Around dawn, we slipped our mooring line and motored out into the near-glassy Chesapeake. It was a beautiful morning, but around midday, the sky got dark and we were supposed to get some nasty thunderstorms so we dropped anchor in the Bohemia River for a couple hours to let the storms pass. They ended up […]
After a couple weeks on the hard, it was great to get back out on the water. We got an early start and motored past the Potomac before rolling out the jib and getting in some sailing. In the late afternoon, I noticed some squalls popping up on shore. Since they looked to be coming […]
We decided to leave Tuesday night and anchor in the Rapphannock so we could visit Merroir, a restaurant our friends introduced us to last year when we were in Deltaville. Our anchorage had been so quiet and well-protected that we didn’t realize how windy it was in more exposed waters, and it was rolly enough […]
We had a lazy, slow sail for most of the trip up to the Rappahannock. We knew the afternoon breeze was supposed to kick up, but until it did, we were plagued by black flies. I don’t think I’ve ever killed so many flies in my life. When the breeze filled in, it really piped […]
We got up at 6am to finish prepping for departure, ran over to the fuel dock and headed out. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but it all settled back once we got under way. The smoke from the Canadian fires was pretty intense, and we ended up wearing masks for a […]
We had a beautiful sail from cloudy Cape Lookout to sunny Beaufort. It’s always strange when two places so close together have such totally different weather. Of course I know it’s not exactly a rare phenomenon, but it’s odd when you experience it in such a pronounced way. It was a beautiful, lazy, slow sail […]
Cape Lookout National Seashore is one of ten National Seashores in the US, and it’s legitimately one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever anchored. Being able to anchor in a place like this is one of the most special parts of the cruising life. We’re surrounded by beautiful sand dunes, the water is super […]
We were up at 3am to finish departure prep. Even though I do as much as I can in advance, there are things we just can’t do ahead of time, and it always takes longer than we expect. As we prepped to leave, a squall blew through and we decided to wait it out. Once […]
We knew one of Windara’s drawbacks would be her draft. On our way south, we had to skip Southport this year because we weren’t able to get a reservation – Southport Marina (now Morningstar Marina) can only put us on their face dock, and it was already booked. This time around, they could only take […]
We met David aboard Flight for coffee and some weather/routing talk first thing in the morning. The plan was to head out on the afternoon slack, and the weather looked perfect. It’s always nice to have another experienced sailor to vet plans with, especially when they seem to have a similar risk tolerance. We agreed […]