Sept. 11- Departed from Solomons in winds from SW 10-20, waves 3-4 ft, with breaking white caps, bound for Sandy Point anchorage on Great Wicomoco River, about 40 nm away, and just south of the Potomac River. Celerity has some growth on her bottom (apparently the Bay has been especially bad for growth forming on boat bottoms this year) so can really only go about 5.5 knots at cruising speed…adding her big genoa headsail increases her speed to 6 or more. Yeah! Because I am headed southwest and the wind is out of the same direction, it is on my nose (of course!!). So I am forced to sail farther out into the Bay than my ideal course line to keep the wind on my starboard bow (not on my nose) to be able to use any sail to gain speed and save diesel fuel. We are moving along, taking some water over the bow, occasionally it splashes onto the dodger but Abbie and I are dry behind it. But she is not a happy dog! The autopilot (Chester) is doing a good job of holding course even though the wind and waves are pushing Celerity around.

I am tacking occasionally, in a zigzag across my course line, so as to not stray too far and not make more distance to travel later. (Tacking means I change my course by ~90 degrees across the wind so the headsail moves from one side of the bow to the other.) I had never really noticed the “Restricted Area” marked on the chart farther out in the Bay bracketed by Point No Point light (a ways north of Potomac entrance) and Smith Point light (marking the point south of the Potomac). As I motor sailed, I noticed a pair of helicopters flying overhead periodically and heard a Navy Patrol boat hailing vessels on the radio but did not think much of them……. I should have! Navy Patrol boat 301 appeared suddenly close by my port side, seemed like he just materialized there, hailed me on the radio and asked me to switch to a working channel. (For you non-boaters, VHF radio channel 16 is used only for hailing a vessel and then, once contact is established, both parties agree to switch to one of several working channels.) I was told that the Navy had scheduled live firing exercises for the area and was “asked” to immediately head due west (towards the shore) for ~2nm before I returned to my original course. Helicopters passed overhead again. I turned west and motor sailed as fast as I could until I reached the 2nm mark, then I resumed my original course. I thought I was out of the area but not…..helicopters again…..maybe half hour later I was hailed again and asked to move another ¾ nm to the west…..I did so. Just as I thought I reached that point, I turned back to my original course…..then heard a tremendously loud boom off to my port side…I jumped because it seemed close but am sure it wasn’t….did not see any smoke or water disturbance…..then I hear over the radio “thanks folks, that’s it for today”! Glad that’s over!!!!!!

The northern shore of the Potomac is in Maryland while the southern shore is in Virginia. So as I crossed the mouth of the Potomac, I entered Virginia for the first time in about 3 months! Hard to believe it’s been that long…..The Great Wicomoco is the next river down and has a cluster of about 50 fish stakes out in the water near the entrance. They have nets running between them so have to be avoided! I furled the headsail as I turned to run up the Great Wicomoco to my anchorage which is about a mile down and round a jutting finger of land. This gives the anchorage good protection from wind and waves and makes for an easy pleasant stay. I joined about 7 boats, sail and power, already anchored at Sandy Point. The area has plenty of water depth, room for many more boats and is lined with trees and small beaches with just a few houses along one of the shorelines. A couple of smaller creeks branch off of it where small power boats come and go. It has been a rough trip and I am tired so I crash shortly after feeding myself and Abbie. Plan to be underway early the next day to hopefully have made good distance towards Fishing Bay before the wind (out of the south this time) pipes up.

Sept 12- Have a great sail from Great Wicomoco to Fishing Bay, near Deltaville, in winds out of south blowing 10-15…better conditions than yesterday. Very little water comes up on the bow. Yeah! Only have to tack twice…..second tack put me headed straight up the Rappahanock River…too bad that’s not my destination! I am headed next door towards the Piankatank River…..my tack is not so good…so I furl sail and motor into the river, around the long finger-like peninsula and anchor behind it in Fishing Bay. Another really nice protected anchorage with plenty of water depth and the home of Fishing Bay Harbor Marina, the Fishing Bay Yacht Club and Chesapeake Boat Works, the latter is a very friendly boat yard. I am alone in the anchorage for the first night but am joined by 2-3 boats the next day. A front is forecasted, brings rough weather in the Bay, so we will remain here for 2-3 days to wait for more settled weather.

One of Abigail’s favorite toys is a plastic hotdog that I bought at Dollar General for a buck…she loves it more than the more expensive toys purchased at pet stores! I leave it on deck for her (us) to play with. In late afternoon, usually after we are anchored, I stand in the cockpit companionway, on the ladder, under the open dodger and toss it forward onto the cabin top or deck.…she runs to fetch it, comes back and then teases me with it…she gets almost close enough for me to grab it but not quite…….she stands there and chews on it, looking at me sideways, daring me to come get it….if I get closer, she moves farther away. Sometimes I am quick (or maybe she lets me as part of her game) and can take it from her to toss again. We play at this until one of us tires of it, usually me!

Sept 15- Up anchor and head to the fuel dock to get diesel and fill water tanks and then continue south to Sevrin River Marina off of Mobjack Bay. Have about 40 nm to travel so at ~5 knots, should take about 8 hrs. Wind is very light 4-6 knots out of the south (on the nose of course!) so not much help from a sail…..Bay has few ripples but no waves so will be straight motor day unless wind increases later (it doesn’t until I’m almost at my destination). Am looking forward to seeing good friends, Terri and Thom and their schnauzer puppy, Jack, on Outrageous and reuniting with Bob and his schnoodle, Sweenie, on Pooka. Bob onboard Pooka left Jordan Creek in late May with me as we headed up the ICW with plans to buddy boat for a while. However, he had to remain in Norfolk to resolve dental issues before continuing to Severn River Marina. Am glad he decided to spend the winter aboard at the marina!

I have had a relaxing time visiting, eating, laughing and talking to Terri, Thom and Bob. Abigail has been a crazy dog…racing around like she’s never seen or smelled green grass. She has been deprived of any canine interaction for several weeks….she stand on my cabin top where she barks and whines at dogs she sees on other boats that we pass on the water but no chance to visit. The sound she makes is a howl combined with a high-pitched whine. You’d think I was torturing her! So at the marina, she is whining and carrying on when she meets Sweenie and Jack….lots of sniffing butts, some yips and growls but it all sorts out. Even better, there are several people to pet her and let her jump in their laps. What more could a dog want?

And who should I see on the marina’s docks? I’m walking up the dock….Bob and I had gone out to lunch and I left Abbie on his boat with Sweenie..I had just taken her off his boat and was walking up the dock. A very tall guy with a baseball hat and wearing a Rat shirt was striding towards me…I was wondering who is that guy with the Rat shirt….as I got closer, I thought that looks like Godwin Jones (River Rat from about 20 years ago….he worked for Dupont then and was transferred to Tennessee in 1994)….but can’t be…why on earth would he be here…..but it was! He gave me a huge hug and said Sylvia was over on Bojangles. (The boat looked brand new even though they had her at Rat’s Nest.) They had run out of gas for the dinghy OB and had come into the marina only to get gas. Otherwise they would not have been at the dock and we would not have had that incredibly lucky meeting!!! What is the chance that I would be on the dock at the time he was walking down it at Sevrin River……..You never know when or where a Rat or two will show up! They now live off the Piankatank River on Wilton Creek and keep the boat at their dock…..I promised that next year I would come to visit!

Sept 21- There is a front with rain coming through tonight. I will be leaving here this morning to get to my next anchorage at Hospital Point in Norfolk to beat the front. This will be my last leg in the Bay of my 2013 Chesapeake Bay adventure since I will be headed for Norfolk and the ICW. Weather is predicted to have winds out of the North (hooray!) so that will be a gift to have them on my stern instead of my nose for my farewell to the Chesapeake Bay.