Swift

Southbound, Day 1: Deltaville, VA to Norfolk, VA

Starry Night at the Boat Yard Docks (Stingray Point Boat Works, Deltaville, VA) (Friend's boat, ours was still on the hard...) 
It seemed like a huge ordeal to leave Deltaville, VA. We were hoping not to haul at all this year, then we decided to fix the emergency hatches, then we realized we needed anti-fouling paint, then we needed to re-haul the saildrives, and while we were doing that, well, we might as well doing 6 weeks of work. Phew! Then the dog got sick, then the weather got bad. Then we broke things on our 2 hour cruise (to cover 1 land mile) from Boat Yard #1 to Boat Yard #2, which just happens to be home to all of Boat Yard #1's workers, and, no kidding, even the same dogs! Guess what, like our friends say, you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. 

Then, we awaited parts to fix the newly broken items, which quickly got delayed in the mail. 3500 light years later we got the parts, and the weather was terrible. Then, Matt cut off part of his thumb while making birthday dinner, dinner stalled, setting the fire alarm off, we swung wildly at anchor as gale force winds built, and the dog, enraged by the delay in dinner, started howling. I want take-out (on land) next year, please. 

Finally, masts and thumbs were fixed with duct tape and we were ready to leave. We leapt up at 5AM, dinghyed the dog to shore at 530AM, and then had an argument about the weather.

Negative Nancy won and Reckless Ruth glared at the 15 other boats that continued on south, leaving us totally alone. The good news is it gave us an opportunity to have one of our boat yard friends over, and a lively discussion ensued about the shrink wrapped Presidential yacht in the boat yard, currently inhabited by a band of rabid raccoons. Because, boating. See, even if your boat has had Marilyn Monroe herself aboard, stop washing it for 5 minutes, and it's a total wreck. 
Anchored boats at sunset, Fishing Bay, Deltaville, VA
Fishing Bay Anchorage, Deltaville, VA
Finally, finally, we left Deltaville, VA. Chesapeake Bay was perfectly calm. Don't worry, instead of enjoying it, we had another argument about the weather. It was so nice Reckless Ruth wanted to go offshore and round Cape Hatteras, but guess who appeared? Negative Nancy, telling tales of the "Graveyard of the Atantic", producing spreadsheets and graphs showing certain doom. Such a Debbie Downer. 
Fishing boat cruising Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay (just FYI, this boat was in the yard with us....)
We pulled into Norfolk, the official start of the Intracoastal Waterway and celebrated by going ashore, lifting the dog up a steep dodgy ladder, marching to the Irish pub, and demanding sausage rolls. Hastings was happier than he had been for weeks, collecting compliments and walking on pavement and wagging his little stump tail. It's very, very different in Norfolk. Just 40 miles north is complete silence, the Milky Way at night, and here, it's hustle and bustle, helicopters overhead, street lights and sirens.
Sailing through Hampton Roads, VA
Busy Hampton Roads area
Hands steering a sailboat
Steering through the melee
Hastings loves a good pub!
Cruising Waterside, Norfolk, VA
Norfolk at Dusk 
Anchored boats at Night, Norfolk, Porstmouth VA
Norfolk at 3AM
Do you prefer the stars of the country or the bright lights of the city? 


This is the story of Matt, Lucy and Hastings, the crew of the sailing vessel Dulcinea, a 1985 Cabo Rico 38.

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3 comments

  1. The Cynical SailorNovember 9, 2017 at 3:59 PM

    Hmmm...so which one of you is Ruth and which one if Nancy?

    I really should wash my boat before a gang of rabid raccoons takes over. The problem is, the minute you go to wash your boat they start burning the sugar cane fields. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LucyNovember 10, 2017 at 9:56 AM

      Just another reason those sugar cane fields are the worst!

      Delete
  2. Stephanie GardinerNovember 10, 2017 at 10:01 AM

    I was wondering the same thing (who's Ruth and who's Nancy). Surprisingly, I'm usually the Ruth around here and have gotten us into more uncomfortable situations over the years than I'd like to admit (enduring 4-metre square seas, for starters)!

    ReplyDelete

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