Finally! Chesapeake Bay

* Chesapeake, VA to Occoquan, VA *

203.1 miles – 4 ports –

**Colors denote travel days starting in the south**

Our last day at the Atlantic Yacht Basin included not one, but two provision runs, and a killer sunset. True to Tasha fashion, we loaded up. She found a Sam’s Club just 3.5 miles away. By the time we rerouted for safety and rode on some horrendous jagged sidewalks it was well over five miles away. Getting there was a breeze, on the way back, let’s just say David was not smiling. We loaded our bikes waaaay past the weight limit with our $335 worth of “good stuff” in our backpacks and saddle bags. Every fifth bump the saddle bags would pop off and we would have to reset. Tasha then proceeded to go the Kroger to pick up the things we couldn’t get or wouldn’t fit from Sam’s (beer, we needed beer!). Another day, another adventure.

We sat in our outside living room, our last night at the yacht basin, 22 days in all, 15 on the hard, and witnessed God’s glory with the perfect canvas of the most beautiful sunset. We were in awe.

A pre-dawn awakening was in play in preparation for making the 6am bridge and lock opening, if we missed this, it would be 12 more hours before we could traverse through. We were both awake before the 5am alarm with a few pre-cruise jitters.

Most of our boat preparation had been handled the night before so it was an easy departure just before sunrise. The morning colors of the sky with clouds and the water were a great start to the day. Nothing beats the tranquil waters and incredible sky of early morning cruising.

You would have thought after sitting idle for three weeks we would have had a plan. We did not. We threw off the lines and headed North with no set destination. Not knowing what to expect in the busy Naval port of Norfolk, we didn’t want to over plan our day. Our best guess is we would hit Yorktown or Pusoquon, both around 50 miles. Both off the beaten path and out of our way, so not ideal but not a whole lot to choose from after Norfolk/Hampton and before Deltaville at 70 miles, too far for us.

To our surprise there was very little traffic through Norfolk. This big girl, ONE, was the first vessel we shared the water with. Share as in let her take the lead and us just stay out of her way.

We are now in Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. More than 150 rivers and streams flow into the Bay’s 64,299 square-mile drainage basin which covers part of six states. The Bay is approximately 200 miles long and 30 miles wide at its widest point. More than three months since leaving Melbourne with the Chesapeake our destination for the summer, we’re here. We were side tracked by a lot of cool towns and ports along the Carolina’s and one good boat wreck.

In addition to not having a pre-determined destination, our navigation system wasn’t cooperating and the captain was growing weary. We chose to call it a day much earlier than intended and headed into Hampton, 26 miles from where we started in Chesapeake. We arrived 4 hours after we motored through the Great Bridge bridge that morning.

As we began our approach into the Hampton River leading to our port, hundreds of boats appeared, small teeny, tiny boats, after seeing just a handful the whole morning. Close to 300 as we learned later. Hampton Yacht Club was hosting the Optimist National Sailing Championship for kids 15 and under, we saw mostly little tykes. They had fleet boats, pulling them out into the bay. It was organized chaos, and we were glad to get through the area quickly. The championship was over two weeks with hundreds of baby boats leaving and returning from the river each day.

This early arrival gave us time to work on navigation and thoroughly plan our route to DC. Who knew the relatively short trip from map dot to map dot would take 5 cruising days, over 30 hours, and close to 250 miles to get there. It seemed so close on charts!

Investigating the area around us in Hampton, we found a Virginia Air and Space Science center. Getting in the DC mode, we went for the afternoon. It was a great exhibit with a strong showing of the Langley influence with NASA, Apollo 12, and the four brilliant mathematician ladies featured in the film, Hidden Figures.

Tasha taking her turn at the Mars Rover simulator got schooled by a 5-year-old girl. As she struggled to get the joysticks to guide the rover as smoothly as she would have liked and couldn’t get the arm to dig for rocks, the little girl came over and said, “you might want to try to do this”, then she hit a button and continued, “you should be good”. Tasha backed away and said “why don’t you show me?”. The girl jumped in and took command acing the simulator. Oh, to be young and these things be so natural.

Our next day, we were off early again, using the calmest part of the day to get some miles behind us. We were set for a 64-mile trek to Ingram Bay Marina south of our turnoff to the Potomac River. The day was beautiful and the cool, crisp air, a warm welcome. The first three hours were smooth sailing (6a-9a), then it all changed.

The winds increased and the wave period decreased from the forecast causing rough seas. As Now or Never continued to pound the waves and provide an uncomfortable ride, the first mate announced lunch would have to wait, “Captain it’s too rough to feed ya”. Just then, Now or Never hit a wave lurching the binoculars on the helm 5 feet forward through the air and hitting the ships bell on the way down with a double ring. We couldn’t have done that maneuver had we tried. We continued to pound the waves and the bell continued to ring without the help of the binoculars. We stopped counting before 29 times, because you know, a ships bell ringing 29 times, seemed like a bad omen.

The bay spray came up over the hard top with every wave. Most of the strata glass was closed but with a couple of panels open, we were feeling it, as well as the entire boat was drenched with salt water. We would have welcomed for the spray the few weeks we were on the hard, but this was a cool day, and it was a tad chilly. It was sportier than the first mate would like, she donned her seasick bands and watched the horizon for an hour or two. We had the ability to duck in at Deltaville, 15 miles sooner, but wanted to get a little further along on our journey. Our friend Dave from Freedom asked Tasha to rate it on a Sporty Scale, a seven for Tasha, but more like a 3 for him, he’s a great lakes boater and sporty is just another day on the water.

We arrived in a protected cove on Ingram Bay and docked next to the tiny ship store with deck and inviting chaise lounges. We took advantage and spent the afternoon lounging on the dock after washing down the boat inside and out. The salt was everywhere, the fly bridge, the aft deck, and covered the entire outside. We should have gathered it all, plenty to make margaritas for months! Everything we touched was salted. Another good cleaning, thanks to the bay.

It was a beautiful day, low humidity and not too warm and calm in the sanctity of this protected bay. We found our power not to be working as it should, the a/c leg was out. Thank goodness it was cool with the windows open and we enjoyed a good night’s sleep.

One more long day and a 6am departure would get us on the Potomac River and off the Chesapeake as a storm and winds were brewing for late in the week. The Potomac is one of the second largest tributary to the Chesapeake. The Potomac River is 383 miles long, 112 miles to Washington DC from the Chesapeake. The river is only navigable 25 miles beyond DC. The river begins in Fairfax Stone, WV and ends in Point Lookout, MD. Cruising the Potomac River to Washington DC is considered a side trip to the Great Loop.

We motored the 62 miles to Colonial Beach, VA passing Popes Creek the birthplace of our first president, George Washington, born in 1732. While we have not touched foot in Maryland, most of the Potomac is Maryland waters, thus making this our 12th state visited on the Great Loop. The bay was calmer than the day prior though could have been smoother for the first mate. We arrived at The Boathouse Marina, another small marina, with a delightful owner and staff. We stayed 3 nights, had access to free laundry, a golf cart to cruise the town, and a clean nice captain’s lounge with snacks, and a friendly, sweet marina cat, Juju, who made herself at home on everyone’s boats.

Colonial Beach was developed in the late 1800’s as a getaway for Washingtonians. Sixty five miles from Washington, Colonial Beach emerged as a bathing and fishing resort in the late 19th centruy known as the “Playground of the Potomac”. Prior to automobile travel, most visitors arrived by boat from DC.

The town boasts of its beach and there were plenty of takers. The captain noticed tons of jelly fish, so our crew did not partake in beach life on the Potomac. The boat was washed again from that pesky salt, engine maintenance performed, laundry, relaxing, and dinner with gold loopers. The storm did roll in but nothing more than some wave action, mild winds, and light steady rain. The temperatures were cool and very welcomed. Where were they the last few weeks?

We put on long pants and jackets and took the golf cart to town for dinner, we were cold! Never thought we’d say that so soon. We enjoyed our time venturing to Tiki bars on the beach, walking the pier, and tooling around in the golf cart.

Our last overnight before the capital city was the quaint town of Occoquan, up the Occoquan River, five miles off the Potomac. We stayed at the Harbor Marina, a large, new complex, that caters to the greater Washingtonians who flee the city for boating. We enjoyed the restaurant on site and live music we could hear from the boat. We didn’t do much at this stop, preparing for our capital adventure and resting our feet! We had a surpise facetime call from our homeport crew at our home marina. Sure made our evening. They were able to catch Svengoolie, our captain was less fortunate as we had no signal in valley of the Occoquan River. While we are enjoying the adventure of a lifetime, we sure miss our friends and family at home.

The ride up the Potomac surprised us a bit. The river is much larger than we envisioned, eleven miles wild at the mouth, narrowing a bit as we headed closer to DC, but still much larger than our home waters of the Ohio River. The river is tree lined with rolling hills but not as much development as one would think. It was a beautiful, winding, journey. The captain noted increased security / surveillance measures the closer we came to the city. Reminding us, someone is always watching.

What a difference the week made, six nights out from the yard, and we didn’t run our a/c at all. It was pleasant with just the few windows that open on the Now or Never. The heat is building again (of course) as we head into DC. Excited for our adventure to our nation’s capital and sharing it with you!

Cheers! David, Tasha,

& Remy forever in our hearts!