Annapolis to Norfolk: Day 8 and 450 miles!!

We set off earlier today for a longer 75nm run down to the bottom of the Chesapeake, to an anchorage just across from Hampton Roads. Last evening we saw several herons and a kingfisher feeding at the edge of the anchorage. Fish were jumping but we had no bait!! I even think we saw a bald eagle in flight. The night was quiet with bright stars and an early dawn crescent moon.  It was barely light when we pulled anchor and the sun was just beginning to rise as we pulled out into the Potomac.

Just south of the Potomac we saw 3 pelicans fly in and land on the water. Unfortunately they were too far away by the time the camera was ready. We saw several more as the day progressed but still had no luck with photos.

A bit further south, we passed a huge dredger barge with multiple bucket loaders operating in a main shipping channel.

The weather was fantastic with bright sun – directly in our eyes as we headed south!!

At about 10am we were a bit surprised to see USN warship 109 pass by our starboard side at 1/3 mile doing 20kt. We do monitor the radar but somehow missed this big guy – no AIS and probably stealth technology!!!

We were getting a nice push from the current again and managed to run over 8.5kt for the second half of the trip. The wind from the north abated as we got further south to a moderate 8kt on our stern.  We made great time, and anchored in a very spacious anchorage just inside Old Point Comfort.  While we were coming in, a boat with AIS identification passed us, named DARSEA.  When we anchored, we realized she was anchored just off our port side, and she was a 40 ft Selene, the same make as our boat.

We called them on the radio, and spoke to John Cleary, the Captain.  Turns out they have been all over the East Coast, and they actually bought their boat from Ted Hood in Portsmouth!  We had a nice chat, and we may run into them again over the next few days. 

We have another beautiful sunset, and expect a nice quiet evening.  Tomorrow sounds exiting, with the all the traffic in Norfolk Harbor, a lock and several bridges to get through!  We’ll see how things go!

Shoveling .....

Big Boy Warship 109



Pelicans!



Sister Ship DARSEA