Chillin' in Portsmouth, VA

We really did leave Deltaville this morning at 7:00.  A howling north-northwest wind chased us down the Bay.  It was a wild ride, like being on Rebel Yell in King's Dominion in the old days when David and John were little guys.  Up and down, we rode the waves, all the time doing 6 knots or better, that's how much wind was pushing us.  I tried to stay warm with my five layers, finally having to resort to my foul weather jacket even thought it was a dry, sunny day. 

Sevilla rocked!  and rolled!  And I couldn't do a useful thing all day.  I did spend some time in the cabin, kind of eagle spread for balance, trying to rearrange things so they wouldn't go flying.  It was too rough to make lunch.  We made our two thermoses of coffee for the cockpit, and snacked on trail mix most of the day.

Cap'n Glen stayed valiantly at the helm.  I relieved him a spell or two, but had trouble keeping the boat on course--even more than usual.  It was really a feat of strength to do it well.  It was too cold to read on deck, not to mention frequently being sprayed by wild waves.  I've never seen the Bay act so crazy in dry weather.  We managed to cover another 58 or so miles, however, and arrived safely in the Norfolk area to gawk at the mighty aircraft carriers and others in the US Navy's arsenal for the 10 miles or so that it takes to get to Portsmouth--our destination and the beginning of the ICW.  We docked at Tidewater Marina and got gas up and water service at our slip.  Dinner was at Bluewater Seafood in Old Town--a nice, brisk walk from the marina.

It was too rolly to take decent photos today.  And I'm too cold and tired to review the ones I did take for this post.  Tomorrow we head down the Virginia Cut, skipping a Halloween in the Dismal Swamp (which I was rather looking forward to).  Kind of a disappointment, but our deep draft flotilla members would rather be safe than sorry.  Not sure where tomorrow's destination is, but I do know that we aren't leaving until 8:30.  Daylight departure.  Hooray!