It was a quiet, clear morning as we hauled anchor in the dark, and I took the first watch as a stunning sunrise unfolded. We rolled out the jib and motorsailed, and our average speed during my watch was around 7.25kts over ground. Crossing shoals and at the mouth of the Potomac, we beat into confused waves and it got uncomfortable for a while, but every time it started to get too miserable, it settled back down and ultimately we had a beautiful day on the water.
We’re staying at Regatta Point Yachting Center, and if you’re headed this way, I can’t recommend them enough. Even though they had a big group from the Virginia Yacht Club coming in, they found room for us and were able to extend our original booking due to a cancellation. The facilities are well appointed and well maintained, and they have bikes and courtesy cars for use in town.
We spent some time relaxing in the rocking chairs on the porch before hopping in the pool. Yes, we went swimming in October. The pool was a little chilly but super refreshing after a long, hot day. The weather all week was generally nicer than forecast, and with temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s, we even needed the AC. I’m surprised how just a couple hundred miles have made such a difference.
It’s amazing how different this place is from everywhere else we’ve been. It’s super rural, but really pretty and when they say that there are more boats than people in Deltaville, they mean it. One of the things I’ve been enjoying is that there’s really not all that much to do here and as a result, I’ve been able to just slow down and enjoy the surroundings.
There are a ton of great blue herons here, including a juvenile that likes to hang out around the marina. He’s used to people and I was able to get pretty close a couple times.
Since this isn’t vacation, all the annoying parts of life still have to be addressed, and this week was a good time to tackle many of them. We found a diver to clean the hull, I cleaned all the stainless on deck and took the chance to do laundry.
Tomorrow we’re off to an anchorage just outside Norfolk, and we’ll head into Waterside marina on Sunday. The forecast is iffy, so we decided to put the engine on the bracket and fold up our dinghy. It was good to get Squall out of the water and cleaned up, but I would have liked to have done that before dark since we were doing the whole thing for the first time. At any rate, it got done, nothing was lost as far as I know, and we’re now all prepped to go.
