April 22-25 Land Ahoy! The last 152 miles are the longest

Easter Sunrise April 24 Fishing Bay, VA

Fishing Bay

Little Choptank R, MD

One of our Ospreys on the Severn

The Seafern gang all together again!

 

We took something of a chance when we left Portsmouth on Saturday.  We had studied the weather carefully and it seemed as though the cold and wind were mostly in the upper Chesapeake Bay and would have gone through by the time we arrived there the next day.

 Glen double checked, though.  He stopped by the marina at opening time to see the latest  NWS report and get his money back for the“fifth” night, which, fortunately, we didn’t need.  We moved out into the river, down through all the naval shipyards, past the big hospital marking Milepost Zero of the ICW, and on into the Chesapeake.

 We expected occasional showers, 76  degrees for a high, and a strong south wind, maybe gusting to 28 mph.  That would give us a good push and would not roll us from side to side, nor splash water over the bow.  Good conditions.  We left at 8:30 a.m. and traveled eight and a half hours to our destination near Deltaville, VA, Fishing Bay.  We had stayed there back in October so we knew where to go.  With the current and wind (up to 25 knots) on our tail we had traveled 52 NM by 5:10 when we dropped the anchor for the evening.  Our average speed was 6.2 knots.  The time went by fast.  Glen listened to the third novel of the Steig Larson “Dragon Tattoo “ series on my IPOD.  I made chocolate chip cookies for the first time on the trip--for a little motivator to get through the next 24 hours. 

 We spent a restful night, in spite of howling wind, and welcomed the beautiful Easter morning sunrise.  Of course, we were pulling the anchor up so we could get a 6:10 a.m. start.  We set a record for Sevilla on Easter Sunday—we made it all the way to Hudson Creek on the Little Choptank River on the Eastern Shore by 7:35—a total of 82.3 NM!

Our original destination was Solomon’s Island, but we blew by that at 1:30, took a look at each other, and said, do we really want to stop so early?  So we kept on truckin’, and steamed on 22 more miles.  However, we nearly got clobbered by a weather system that had been developing in the Washington area all afternoon.  We were alerted by a NOAA weather service bulletin about 3:00 as to several severe thunderstorm “watches” all around the area, mostly north and west of us, we thought.  We could see the storms building and got nervous, but Sevilla was moving as swiftly as she could towards a protected area off the Little Choptank, Creek, where we had anchored many times before.  I kept looking over my shoulder as we made that right turn into the river and then left into the creek, hoping the big wall clouds would stay to the north as they passed to the east. 

And they did.  Fortunate for us, the foul weather went by us with no rain, distant lightning only, and one big wind gust after Glen had gone to sleep.  This has been the worst April for bad storms all over the U.S.  I hope no tornadoes develop in Maryland tonight.  This is our last night to sleep on Sevilla.  I feel a tightening in my heart and a tear in my eye.  I know I will miss her.  She has been a faithful partner in our adventure.  Allie Scharf said you’ve got to trust your boat.  And I do.  She’s done everything we’ve asked of her, and carried us safely more than 3,000 miles in six months. 

 Monday, April 25, 2011—Six months to the day since our departure!  Homeward Bound, Baby! 

Two weeks ago, we left Myrtle Beach Yacht Club with 500 miles to go.  Today, we have only 32 to go, and should arrive in Saefern by 1:00 or so.  Our friends are e mailing us and asking for us to call about 20 minutes out so they can rouse the neighborhood to welcome us home.  That is so wonderful, I can’t believe it. 

It’s a glorious day, although hazy and the visibility is limited.  Nothing serious. 

We washed the grime off our faces, changed into our Key West Tee shirts and poured some Bloody Mary’s.  Now that we were close to Annapolis, we saw lots of boats—the huge ships that lay at anchor waiting for fog to lift on their way into Baltimore, loads of small fishing boats looking for Rockfish, and a few sailboats.  We were particularly struck by how few other boats we encountered on our way home.  I think we’re a little ahead of the pack that went south or to the Bahamas.  Their migration will be in May.  It was nice to have the Bay to ourselves.

We turned into Clement’s Creek and could see the crowd gathering.  People waved flags, blew horns and cheered us in—like the finishing line of a prestigious race.  We landed the boat at the pump out dock, and alighted, receiving welcome embraces from our friends.  It was a great feeling to be welcomed back to our Saefern family. 

 Thank you, dear readers, for your interest, for your friendship, love and support during our half year voyage.  The “Sailing Septuagenarians” love you all and hope you enjoyed hearing our tall tales.

 With love, gratitude and amazement,

Glen and Maureen

Annapolis, Maryland
April 25, 2011