Journey's end
13 May 2012 | Home port, Middle River, MD
More fruits de mer.
We spent three days in the Virginia creeks waiting out rain and then
north wind. Late afternoon of the third day the wind started to die
down, and we powered up to the Little Wicomico, a creek that empties
into Smith Point, the southern tip where the Potomac meets the
Chesapeake. The entrance is exposed and a bit tricky, and we had
never tried it before. But the entrance was recently dredged so we
decided to explore. It is an interesting place, and very convenient
for starting a rather long run north, across the Potomac,
with few anchorage opportunities.
After finding a space clear of crab pots, we set the anchor.
Unfortunately the space wasn't as clear as the Captain thought,
and he wrapped a crab pot line around the prop. So the Captain
went diving and cut the line off with some effort. We looked for
the crabber the next morning to return his float and offer to
pay for the lost trap, but we didn't see him and so left with a
souvenier.
Helped by a nice west wind the first part of the day, we then
made over 65 nautical miles to Rhode River, where we
began our sailing career more than 40 years ago. We anchored in
our favorite cove, and left early next morning for the relatively short run
home to Middle River. Despite paying careful attention, the
Captain managed to tangle another crab pot on the prop, leading
to another diving episode and another float. While
the first wrap was clearly the Captains's
fault, he insists that the second float must have been submerged, probably
having been dragged out to the open channel by another boat.
For his first 30+ years of sailing, the Captain never caught a
crab pot. Five years ago, he did hook one on the rudder of the
then-new arrow, though this was very easy to release. To wrap
crab pot lines on the prop twice in 3 days seems to be some sort
of omen... at least the Captain will make sure to carry his wet suit on
board for the future. The Admiral, of course, was quite pleased to
capture evidence on film.
So we arrived at our home port on May 13, Mother's Day, after 3.5
months aboard - almost 5 months counting the voyage down last fall.