Off the Dock and On Our Way

Deltaville to Hampton |  6.3 Hours  |  42 Miles  

By sunset yesterday evening, Barry and I were confident that Crossroads was well-loaded and ready for departure. For our final night in Deltaville, we enjoyed dinner with dear friends and fellow Selene owners Tom and Pat (Slip Away, 53-71). What a great send-off to spend time with folks sharing very similar dreams and realities. We slept well and woke at our normal time with the plan to be on deck at 8:00 to begin the departure checklist. The morning was clear and crisp with a light breeze blowing us off the dock. The nearly-full moon was still high in the sky and above the sailboat masts across the fairway. The sun had just peeked above the tree line as Barry disconnected power. I made quick work of removing the docklines from under our neighbor's lines and around the pilings. By 8:15 we eased out of the slip and waved a final "goodbye" to marina general manager Lee Fisher as he passed. As usual, the exit from our slip was beautiful with bright reflections in the still water.

Before we even exited Stingray Channel into Broad Creek, we could clearly see the Norris Bridge six miles up the Rappahannock River. We were excited to have a nice, clear day before us. After passing the 1BC (1 Broad Creek) channel marker, we were in the deeper water of the river and heading toward the Chesapeake Bay. Time passed quickly as we both settled into our usual roles and positions. Wolf Trap Lighthouse signaled we were getting close to Mobjack Bay and the mouth of the York River. The mounting waves did the same signaling. The westerly wind and current coming downriver combined to create short, choppy waves and a lot of spray. The clean windows and hull we began with were no more. Cloud cover increased as well.

By the time the clouds began to dissipate, I had found an empty memory card for my DSLR camera. Cormorants on the daymarker and the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse glowed in the bright sunshine as we passed Fort Monroe. We encountered boat traffic for the first time all day. 

I bundled up in five layers to go ready our dock lines. There was a slight resemblance to Kenny from South Park. Our friends aboard Sunset Run were spotted off to starboard as we neared the Hampton Roads Tunnel. We hope to catch up with them on occasion as we both head south to The Bahamas. The 1HR (1 Hampton River) marker signaled our final turn into the channel where a sailboat was exiting.

Safe Harbor Bluewater Marina was closed for the holidays so we claimed a spot to tied up on the empty fuel dock. Our first day was done. We successfully exited Middlesex County before the first of the year and had a trouble-free journey. We have never visited Hampton before by water and look forward to a little exploring in the next two days. I do have fond memories of several prior visits to the Surf Rider restaurant here at the marina. We made the short walk along the docks and celebrated our departure with some the ultimate cold weather comfort food, she-crab soup.