Hampton to Deltaville

It was late afternoon when we finally arrived in Hampton. It had been a long day with the bridges and traffic, so we were ready to settle down. We had studied our 3 cruising guides, and they all recommended anchoring near a marina on the Hampton River. When we got there, we were not too thrilled as there was very little space, a decent current, and for sure not enough room to let out adequate scope. So we putzed around trying to find a spot to get us through the night. At 5:45 pm we finally dropped anchor in a marginal spot, and figured we wouldn't sleep much that night. After setting the anchor and backing down on it, we stayed in the cockpit for over an hour. I went below to do something and a little while later Lisa comes down to tell me we are dragging. This is the first time we have ever dragged. It had been set really tight and holding well, so it must have snagged on a rock and then let go with a wind shift. When we were hauling it back up we could hear the chain rattle on the bottom. I was ready to sail through the night somewhere up the Chesapeake, but Lisa over ruled and we tied up at Blue Water Marina where we had to track down the night watchman to make it all legal. By this time it was pushing 9:00. Blue Water Marina is pricey, but good, friendly people, and the facilities are nice--not to mention floating docks. We were supposed to get free WiFi there but we got no reception. Not even up by the pool. The funny part is, the cheapskate cruisers that were anchored (that normally includes us) had good, free WiFi.

We should have anchored at Mill Creek instead of going to Hampton River. For some reason we had disqualified it from our options, but it would have been a much better choice. I don't think Hampton River is a viable place to anchor, but there are those who think nothing of it.

 

This boat was docked at another marina downtown. It seems like every community we have gone through from the Exumas through Virginia, lay some sort of claim on the legend of Blackbeard.

 

We ended up staying 3 nights at the Marina in Hampton. We did a lot of walking, and were able to spend a bit of money at the Food Lion in town. Then we got to carry it back to the boat. The walks were beautiful with all the large trees and the flowers. I love the foliage in the Northeast.

We were only going to stay 2 nights, but we were low on propane, so we stayed an extra day so I could take a taxi to a U-haul store to refill the tanks.

 

As you can see, it was a little foggy and cloudy when we left. Hampton Roads is very busy with commercial shipping and the US Navy.
 

On our way out to the Chesapeake.

 

This is Thimble Shoal Light which is several miles from land. We pounded into square waves up to this point. It was a wind against tide thing you are supposed to avoid. But once we got to this point, we were able to change course and had a great sail.

We were surrounded by thunderstorms all day with tornado warnings. The clouds were wicked looking. We rolled in the sails a couple of times when it looked like we were going to be hit with strong gusts, but they kept missing us. Listening to NOAA is just an exercise. We are obligated. But they are not even 50/50.

Our destination was East River off of Mobjack Bay. We explored a creek that is recommended in a guide book, but decided to keep looking. On the way out of the creek we went aground in 6.9 feet of water. We only draw 5.3 feet. Could you do that? I didn't think so. We backed off with no problem, and found an anchorage a little way further up the river. It was very peaceful even though surrounded by homes. It rained very hard that night.

 

The next morning we moved about 12 nautical miles to an anchorage on the Ware River which is on Mobjack Bay as well. We were supposed to have very strong storms from a southerly quadrant, and this looked like a good spot to sit it out. We really liked this anchorage a lot. We stayed for 3 nights and got tons of rain, but no strong winds. Everyday for a week they issued tornado warnings. The boat is clean and fresh now.

 

We finally left Mobjack Bay area and headed for Deltaville where we needed to get mail etc. We were supposed to have 10 to 15 knots of wind for a great sail, but there was no wind, so it was the motor. But it was a beautiful day. Our destination was Jackson Creek, with Fishing Bay as our fall back choice. The entrance to Jackson Creek is VERY narrow and winding. It seems as though there is an osprey with a nest on every channel marker. We made it through without going aground, but were not impressed with the anchorage options. So we made our way back out and headed for Fishing Bay.