third night. Finally, we arrived in Beaufort, North Carolina, where we have been anchored for three nights.
In Beaufort there is a decent anchorage off an island where wild horses wander, there is a nice waterfront downtown, and a Piggly Wiggly and marine store an easy one mile walk from the waterfront. On Friday night we heard live music and played pool in a local dive bar and we have been running the waterfront. Lots of boats pass through Beaufort on their way south: enormous power boats and cruising sailboats of all sizes.
We have loved traveling with Irazu (Jeff) since Salem, Mass.,
and with Aura (Patty and Paul) since Norfolk. But everyone must do what they
are most comfortable doing in terms of moving on: some choose to go offshore
more readily and more often, others decide to make miles pottering down the ICW, while some wait
for better weather for one or the another option. Crews spend hours and hours
studying on-line resources and discussing options; weather, routes, where to
stop, how to stay (anchor, mooring, dock), and the risks involved with all
choices. All of these are major daily topics of discussions and in reality it is only possible to plan
a day, or at most two days, ahead.
For several reasons, we are highly likely to separate from
our cruising friends fairly soon, and while we may cross paths with Irazu and Aura
again down the coast, Khira will likely move forward from Beaufort alone. Our
next post will provide details of how this plays out, but for now, today,
we are waiting on the boat for a blustery wet squally ocean front to pass, and
we cannot be sure what tomorrow will bring.
Thank you for staying in touch. We miss home, our girls, and our friends a lot.
What an adventure! Great to see your photos. So happy you were able to connect with friends you hadn't seen in a long time. Fun to have a full moon sailing! Back in my 20s I sailed for 3 nights on Chesapeake Bay. And love Cap May! Safe travels you two!
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