I should not have gone out sailing this morning. It was so calm. Not a hint of a breeze, not even a suspicion that a zephyr might ruffle the still water. But I went anyway.
I left the basin with the mizzen already raised, main and jib up once I crossed the shipping channel to Craford Bay. And there I found the lightest of breezes. Not enough to tighten the lines, but just enough that SPARTINA could make way at a half not or so. It was just after sunrise, the summer heat not yet bearing down on the river. How nice. I spent two hours sailing back and forth among the five sailboats anchored there, said hello to a paddle boarder out for her morning paddle, then made my way over to the park on the Norfolk side of the water.
I sailed all three days of the holiday weekend, and the river almost felt normal. The Schooner Virginia was flying her signal flags and the battleship Wisconsin nearby opened for tours for the first time in months.
Sail Nauticus had their boats out. Some of the Harbor 20s had family on board and no masks were worn. Other boats, non-family members on board, wore masks.
Even some cruisers passing through, including this sailor named Jack with sturdy looking NAJA 30 foot plywood kit boat FLEETWOOD. You can read about his circumnavigation here.
The tour boats were out, crew members waving as they wore their masks.
I tied up for lunch on Friday and had to go back because I had forgotten to get my mask out of my PPE kit (since when did I have a PPE kit on board?).
It felt good to day sail on the Elizabeth River. It felt almost normal. Not quite. Almost.
9 comments:
Your photos are always great but that first photo is spectacular and the last one made me chuckle. Thanks for the grand tour of the waterfront.
I do like the sign photo. Hope you and Fred are sneaking out on the bay now and then. steve
Steve, those ghosters are my favorite conditions. Skipper likes the romps across a bay in a steady 13-15 mph breeze with a light swell, like she grew up with on Corpus Christi Bay in her Drascombe Lugger. Wonderful photos, thank you for sharing.
Skipper says the first photo should be printed and framed, beautiful with its forced pescpective, it takes the eye all around the frame. Reminded her of a Hopper painting. And the last photo made us laugh too.
Kent, I like a little of each, a hard sail across the river and now and then a slow sail, something just a little better than a drift, on a peaceful morning. I hope you guys are doing well. steve
plus one on that top photo. Very cool.
Thanks, Alan. Hope all is well with you and the crew. Enjoyed your Instagram photos of the Marissa. steve
Thanks Steve. We are finally getting out. Did an òvernight shakedown a little over a week ago. Then on Saturday did the 2 hour motor to the mouth of Grays Inn Creek on the Chester. There's a man there who has been tinkering with calliopes for years. He's now got quite an impressive setup on a boat that looks like a cross between a tug and a barge. We can sometimes hear it from the house when he's tinkering with it. Anyway, he sent out word their would be a concert at 2 on the 4th at the mouth of the creek. So we went. Got there around 1 and anchored. There were somewhere between 30 and 40 boats that came out and anchored - a lot of them people we knew, some with kids swimming while the music was playing. 40 minutes or so of music and then we went back to RH as it was really warm and we were beat. It was good to be out but it was warm. Last night had the kayaks out for a bit. Hoping that this heat wave won't last all month so we can get out more.
Sounds like a great time!
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