Voyage 2006-2007: Chapter 5

21 May 2007, We're Back!, 34 02.536 N/ 077 53.490 W

Bob won. Out of 11 boats, only 3 had their anchor lights illuminated. Pretty sad. As we left Hospital Point, we heard a report to the Coast Guard on the VHF that a boat in our anchorage had dragged and was floating up the shipping channel. We looked around but did not see the boat so we continued. Weather forecast was favorable for our 24 hour passage to Deale MD. Liar , liar!! The wind did not back to the west but rather stayed to NW with occasional veering to the N to E. A little sailing, some motor sailing, and lots of painful motoring. Bob learned a lot of coping and sailing techniques from Wolfgang and Denise. Still, it could have been more fun if the NOAA was a little more accurate. Near dusk, the wind finally backed to the West . That is a good thing. However, as dusk was approaching, and small craft advisories were posted, we decided to sail (and then motor sail) with 'jib and jigger'.

Night sailing on the Chesapeake is always exciting! The tugs are not too bad as they move nearly the same speed as us and they are well lit. The big ships are anothe story. Running and steaming lights are the norm but they are not as obvious as the tug's light show. We installed an Automated Identification System (AIS) receiver so that we could see the big guys and the sea-going tows. It made this passage much safer and a lot more fun.

We met the last sunrise as cold and sleepy. The wind had veered for a while that forced us to motor into the wind and then backed until we could motor sail. We arrived at Herring G 1 at 0730, and (of course) it started to rain. The folks at Herrington Harbor were most kind and permitted us to tie up pretty much anywhere we could. Nice folks. Great place. Tied up at 0900. Ann with her wound management equipment met us at the dock. She looked great! It was strange to see her hoses and her pump but 'not bad'.

Jule III is on the hard. We have problems with the engine/oil level, the Simrad autopilot (new), and other minor stuff. Hopefully we can be ready for our trip North in August to meet Moony again. The crews of Jule III and Moony are heading back to Wilmington, then Charleston to bid a temporary fairwell as Moony heads for NE. More to come!