Since 1978 I have been fortunate to sail wooden boats. In 2006 I set out to find a Drascombe Longboat Cruiser for single-handed expedition sailing. This is the continuing story of how it came to be, our adventures, notes on the maritime world and other things I don't want to forget...


Saturday, November 3, 2018

Cool Weather

My time on the water has dwindled. That has been my doing... staying busy in projects and traveling here and there. It is all good but there is nothing quite like losing myself on Annie. Actually I have gotten a bit grumpy lately and it doesn't take much to figure out why.

Monday night I checked the calendar and the weather and it was open and perfect. Clear, cool days and still cold (I know that is relative...). Heading down to Mathews County Tuesday morning I went by Morninstar Marina where Annie stays, hitched up and put in at Town Point below the town of Mathews on the East River. Tacked down river and spent the rest of the afternoon on the open waters of Mobjack Bay, lost in that open feeling.

As the sun fell low in the sky we started reaching back northwest toward the mouth of the North River. It was further than I thought and had not made it very far upriver when night fell. I picked a spot off the western shore and anchored about a hundred yards out. It was peaceful enough but as I later fell off to sleep a very short rhythmic chop picked up from the south. The tightly-hauled mizzen held her pointing to the west while the waves lapped at the beam. A shuttery rocking through the night took a while to get used to. Too much time on land.




Breakfast was light. Ellie had thrown in some of her 'vegan surprises' so I left the freeze dries in their locker for another day. I weighed anchor and headed south back to the bay. The sky cleared and we spent the morning reaching through the SSW breeze. It had dipped to the mid 40s overnight (sleeping bag over sleeping bag) but the day rose to mid 50s with 15 kt with manageable gusts. Perfect.

By lunch I had been into the Ware River and back across to Pepper Creek for a late lunch on the eastern end of the Mobjack. Continued back up the East River passing Williams Wharf where a movie was being shot. Schooner Alliance was prop with many actors on the dock that had been camo-ed with period sets. Up river we passed by the boat ramp and found a quiet anchorage upstream . Quieter sleep, upper 40s.

Hauled out in the morning and returned to Richmond refreshed. I really doesn't take much.





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