38-51.751N
O77-OO.831W
Docked
James Creek Marina
Anacostia River
Washington, D.C.
13,840 Nautical Miles since September, 2001
Monday, April 28
The Potomac is more significant and dynamic than we had imagined. At
its mouth, it is more than 10 miles wide, and appears to be at least five
miles wide at many other spots. Without navigational tools such as
lateral buoys and GPS, we would not have known which way to turn at various
curves because we could not readily distinguish a wide curve that looks like
a lake from the river itself. At this time of year, with overcast and
fog, the lower portions of the river appear isolated and lonely, without
much traffic. Closer to Washington, of course, especially between Mount
Vernon and Washington, recreational traffic is heavy. We were surprised,
and even somewhat disappointed, to see that the river still is used by The
Navy for gunnery practice. We learned this as a range boat approached
us and asked us to divert from the main channel. From the first outer
marker in The Chesapeake, to The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, is 94
nautical miles.
Pachamama now rests at her summer home. Chichi and I are tired, and
we have again decided to attempt a sale. The cold temperatures plus
normal mechanical and maintenance issues have been a burden this year. The
background issue is that we have no obvious new adventure at hand, because
we have decided not to cross The Atlantic, and we have seen a good part of
The U.S. east coast in 2002. Still, we have felt this way in the past,
and time and events have rejuvenated us.
Yesterday, we saw a Cubs-Nationals game at the brand new park. Fun!
38-05.106N
076-23.742W
Anchored, Mouth of The Potomac River
Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
13,770 Nautical Miles Since September, 2001
Tuesday, April 22, John and Chichi's Fortieth Wedding Anniversary
Our weather counselor, Chris Parker, said that the time was right for a
three day trip from Cape Fear to The Potomac because we would have a following
wind of 10-20 k and following waves. He was right, of course, as usual,
but we knew, and he knew, that we would pay a price. The cold front
we traversed would generate squalls, and several days locked down.
While cold fronts generally offer special hazards, and we were prepared,
an extra amount of chaos and anxiety took place about midnight Sunday, less
than five miles from our anchorage, when driving rain and thunder seemed to
come from no where. Although we were hearing thunder, and seeing sky flashes,
radar showed nothing, until suddenly the screen was filled with images of
rain. This was not a cell coming at us from afar. It was a sudden
creation, right over us, without any warning at all. We responded instantly
by first furling the genoa, then turning into the wind to lower the main.
Thanks to Chichi's rapid response, the jobs were done in barely five
minutes. If it were not for our electronic charting system, we could
have become disoriented, but ours allowed us to anchor in complete darkness.
At Southport, near Cape Fear, friends Frank and Linda Ricketts joined us
for lunch. They live in Wilmington, N.C., now, he having retired as
an American Airlines pilot, who once flew the Miami-Santa Cruz route, even
giving Chichi a first class ticket one time.
We met them fortuitously in The Keys when we asked for local anchorage information.
They responded, and we would up anchored next to them for a couple of
days.
33-55.042N
078-01.719W
13,408 Nautical Miles on Trip Odometer, started September, 2001
Docked
Southport Marina
Cape Fear, North Carolina
Sunday, April 13
Feeling pressure to arrive in Washington, D.C., by May 1, Chichi and I
are struggling against otherwise known and accepted obstacles: weather
and weariness.
Our attitudes and energies are tested always by anxiety, unnecessary anxiety,
caused by weather. For example, arriving in Port Royal Sound, south
of Beaufort, S.C., we had no visibility, and relied on the chart program,
GPS, and radar. These served us well, precisely and safely, as they
have for thousands of mariners, but, still, the use of them causes tension.
So, our departure from Beaufort, in complete fog, generated the same
feelings. Then, our arrival here was dominated by 20 knot winds out
of the south, making docking a tense struggle, with three fellows trying
to pull us in against the wind.
Today, we are refreshed, and start again to recover, and to anticipate
the next move. All will be well, but this trip has been testing our
patience, our energy, and our resolve.
32-25.760N
80-40.739W
Anchored
South of Downtown Marina
Beaufort, S.C.
(pronounced Be You Furt)
Saturday, April 5
Fatigue!!
The arch enemy of sailors, and everyone else!!
Thursday morning, toward the end of an overnight from Georgia, Chichi
opened the halyard brake without simultaneously holding onto the halyard.
So, the mainsail dropped to the deck in a pile, a serious event had
high winds also been a factor. However, that day, at 5 a.m.,
the winds were light, but the story was not over, because John then proceeded
to make a potentially more serious mistake. Instead of repositioning the
halyard on a winch, he put on the main sheet that controls the boom, not
the main sail. If we had not stopped the process immediately,
we could have ruptured the connection between the deck and the boom, leaving
the boom free to swing wherever. However, all was well, we repositioned
the lines correctly, raised the main to its previous position, and then lowered
it in an orderly fashion around its furler. Whew!! The only thing
left to challenge us was 1/4 mile visibility as we entered Beaufort River.
The answer to this was to anchor, and to forget about everything until
that afternoon, when we proceeded five miles up the river to this charming
town.
Unlike our trip north in 2002, this trip has been under the weather gun
most of the time, restricting our opportunities to sail, as well as to comfortably
leave the boat while anchored. Today, for example, wind and rain kept
us aboard, though land is hardly 200 yards away.
John made another error this week. He incorrectly computed the distance
between St. Simons and Thunderbolt (near Savannah). The distance was
twice as long. So, we anchored in the Intra Coastal waterway until
our weather advisor, Chris Parker, told us to leave for Beaufort. That
one night window was the only window for the previous week, and might prove
to be the only window during the next ten days.