Underway Again #6 Atlantic City to Southport

 

From Atlantic City, Roman sailed alone all the way to Cape May the first day and up the Delaware River to Chesapeake City the second day.

 

Nuclear Power plant along the river.

  

Until you experience it, it is difficult to understand the power of tides and currents.  If you are with the tide and current you just whiz along but if you are against the tide and the current it is a very slow uncomfortable experience.  The trick is to try to time your departures.  When the current caught up to Roman he was literally pushed along at 7.8 knots, then 8.8 and the last hour was 9.6 knots.  Unbelievable!!!  Our usual to speed with all the right conditions is 6 knots.





Approaching Chesapeake City 

 

From Chesapeake City which is on the north side of Chesapeake Bay he continued south and some of the most challenging conditions he experienced were in the Chesapeake.  He sailed, no literally surfed,  6 foot waves in 25 knot winds. This is a big bay and I would have liked to explore some of the ports we did not get to see last time and even go to Washington but Roman was on the fast track to go south!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off to Annapolis, Solomon Islands, Deltaville, and finally Roman sailed all the way to Norfolk.

 

After the excitement of the Chesapeake, Roman enjoyed the quiet scenic ride through the Dismal Swamp to Elizabeth City where he actually relaxed for a day!  What a slacker!!!

Roman continued on his way but being single handed  had its moments.  He went to the bathroom and came back to find the boat on the wrong side of a marker and the boat heading towards very shallow water.  Once he stopped to check the engine and drifted again into a sandbar.  He became a pro at getting off sandbars.  Once he had to wait for the tide to come up and help him off the sandbar.  Fortunately our boat is steel and can withstand a few bumps along the way.  On the other hand, steel and salt water are poor companions and there was a lot of bright work to do when I got back on the boat.  To date, I have not caught up to all of it!  Sorry, no pictures of Roman on a sandbar.  You must use your imagination!

When he got to Southport North Carolina close to the border of North and South Carolinas, everyone was preparing for Hurricane Sandy.  The restaurants along the pier were being boarded up and were closed for business. Roman tied the boat up and prepared as best he could. Now for the other silver lining.  If I had been with him we would have stopped at many places for a few days to sightsee and explore.  If that had been the case, we would have been caught by Hurricane Sandy.  Instead Roman was south of  Sandy when it turned inland and he just experienced waves, rain and wind.  

Others were not as lucky!

Waiting at Southport gave him an opportunity to spend time with our friends Woody and Shirley.

 

After Sandy he was all ready to take off.

And off he went south south south searching for warmer weather.

 

Please feel free to comment on our blog.  We would love to hear from you. 

 
Albert Chan, are you still reading this?  Let me know what's happening in your life. 
Chad and LeeAnn, how are you?
Tom and Chris, where are you?

 

.