A Quick Stopover at Home

Kilmarnock to Deltaville |  2.2 Hours  |  13 Miles 

By 10:00 this morning the rain had slowed to a drizzle and the heavy fog which had been with us for days had finally moved out. The Perdue grain silos rose uncloaked against the overcast sky. We brought in our lines and cast off, technically heading south and on our way to The Bahamas. Our shakedown polar bear cruise had gone smoothly and it was great to ring in the new year with special friends. I gave Crossroads a good chamois wipedown when underway. Once out of Indian Creek and into the Chesapeake Bay, we had to deal with a new kind of fog -- that on the inside. We pulled out the fan which kept our center window defrosted. The wind picked up to 20 knots and we rounded Windmill Point into a beam sea. We were able to enjoy the benefits of a smooth ride courtesy of our new stabilizer fins.

Our passage went quickly and we were soon entering Broad Creek channel. We passed Stella Blue, all tied up in her slip. Joe, Robyn, Layla, and Bowie left earlier than we did and were already on their way home. The wind was negligible, the air temperature in the 60s, and it wasn't raining so we took advantage of the opportunity to do another pump out. You got it, a holding tank can never be too empty.

Impending poor weather is the only reason we ducked back into our slip for an extra day. We voted to forgo the forecasted 40 mph winds and snow while on anchor and hang out in the comfort of our slip. The railroad bridge in Norfolk closes on Saturday, but we'll be beyond it with plenty of time to spare. We voted to depart on Tuesday when it will be sunny with light winds. It will be chilly outside, but we'll be warm in the pilothouse. 

We quickly transitioned into Virginia storm-prep mode and headed to Walmart ... because we could ... to replenish some of the items we used over the weekend. We'll take it easy tomorrow, see if we get any snow, and maybe knock out another boat project.

New Year's Cheers

Kilmarnock  

Raindrops on the cabin top served as both this morning's alarm and snooze button. The sound at first startled me awake then quickly lulled me back to sleep. When I finally made it upstairs for a good look, it was pouring and overflowing our "gutters." There was also about an inch of standing water in the cockpit waiting to drain. Thankfully, the heavy stuff didn't last too long. The fog, however, settled in and remained.   

The day markers in front of us guide barges to the grain elevators and have become my fog gauge. I kept looking out at them, hoping the weather would break in time for the noontime arrival of dear friends Cindy and Larry. On short notice, they drove 30 minutes to join us for an afternoon of appys and catching up. We toasted the new year and celebrated several nuggets of good news. 

Magically, the sun soon appeared. We even went out to walk the docks and take a few pictures. 

As the sun began to set with an orange glow, we said our goodbyes. We look forward to seeing them again in the spring. Barry and I turned our attention to the weather forecasts and did not like what we saw. High winds will be building tomorrow through Monday making for an unpleasant trip to Norfolk. We made the decision to return to our home marina and let the front pass before continuing south. Not our ideal scenario, but with no schedule we will choose comfort over speed. Following dinner, Robyn and Joe from Stella Blue joined us for a visit. They too were happy the rain had stopped and managed to get in several walks during the day with their two golden retrievers. As we said goodnight at 9:00 it was still 70 degrees, but the wind is beginning to pick up. We will depart in the morning and return to Stingray to wait on a weather window.