Mile Minus Eleven

Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
We are at anchor back in Hampton, VA after covering 281 nm in five days from Southport. This delivery style run was driven by the long range weather forecasts which have become very accurate. We wanted to take advantage of a great spell of traveling weather and get settled in Hampton to avoid having to travel in a day long rain and have a couple days here before Dreameagle departs Monday for her month of teaching commitments.

How well did the planning work out? Little spits of rain began as we crossed Hampton Roads about 2000 last evening and the real rain began just minutes after I slid the companionway closed after a 13 hour, 56 mile day that took us through the Dismal Swamp. I do have a talent for this. I can’t count the number of times I have had rain or wind start just as the boat is secure at anchor.

Yesterday was a milestone for us. When we first met because Dreameagle wanted to do some cruising, I told her she should consider doing the ICW with me because it is one of the world’s great journeys. She has now seen all of it from Portsmouth, VA to St. Augustine and certainly all the best parts so that initial promise to ourselves has been fulfilled.

There isn’t much to report about this long and uneventful run except perhaps our stop at R. E. Mayo. Last year, they threw in two dozen oysters for free because the season was closing and we were buying a lot of other stuff. This time, they were shutting down their oyster sales because their supplier’s boat had broken done. We bought a “peck” but they evidently just threw every last oyster in the bag. We’ve been eating dozens every night for the last three days and still have at least another meal.




My biggest take home lesson from the last year’s cruising is Strider’s Mantus anchor purchased right here at the SBO store. With my old Delta anchor, I was putting out a second anchor almost every night. This year, from Hampton all the way down to St. Augustine and back, the Danforth hasn’t been off the bow once. The Mantus grabs so quickly and holds so well on short scope that I never felt the need for a second anchor. I dropped it in calm and no current on about 1.5:1 scope yesterday to wait for the swamp canal lock and it set. The only slight drawback is that I have to use the engine almost every time to break it out. But, if I’m going to have an issue with an anchor, reluctance to come up at 1:1 scope is something I can live with.

Dreameagle has an album of photos here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10205254722681158&type=1&l=8e72db7f0c

I’ll just be hanging out around the lower bay here for a while waiting for the weather to improve for returning to the Hudson River.

Later:

Just after I posted, this came over the net:

http://cruisersnet.net/nav-alerts/a...ge-closed-to-navigation-aicw-statute-mile-84/

Did we ever dodge a bullet on the long run around by Roanoke Island which would have completely upset our schedule. In addition to often sliding the companionway closed just as the rain starts, I find that my intuition is often behind those impulses to turn two days planned runs into one and keep driving the boat hard to cover the ground.
 
Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
Stay South!

Roger ... glad you and Dreameagle made it past the bridge! You had better hunker down for a while before coming up the Hudson though .... A LOT of ice is still on the river. Any idea of when you are doing the Jersey coast? My official retirement is at the end of April !!