Hey friends
How are you doing?
Right now we are in Hampton, Virginia. We will be going into the Dismal Swamp later this week. In the Dismal Swamp there are alligators.
Right now on the dock in Hampton, on the bottom of our boat, we can hear pistol shrimp. They're kind of annoying, and they sound like Rice Krispies, or typing on a keyboard. We have seen videos of them.
So far we have gone to 6 museums: the MOST, Reedville Fisherman's Museum, Hampton Air and Space Museum, Calvert Marine Museum, Deltaville Maritime Museum and the Maryland Science Center. They were all very fun.
On our way to Hampton yesterday, we saw dolphins. They were pretty cute!
I'll tell you more next week.
From, Madeline
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Hampton - Finally
We managed to motor sail into Hampton, VA today. Wind gusts of 25 knots made for a heavy slog into the wind for the last few miles but Cee Jem steadily motored on and we arrived into a snug slip at the Municipal Pier. Shortly we met Kate the dock master and settled in for a few days of showers, plug in power, water and not having to check the anchor every three hoursi the night.
As this area is the birth place of flight and space exploration in the USA it only seemed fitting that we explore the Air and Space Museum. Great spot to spend a cold and rainy day.
Hopefully the weather will return to the sunny warmth we had earlier! Canada, please try to contain your weather!
Julie noticed a distinct snap-crackle-and-pop today through our hull.
The Pistol Shrimp here are really loud and make you wonder if your electrical system is shorting out or someone is slowly roasting your hull over a camp fire. For more on these noisy critters see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC6I8iPiHT8
As this area is the birth place of flight and space exploration in the USA it only seemed fitting that we explore the Air and Space Museum. Great spot to spend a cold and rainy day.
Hopefully the weather will return to the sunny warmth we had earlier! Canada, please try to contain your weather!
Julie noticed a distinct snap-crackle-and-pop today through our hull.
The Pistol Shrimp here are really loud and make you wonder if your electrical system is shorting out or someone is slowly roasting your hull over a camp fire. For more on these noisy critters see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC6I8iPiHT8
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Almost to Hampton
Today we intended to get from Deltaville to Hampton. It would have been a 40 mile day, which is about as long as we comfortably travel in a day. The forecast winds were favourable: out of the west at 15 knots all day. But first we had to get out of the harbour ...
When we arrived at Deltville, we came into the harbour at high tide, genius planners that we are!! Shortly after setting the anchor, while checking our tides and currents app (gotta love the iPad), I realized that for the next several days, high tide fell in the middle of the night, or the middle of the afternoon. Not so genius, when you're planning a 40 mile day. So, after a bit of contemplation, we decided that we would leave this morning around 9:30am, just after low tide, thinking that if we ran aground, at least we would have the rising tide in our favour to help us off the sandbar. (If you're at all interested in the crazy approach to this harbour, look up Deltaville, Virginia on Google Earth and look about a mile or so to the east. The dark water is where it is deep enough to transit, the lighter sand-coloured areas are just that, under about a foot of water. Unfortunately, there is no colour distinction between the channel and the sandbar, it is all murky. The channel is marked, but local knowledge warns that there could be unpredictable shoaling at any time.) So, after a reminder to the girls that while we are in the channel is not the time to argue about who gets to wear the purple sweater today, we were off. GPS zoomed right in for our exact position, we were cheered to see another similar-sized sailboat heading out of the marina right in front of us - obviously we weren't the only ones with this rising tide plan. We were less cheered to see a local fishing boat entering the very narrow channel, at relatively high speed, when we already half-way out. We ended up passing him at the narrowest turn, clearly a non-event for him, and moments later were free and clear!
The wind ended up producing slightly larger waves than we anticipated, and the seas were a bit "lumpy" for the first hour or so. But once we were able to turn southbound for Hampton, everything improved, and the sun even came out for a bit! The pelicans were plentiful, and we even saw two pods of dolphins that played at our bow for a few minutes each before moving on.
About two o'clock, it was clear that we weren't making the speed we had anticipated, so we decided to alter our plans and head for an anchorage about 10 miles north of Hampton. We set the anchor shortly after 5, had some dinner, and then were treated to a beautiful double rainbow to the southeast, while the sun set behind us. What a great day.
We will get going fairly early tomorrow morning and make the fairly short run to Hampton, then have the afternoon to explore the town. I suspect we will spend a day or two there, taking in the Air and Space Museum, and getting ourselves organized for the next leg of our journey down the Intracoastal Waterway.
When we arrived at Deltville, we came into the harbour at high tide, genius planners that we are!! Shortly after setting the anchor, while checking our tides and currents app (gotta love the iPad), I realized that for the next several days, high tide fell in the middle of the night, or the middle of the afternoon. Not so genius, when you're planning a 40 mile day. So, after a bit of contemplation, we decided that we would leave this morning around 9:30am, just after low tide, thinking that if we ran aground, at least we would have the rising tide in our favour to help us off the sandbar. (If you're at all interested in the crazy approach to this harbour, look up Deltaville, Virginia on Google Earth and look about a mile or so to the east. The dark water is where it is deep enough to transit, the lighter sand-coloured areas are just that, under about a foot of water. Unfortunately, there is no colour distinction between the channel and the sandbar, it is all murky. The channel is marked, but local knowledge warns that there could be unpredictable shoaling at any time.) So, after a reminder to the girls that while we are in the channel is not the time to argue about who gets to wear the purple sweater today, we were off. GPS zoomed right in for our exact position, we were cheered to see another similar-sized sailboat heading out of the marina right in front of us - obviously we weren't the only ones with this rising tide plan. We were less cheered to see a local fishing boat entering the very narrow channel, at relatively high speed, when we already half-way out. We ended up passing him at the narrowest turn, clearly a non-event for him, and moments later were free and clear!
The wind ended up producing slightly larger waves than we anticipated, and the seas were a bit "lumpy" for the first hour or so. But once we were able to turn southbound for Hampton, everything improved, and the sun even came out for a bit! The pelicans were plentiful, and we even saw two pods of dolphins that played at our bow for a few minutes each before moving on.
About two o'clock, it was clear that we weren't making the speed we had anticipated, so we decided to alter our plans and head for an anchorage about 10 miles north of Hampton. We set the anchor shortly after 5, had some dinner, and then were treated to a beautiful double rainbow to the southeast, while the sun set behind us. What a great day.
We will get going fairly early tomorrow morning and make the fairly short run to Hampton, then have the afternoon to explore the town. I suspect we will spend a day or two there, taking in the Air and Space Museum, and getting ourselves organized for the next leg of our journey down the Intracoastal Waterway.
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