Solomons MD (2014-04-12)

N38° 20.227', W76° 27.621'

Today finds us peacefully at anchor in Back Creek in Solomons MD, after our longest day on the water, and halfway up the Chesapeake.


Our night at the southern free dock in Portsmouth was fairly peaceful.  It is a bit of a noisy spot, with work going on all night across the river in the boatyards, as well as the normal city noises you get from being near a downtown.  The south dock is a bit more rolly than the north dock was, which was surprising to us.  It did settle down nicely overnight though.

Friday we finished up some more laundry at the nearby marina and then headed out just after lunch to relocate closer to the southern end of the Chesapeake.  The free dock is more than an hour and a half away from the entrance to the Chesapeake.  We wanted to make a lot of miles on Saturday, so the more time on the Bay itself meant the further we could get.

Red 36 is AICW mile 0

I had looked at two anchorages on either side of the mouth of Norfolk harbour, but we had a strong southwest wind on Friday, and both of these anchorages were quite open to the southwest.  We decided to head up the Hampton River to a sheltered anchorage about a mile up the river.  It would take away a little time from our travels but it was the closest sheltered anchorage to the harbour mouth.

In the end we were very happy that we went the little extra distance to the Hampton River anchorage.  Both the upper Elizabeth River and the James River (the two bodies of water that make up the mouth of the Norfolk harbour) were quite rough, and after bouncing around for an hour the peacefulness of the anchorage was very welcomed.

Yesterday morning we were up before dawn getting ready for our long day on the Chesapeake.  By the time the sun was peeking over the trees at us in the anchorage we had the anchor up and were heading down the river.

Leaving the Hampton River anchorage at dawn

The forecast for the day on the Chesapeake had the winds around 5-10 knots, clocking around from the southeast around to the northwest in the morning, and then to the east in the afternoon.  The waves were forecasted to be 1 foot all the way up.  We were a little apprehensive about trusting NOAA forecasts after what happened on the Albemarle, but we were pleasantly surprised when we got out on the Chesapeake and found the conditions to be well within what was forecasted, and quite comfortable.  We had a following sea with a nice gentle swell.

Our goal for the day was quite ambitious.  We wanted to make it all the way to Solomons MD, a distance of about 100 miles from anchorage to anchorage.  We knew this was going to make for a very long day, but if the conditions on the water were good it shouldn't be too hard on us.  The reason we wanted to make so many miles was that the conditions forecasted for the next four days were going to be very rough, with strong winds and waves over 4 feet in most areas of the bay.  We knew that where-ever we made it to, we'd be sitting for many days waiting on the weather.  The anchorage in Back Creek is very sheltered, and with so many marinas around it is all no wake, so we wouldn't be subjected to much rocking due to boat traffic.  There's also a very convenient dinghy dock nearby, with groceries and other shopping within a mile's walk.  As far as places to wait out the weather, this spot is about as good as it gets.

We ended up having a really good day's travel on the Chesapeake.  We made it to the anchorage in Back Creek and had the anchor down and set just as the sun was starting to slip behind the trees.  In the end we were underway for 12 hours and 2 minutes, ran an average speed of 8 knots, and put 106.17 miles under the keel.  It's good to know we can make that kind of distance if we have to, but our normal 50 mile and 6 hour day is a lot more to our liking.

Aircraft carrier entering Norfolk as we were on our way to Hampton River

Another warship entering Norfolk as we were leaving

Tug pulling a huge barge on the Chesapeake

One of many sailboats on the Chesapeake on Saturday flying their spinnakers

A group of about 15 sailboats out enjoying a great day on the Chesapeake

Dawn this morning in Back Creek - hard to believe there's a Small Craft Advisory for the Chesapeake right now!

Now we wait for the weather to improve before we can continue on up the Chesapeake.  As it stands right now it's going to be rough until at least Wednesday.  There are some signs that the conditions might start to settle down on Thursday, but the forecast can change a lot between now and then.  Once we get back to reasonable winds and wave conditions at 1-2' or better then we'll continue on.