SailBlog

Friday 07-05-2010: Thursdays run, twelve hours from 0630 to 1830, took me from my anchorage just South of the Pungo River/Alligator River Canal to an anchorage off Currituck in the North Landing River. Fair winds and currents, and no bridges to deal with, and we managed to click off 87 miles. The only problem was the constant arrival of dragon flies, from tiny to so big they had numbers on their wings. They don't bite or sting, but they sure are annoying. Dropped the hook a few hundred yards offshore of what I thought was in the lee of the South West winds, took care of a few boat chores, had a drink and made dinner. Went to bed early, after dealing with an invasion of Mayflies, who also don't bite or sting, but which arrived by the hundreds! I was rudely awakened around midnight by a bouncing, pounding DAYDREAMER. A 180 degree wind shift had put me in a very exposed position, with no place to hide. The anchor held OK, but the noise and pounding made sleep almost im possible. Since I had carefully picked my way into this anchorage through a veritable forest of crab pots, I had to wait until the sun was fully up to safely pick my way out again. The boat motion under power was much more pleasant than it was at anchor, and we resumed our trip toward Norfolk. A beautiful clear, sunny, warm day, with favorable breezes, and we got lucky at every bridge and the lock into the Elizabeth River. Made it to the marina about 1330, and will stay here a few days to re-provision and wait for a front that is bringing North winds to the area to pass through over the weekend. Currently planning on resuming the voyage on Monday, and staying on the inside. The Chesapeake is too busy and too filled with crab traps to do any night sailing, so I will have to cover as much ground as I can each day in daylight.