Our friends Tracy and Dianne came for a long weekend from Austin, Texas. Tracy and I were college roommates and traveling buddies. We built sand bag jetties on the southeast coast and, with Dianne, did a lot of backpacking in the '70s. Last Saturday Tracy and I lit out for Urbanna and put
Annie in for an overnighter. Vera was home and went with us for a short sail before crossing the Rappahannock to head up Corrottoman River. Fair wind ESE carried
Annie north on easy tacks. We reached a protected area behind a sand spit on the Eastern Branch that Vera had described before leaving us and we anchored for the night. Beautiful evening with a clear starry sky.
Tracy took the 'aft cabin', as I call it. It is the cockpit covered by a hooped cover that zips to the dodger forward and ends with a hooped batten in a sleeve aft. The tent is hauled aft and tied to the mizzen mast and snapped outboard to the rail. A filler board adds width and forms a pretty nice berth on the port side. I sleep below on the starboard side and it all seems to balance out.
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| Tracy at the helm |
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| A beautiful Frances 26 by Morris overtakes us |
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| Zooming in |
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| Tracy said "Turn around" |
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| Turning in early |
The next morning we worked south and were met by an increasingly brisk wind from the north. Under reefed headsail and mizzen we quartered 2-3 ft. tightly-packed waves, plowing WSW. Got a bit wet and made headway until the last 1/2 mile where I cranked the kicker. We prudently opted to make for the Urbanna Creek entrance... just south of Robinson Creek where we launched.
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| Plenty of wind |
After tying up at the dinghy dock Tracy treated us to a massive breakfast at the Virginia House in town. As we were waddling down the hill, John England happened by and gave me a ride back to his place where I retrieved the rig. When I returned we hauled out, washed down and after taking
Annie back, set off for a tour of Deltaville and Mathews before returning to Richmond. It was a great time... we were long overdue for a shared experience.
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| Good friends... good times |
