Friday, May 4, 2012

Deltaville - At Fishing Bay YC

Very peaceful anchorage
We had intended staying another day at Hampton but the weather forecast was for strong winds out of the north for Saturday so we thought discretion was the better part of valor and headed north today to Deltaville. For once the prediction for winds in the 5 to 10 range out of the south was spot on and we motored north comfortably with very little wave action.

Here's Walt telling us of his future adventures
The route into the yacht club is daring with  one turn only yards off the obviously shallow beach  but the way is marked with buoys and as long as you obey them, you will stay afloat. The big attraction here is the free dock offered by the Fishing Bay Yacht Club for the first night's stay - provided you below to a recognized yacht club (listed in the yacht club directory for the US).

The sled for the Atlantic
On our first try for docking, I got too far off to the east and ran aground, the first time this cruise. I rev'd he engine in reverse and backed off before turning the wheel and rev'ing forward - we plowed a furrow to deeper water. The bottom in the Chesapeake is mostly soft mud anyway. This technique would NOT work in Maine. On our second try we just came straight at the dock and pivoted in front for a sideways touch. Not a problem when there's no current and no wind.









Once docked, we were greeted by a member preparing his boat for a cross-Atlantic adventure. They have a boat that can reach 20 mph in a strong breeze, a sled design that only weighs 6000 lbs but is 40 ft long! The entire boat is built of carbon fiber and has nothing inside except the shell (no floors, no bulkheads - everything is sacrificed for for speed. They'll carry only 60 gallons of water but only for drinking, hummm..

On Saturday we're headed for Onancock and Johnny Mo's restaurant for dinner. We've used his cookbook more than any other on our cruise south. The recipes are relatively simple and the results are great!

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