Down the Chesapeake
We farewelled Annapolis, as we recommenced our passage down the Chesapeake towards the Atlantic. We left on a cool morning and by mid-afternoon, arrived at the village of Solomon Island. Like so many of the towns along the Chesapeake, there are more boats than people. Every inlet, river and creek has a marina lining the shore.
We anchored in yet another creek next to Tourterelle, they had arrived a short time earlier. There was no need to launch our dingy as Tourterelle already had theirs in the water. They had issues with their electric outboard and were paddling. We decided to explore the town, so we used our outboard on their dingy to make our way to shore. The town centre was difficult to find. The place was a sprawl of marinas with a boardwalk noting historic events such as captured ships from WW2, with a plaque noting they had been anchored offshore or sunk. Claim to fame or maybe just something for the tourists to look at. There was an ice cream shop, a café and grill, sea side village with a boardwalk without a beach. Unexpectedly we found the Solomon Winery on a nearby dock. It was open for tastings, a friendly environment with a range of non-vintage and flavoured wines; let’s call it a tourist attraction rather than a serious winery. Kim and Ann enjoyed the tasting and the chat with the host. We returned to the dingy and made our way further up the creek and docked at the Holiday Inn. We learnt that a micro-brewery was nearby so we had a mission. At least the brewery was true to the craft. We met the owner Carlos, an Argentinian with a passion for beer, who after many years of engineering in the states decided to start a brewery. If you are in the area, I can recommend the IPA and the duck pizza
Solomon
The next day we moved on towards Deltaville where we planned to haul out. Tourterelle was on a mission to find a “close nit” community on a nearby island (I understand everybody is related). We motored our way down the Chesapeake. Late that afternoon we found the Little Bay anchorage at the entrance of Antipoison Creek. That evening we were treated to a magnificent sunset and sunrise the following morning.
Little Bay (await comment from Nic)
Little Bay
The timing to enter the Deltaville yard was critical as we needed to enter at high tide. We crawled through the channel and found the thick mud. Fortunately a local yelled advice as to the direction for better depth and we made our way to the service dock. We had concerns with size of the travel lift, we had forwarded the lift plan with measurements and supporting notes. The following morning we met with the owner who explained that they lift yachts larger than us and talked us through the process. We felt comfortable enough to go ahead however my measurements told me the distance between the slings on their lift just wasn’t big enough for us. They carefully and professionally moved Aura by hand into the lift. A sling was caught on our keel and they dropped it so to drag it forward of the bow and then repositioned it. They then attempted to adjust the aft sling but it needed to move forward several meters, we’re just too big. We both felt relieved when the owner aborted the lift. We then had the same tidal window to make it out of the creek and back to deeper water. We did so at haste. Let’s go find Larus and Tourterelle, its time for a drink!
Deltaville Yacht Centre
We moved to the southern side of Deltaville, anchoring at Jackson Creek in front of the Fish Bay Yacht Club. We met a few friendly locals at the FBYC who were keen for a chat. They have a traditional and well maintained sailing club. Larus was at the nearby boat yard, they had been home to the UK and returned to finish maintenance work. We also met Bob and Anne on Baloo, another OCC yacht. We celebrated Ian’s birthday with a BBQ on Tourterelle and the bays OCC members (all of the above friends).
Anchored at Fishing Bay Yacht Club (Deltaville)
We created a new plan, haul out in Portsmouth its only 35nm away. There is a yard that caters for super yachts, so there is no doubt they can handle Aura. With a cold northerly wind we set sail for Portsmouth and again, passed another interesting lighthouse.
We hadn’t realised that the Portsmouth / Norfolk area was the home of the US Navy’s Atlantic Fleet and maintenance ship yards. The river entrance was lined with aircraft carriers and other scary warships. We entered the river being watched by a small navy vessel with navy helicopters buzzing overhead every 20 minutes. We made our way upstream with Ocean Blue in pursuit; we hadn’t seen them since Steve’s birthday in Johannesburg. We chatted on the radio and just after dusk we anchored at Hospital Point. We rose early the next morning and made our way to the travel lift. In perfect conditions we hauled Aura out of the water, the hull was pressure cleaned and she was blocked and on stands by lunch time. The yard started rubbing back the hull in preparation for painting. The yard didn’t allow people to stay on-board. Tourterelle and Ocean Blue had kindly offered us a bunk. We all enjoyed a scrumptious dinner on Ocean Blue and we caught up on each other’s travels and time away. The next morning we were invited by an OCC Port Capitan (Gary) to berth on a dock in Norfolk just opposite our current anchorage. We first assisted Ocean Blue with docking then Tourterelle. It was time to explore a new city. The dock was at the front of Gary & Greta’s condo with at least 7 berths available for OCC members. The immediate neighbourhood has cobble stone streets with heritage homes that date back to settlement.
Norfolk @ dawn
Aura safely returned to the water and we could return home after the extended and kind stay on Tourterelle. It was just in time as we'd organized the big five O celebration. Several of our cruising friends had battled in less than favorable conditions to join us in Norfolk for the 2nd November. With a little Google research we found a liquor store that offered a suitable range of Aussie reds and Kiwi Sav. Blancs. We gathered on Aura with warm sunshine for a fun afternoon, that merged into the evening. With amazement we avoided any new swimming awards.
A day later we were alerted to the escape of party balloons. These balloons had found the top of a neighboring yachts mast. The owner was less than impressed. I was booked to visit my parents and with an hour before heading to the airport I was in U.S Australian relations damage control. See photo below. A big thanks to Ian for his work on the winch.
