Day 245: Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Port to Port: Salt Pond Anchorage

Underway: 0:00 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 18       Stayed At: Anchor

First Things First: First time catching up to and passing a tug/tow; heard and saw our first bell buoy clanging away; met our first navy ship and container while underway (we are tiny in comparison); first time it took 5 tries to get the anchor to set in the right spot.

Mile 0 to Mile 0: The day dawned bright and warm with a moderate breeze from the east. The wind is starting to shift finally. Tomorrow it is expected to be from the south or southeast – perfect for sailing up the Chesapeake. It’s a go to head across the main channel towards Hampton.

  The cruise up the channel was exciting – the ships are big around here and faster than they seem. The channel wasn’t crazy busy – just enough going on to make the time fly by (and Cindy to just about strain her neck from looking all over for moving ships. The best part was passing by a major navy repair area with huge gray ships of all kinds – even aircraft carriers. We were hoping to see a submarine but we weren’t that lucky.

As soon as we poked our heads out into the main channel you could see and feel the long rollers coming in from the Atlantic mixed in with wind driven waves and old waves from the north. We were bobbing pretty good but never got any big spray over the front. We kept going north to a small anchorage in Salt Pond dodging hundreds of crab pots along the way. We tried 5 times before the anchor held but the cove is completely protected and there is a very nice marina only a 5 minute dinghy ride across the channel. Tomorrow, its Deltaville or beyond.