STEADY PROGRESS TOWARDS NORFOLK VA.
Aquila
Alan and Sarah Bennett
Wed 14 May 2008 22:13
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37:12.46N 76:24.54W
Mill Creek served as a very peaceful anchorage and
after a good night's sleep the crew decided to get under way before breakfast.
The anchor was weighed at 0750 and we set off out into the Chesapeake with
bright sunshine and a gentle Force 2 breeze blowing from the west.
The mainsail was set at 0900 as we undertook
'evasion tactics' through the numerous lobby-pots that dotted our course. As the
wind dropped to a force 1 from the west we raised the asymmetric but due to
a southerly swell stopping us in our tracks we stowed it in favour of the genoa
and finally stopped the engine.
Daddy and Pippa were presented with a breakfast to
die for (sausages, mushrooms, egg) from mummy and then we set about with the
'chores' of the day - baking bread! Loaf ended up being enormous thanks to being
risen by the warmth of the sun and went into the oven. After being becalmed for
a while and having to rely on the engine the breeze picked up to a force 3 and
we set the full main and genoa, and deployed the duogen. We tried our luck with
a couple of fishing lines astern but our efforts didn't pay off...Mummy and
Pippa were rather thankful for this; the hooks we've got look as though they
might catch something the size of a swordfish, not the mackerel we were hoping
for!
The day continued to pass with periods of being
becalmed and hoisting and furling sails; after lunch (with the fresh bread) the
wind had gone around to the south and picked up to Force 3. The crew was put
through its paces with several tacks and the reef was shaken out of the main as
the wind died at 1500. An hour later the wind had gone completely so we furled
the genoa and started the engine. As we headed in to our anchorage for the night
we were bombarded with flies - horrible little things that bite as well as
irritate so the captain went on a killing spree and the cockpit became littered
with bodies!
At 1730 we anchored in Claxton Creek just south of
the York River surrounded by the cursed lobby-pots! At least they might
provide us with something exotic for breakfast. Tomorrow we should make
Norfolk.
The bread rises...
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