Winds were supposed to be 10-20 knots, waves 2-3 ft with air pressure at 30.58 and rising… not!
10/23/2008, Reedville, VA to Fishing Bay, (Piankatank River) VA (37o32.409 x 76o20.190)

I got up and made sweet rolls and coffee and after breakfast we hoisted anchor and winded our way back out through the shallows, past the crab pots, and seafood processing plant. This time we could definitely smell the fish uggh smell as we passed it at 8:30 am. I'm not sure we were listening to the right weather forecast on the vhf though because as we left the waves and winds were kicking up. We raised the headsail for balance but it was wicked. The waves were more 6 ft than 2-3 ft, with strong winds and currents running together down the bay. The fetch gave us more than expected and Wayne needed Dramamine (I ordered it) before he became sick. We could hear stuff crashing about below but couldn't do much about it at that point. It was scary & exhilarating at the same time, and I kept the helm. I'm not sure what the wind speed reached today, our anemometer isn't working, hasn't for a while now. I thought it was on the chore list yesterday but I guess it didn't make it on the to do list.

We reached speeds of 8.7 at times with the currents, sail, and motor and reached Fishing Bay, VA at 1:00pm. We could have gone further but it looked like the high was actually a low-pressure system and we were at the boundary where the clouds were building and thickening.

When we finally anchored and I went below, I was relieved to see that my wine glasses were still intact. The glass that had shattered belonged to my Rose's Lime bottle that came crashing out of the upper cupboard. I've been meaning to do something about that cupboard to secure it, but had forgotten about how it slides open so easily. After cleaning up all the glass and Rose's lime that was all over the floor, ice box top, stove and cupboards, I think I'll have that on a TO DO list for sure...

This is a nice little anchorage. Two for the price of one - Godfrey Bay to the south if the winds are from the south and Fishing Bay to the North if the winds are out of the north. I can't believe how fast the day passed. I made spaghetti for dinner, plotted in a new course from here to Chisman Creek tomorrow and am now exhausted. Wayne's doing suduko puzzles as I write this, but I think that after I finish this I'll play a game then hit the sack early. It looks like we have phone coverage and internet access but I'll post these some other time. Tomorrow we go about 33 miles... if the weatherman is correct. I finished reading An Embarassment of Mangoes by Ann Vanderhoof. I liked her book, she has a writing style similar to mine (long sentences). I hope she writes another book. Stephanie should recommend this one to Marge (I think that's her name - another sailor).

The wind was really kicking up so after getting into bed, I convinced Wayne to let out some more rode (anchor chain) in case we started dragging.

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High 58, Low 36; Winds 20-30, wave & small craft advisory out
10/22/2008, Cockrell Creek, Great Wicomico River, Reedville, VA (37o50.262 x 076o16.537)

There was small craft weather advisory out today so we just stayed at anchor. Pretty uneventful day. We listened to the wind howl and did unfinished boat chores. I figured because it was cold it was a good day to make beef roll-ups (it's been a longggg time). I had thin sliced steak; stuffing stuff too, sooo spent the afternoon listening to music, making dinner, etc.

This is a cute little fishing town. Beautiful houses, but the fishing industry must be faltering. There were many factory buildings and large ships that looked derelict. Only one factory & fleet remains. Very nice anchoring in here though - there are 6 boats, one of which is one of the schooners that was in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race - The Martha White out of Chestertown MD. She's a 65 ft double gaff-rigged wooden schooner purchased by Bob Kay to be used as a waterfront stage for playing bluegrass music with friends (turquoise hull makes her stand out). The race supports future preservation of the Chesapeake through education programs to make kids (students) aware of the great traditions and natural resources they have here.

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Low: 38 this am; High: 70 this afternoon and sunny
10/21/2008, Yeocomico River, MD (38o01.815 x 076o33.969) to Cockrell Creek, Great Wicomico River, Reedville, VA (37o50.262 x 076o16.537)

Well, we anchored in the W. Yeocomico River near Kinsale Marina to fuel up this morning because it's supposed to be one of the bigger marinas here. At 8:50 we hailed them, no response. At 9:05 we hailed them, no response so we went to the next cove to White Pt Marina, no answer either on channel 16 or 68. I couldn't get my phone to work so couldn't call either place and had to assume they were closed for the season. With all the shallow water surrounding us and showing on the chart, plus all the crab pots, we didn't want to try and go in to either place without talking to someone first (we weren't ready to call Boat US again). So we moved on back to the Potomac to try elsewhere. As we approached the Coan River I noticed I had a bar on my phone so called the Coan River Marina (840) 529-6767 and got an answering machine saying he wasn't there but to leave a message or call his cell phone - so I called his cell phone. He said he wasn't there but he'd have a guy looking for us. Yay! It was tricky getting in there between the shallows, crab pots and oyster aquaculture beds, but he gave us pretty good directions, so we were able to fuel up and fill our water tank. Later he told Wayne that he'd forgotten that the markers had moved in the storms and was glad to see we made it in okay (Wayne told him - shhhh...don't tell my wife that).

I got a nice hot shower in our tub while Wayne handled the helm J. Ahhhhh.....

I should know this but don't. What do you call a family of pelicans? A squadron? There were 5 flying in formation - kind of interesting to watch them diving into the water (looked more like crashing into the water head first). One came up with a good size fish not far from where there were fish stakes standing up in the water (it looks like a bunch of sticks poking out of the water in 12-18 ft depths).

We put in for the day down the creek from a seafood place that processes various seafoods. There are huge ships there - looks like a rather large operation with a fishy smell as you go by it. We can't really smell anything at our anchorage though & we're anchored next to a crab shack that makes and sells crab cakes. They weren't open for business though - shucks. So I made steaks and salad for dinner instead of dingying over to the Crab Shack.

The winds are really howling this evening. We reset our anchor - it looked like we'd dragged a bit towards the Crab Shack (see the boat even wants me to have crab cakes!) and we figured do it now while we can still see. I hate how the days are getting shorter - 7:30ish sunrises, 6:30ish sunsets. Our dingy blocks our stern light so we'll have to do something about that if we want to do any late day traveling.

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