A day late, but still thankful

I'm a day late on my Thanksgiving post, but on a beautiful morning like this, it is hard not to be thankful.

We've had some bad news recently in regard to my father's health. To tell the truth, I've been feeling a little bit sorry for myself. When you get right down to it though, I am an extremely lucky person, and so is my Dad. If either of us were to be hit by lightning tomorrow, we would still have had a better life than 99.9% of the people on this planet.

I am very thankful for my family and friends, and all the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me.

If you have somehow stumbled upon this blog, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please take a minute to let your family and friends know how much you care about them at this special time of year.

Trip Report - Labor Day at Chippokes

I know, I know, no posts for the entire month of August. I am a terrible blogger. To add insult to injury, we took very few pictures during the trip I'm posting about here. Luckily, I have no followers, so nobody is too disappointed. On to Chippokes!

We usually plan a trip over the Labor Day weekend to close out the summer and serve as a bookend to our early summer cruise up the bay. For the last few years, that trip has been to Chippokes State park on the James River. Last year we had to cancel due to Hurricane Earl moving up the East coast over Labor Day weekend, but we had much better luck with the weather this year.

Chippokes is a working plantation on the banks of the James River that dates back to colonial times. The property was gifted to the State of Virginia for the purpose of being turned into a state park. The old mansion is still there and open for tours along with the detached kitchen, stables, barn, and a working sawmill. The park service has added nice campgrounds, an office with attached store, a fantastic swimming pool, and serviceable bathrooms and bath houses. Best of all for boaters, there is no charge to anchor in Cobham Bay on the James and dinghy in to the beach.

The bay is fairly shallow with a hard sand bottom that provides great holding. Cobham bay is protected from the E, W, and S but pretty exposed to a North wind. During the day there tends to be large gatherings of power boats and associated partying, but by late afternoon most people pull anchor and head home. We shared the large bay with two trawlers and our neighbor's cigarette boat (more on that in a minute).

It takes us 5 or 6 hours to get to the park from our dock on the Eastern branch of the Elizabeth river. The first part of the trip, down the Eastern branch, through downtown Norfolk and the main body of the Elizabeth out past Craney Island is pretty familiar stuff for us. We left Saturday morning against a rising tide.

 Beautiful blue skies over a typical industrial scene on the Eastern branch

 One of the Staten Island ferries down for an overhaul on our little river

In fact, that stuff is so familiar, that we barely took any pictures at all. Shame on us. We need to get better at this blogger stuff. Once we turned up the James though, the going was a little less familiar and we took a few more pictures. 

 Newport News Shipbuilding - where our nation's aircraft carriers are built

 James River Bridge - 60 ft of vertical clearance for our 55 ft mast

 Mothballed ships of the James River Ghost Fleet

Closer view of part of the Ghost Fleet

Every time we make this trip, I'm amazed at how big the James River is. Chippokes is just about opposite Jamestown Island, which was the location of the first permanent English settlement in North America back in 1607. It takes us several hours to get this far up river, with the benefit of Yanmar diesels and a modern sail plan. I can't imagine what it was like for the early colonists and traders making this trip by sail alone. Of course, that was part of the attraction for them. They wanted to be far enough up river that their presence was concealed from Dutch marauders from the North, and Spanish raiders coming up from St. Augustine in the South. I have much respect for the old time sailor men. 

Four and a half hours into our trip, our neighbors came alongside in their 36 ft cigarette boat. They had left home just 45 minutes prior, and were well on their way to beating us to the anchorage. Unable to taunt us over the roar of his gigantic Chevrolet engines, he came alongside and shut down the beasts for a neighborly chat. Everything was great until he tried to start them up again and got no joy.

 Good looking boat with a good looking crew

He rafted up alongside us, and we ran battery cables from his boat to ours. Several failed attempts at starting later, we decided to proceed onward with them in tow. Now, instead of making 6 knots against the outgoing tide and current, we were making 2.5. It took us another 3 hours to cover the final distance to the anchorage. I'm not complaining though. Any time we've had a tree down from a storm or anything, Richard is always the first one over with his chainsaw to help us clean up. He also took on my oldest son as an apprentice in his carburetor repair shop. We owe him big time, so it was nice to be able to help when he needed it. I don't think that made him any happier to be towed into the anchorage by a sailboat though. 

 Oh the shame of it!

The late arrival put a crimp in plans to meet up with Karen's parents who were staying at the campground in their new to them motor coach. Instead, we stayed rafted together with our neighbors and everybody took a swim to cool off while Karen made an excellent dinner of pasta and sauteed squash and zucchini. 

 My two oldest boys enjoying a swim with our neighbor and his daughter

The kids enjoying the Relaxation Station - an end of season bargain from Costco

At this point, you might expect some photos of the beach from the boat, or maybe pictures from our wanderings on shore around the campground or the pool, or possibly a shot of the boat anchored out in the bay. Those would be reasonable expectations, however, we suck at blogging, so no pictures were taken. I can tell you that the campground was very nice. The pool is fantastic. It is built in an L shape, with the long leg of the L being nearly Olympic sized, but only 5 feet deep for its entire length. The short leg of the L has two spring board diving boards and a max depth of 11 feet. There is a charge to use the pool. $3 for adults, $2 for kids during weekdays, and $4 for adults, $3 for kids on weekends and holidays. There is a nice little attached store that sells park souvenirs, sodas, and ice cream. Labor Day weekend is the last weekend for the pool and the store, so we took advantage of closeout prices and bought $3 T-shirts. 

 Looking back towards the Surry Nuclear plant hidden behind the trees

The lone shot of the beach as my neighbor and I take his dog to shore for a potty break

We spent the night rafted together in the mill pond like bay. It was a fairly overcast night, but we did get a brief break in the clouds that allowed us to see a couple shooting stars and a glimpse of the full moon.  In the morning, we headed up to visit with Karen's parents at the campground and let the kids swim in the pool. By the time we got back to the boat our neighbors were gone. We learned later that he had tried the engines again out of curiosity and they had fired right up. Not wanting to risk shutting them down and restarting later they decided to leave right then. We were sorry their trip got cut short, but also glad not to make the trip all the way home at 2.5 knots. 

All week long, the weather forecast had called for a chance of T-storms both Sunday and Monday. By Saturday evening, the forecast for Monday was looking pretty bad. By noon on Sunday, big thunderclouds were springing up all around the horizon. We decided it would be best to cut the trip short and head back early. We said our goodbyes to Karen's parents, deflated the Relaxation Station, stowed the dinghy, pulled the anchor, and headed for home. 

Passing the Surry Nuclear plant on our way out.

 Ghost Fleet going the other way

 Chaos in the cabin after a fun weekend

Storm clouds behind us

Storm clouds ahead of us

We must have built up some good karma towing our neighbors or something, because we really got lucky with the storms. A big system brewing behind us ended passing us to the North and really whacking Williamsburg, Newport News, and Hampton. To our front we watched as another big system formed and moved over Norfolk. Karen took an awesome photo of the storm dumping on downtown Norfolk as we approached the Middle Ground Light and Craney Island. 

Downtown Norfolk getting hammered

By the time we rounded Craney Island and headed down the Norfolk Harbor Reach, the storm had moved off to the West and was dumping on Portsmouth and Suffolk. There was quite a bit of lightning around us, but we hadn't been touched by a single rain drop yet. Our luck continued as we passed through downtown Norfolk and the bridge tender at the Berkley Bridge opened right up for us.  There was a brief delay as we waited for Norfolk Southern Bridge #5 to open for us, so Karen took the opportunity to snap a few pictures.

 Downtown Norfolk from the Eastern Branch as the storm moves off to the West

 Tides fans watching a game at Harbor Park - hope they brought umbrellas

Looking back at the Berkley Bridge

We were nearly home now, and it seemed incredible that we had been able to thread our way through all of those storms. There was one last hurdle though, our old nemesis, the Eastern Branch Bridge. 

Sure enough, the bridge was closed. I called the operator and he told me they were expecting a train and we would have to wait. As we idled at the foot of the bridge, the sky grew darker and the lightning more intense. Just as the first rain drops of the day started to hit the bimini, the bridge began to open. No train had passed, but apparently the bridge tender had taken pity on us. As soon as we were clear I called him to let him know we were through and thank him for the courtesy. He wished us a good night and closed the bridge again right behind us. It is not very often that you run into a bridge tender with mercy in his heart. I sometimes think surliness is a hiring requirement for the job. We really had luck on our side that entire day. Anyway, it let us end the trip on a positive note. 

We made it back to the dock and tied up in a light drizzle. Everybody got into the house just before the real downpour started.  Leaving Sunday was the right call. Monday saw rain and thunderstorms all day long. Another trip is in the books. We had so much fun we might make another trip up there this Fall when things start to cool off. We'll take more pictures on that trip.

Public Restroom Art - Maritime Edition

I don't have the greatest eye for art, but I know it when I see it. The photo below is of an engraving of a Chesapeake Bay Deadrise that was done at eye level above the urinal in a men's restroom. The artist did not sign his work, but I think he should be proud of it. I'm not going to mention the location because I wouldn't want to be responsible for vandals or art thieves tearing up the place.

Any place with maritime themed graffiti in the restroom can't be bad

The post cards give you an idea of the scale

Ok, so it's not the Louvre. I've seen much worse on restroom walls.

Destination - Yorktown, VA Town Docks

Another favorite weekend destination for us is the York River. It is a short sail (or motor) from home and provides a great getaway. There are many options for mooring on the York. I have to admit that as many times as we've been up there, we've really only gone to one of two places, the town docks on the South side of the river, or York River Yacht Haven on the North side of the river. Both are great.

I'll start with the town docks. They are located on the South side of the river near the base of the Coleman Bridge. The town put in a little retail center with colonial themed buildings near the docks where you can get your Starbucks, ice cream, or battlefield souvenirs. There are also a couple local restaurants nearby, and really the whole town of Yorktown, including the historic battlefield park, are within easy walking distance of the docks. There is a nice swimming beach for the kids too. Yorktown hosts frequent events near the docks all through the boating season, including dances, concerts, farmer's markets, and festivals.

Ti' Punch at the town docks

The crew enjoying shore leave at the beach

 Checking out the shops

A 688 Class Submarine making its way to Yorktown Naval Weapons Station

USCG Cutter Cochito stopped for a visit - this was in addition to the daily RIB training by the BM students

Cochito crew gave us a great tour including the bridge and engine room - nice people

 Yorktown Power Station - a prominent landmark on your way upriver

 Yorktown Victory Monument - site of the final battle of the Revolutionary War

There are a couple of down sides worth mentioning. The dockmaster can be a bit crusty. I like to think he's one of those rough characters with a heart of gold, but some people think he is just a jerk. The bath house is quite a walk away from the docks and is shared with the commercial development. They are functional, but not ideal. The water at the docks is quite deep with a significant current running in the river. Docking can be challenging if you aren't expecting the current boost. Finally, due to it's proximity to the Coast Guard's Boatswain Mate's school, the docks get used (all day long sometimes) by young Coasties practicing touch and go landings in their RIBs. Think noise and engine exhaust.

Size Matters

At 37 feet, Ti' Punch is on the small side of cruising catamarans. Even so, there are plenty of people out cruising on cats smaller than ours. Zero to Cruising is one of my favorite blogs, and they are out having a blast on a PDQ 32. Jamie and Seth on S/V Slapdash just finished their circumnavigation on a 34 foot Gemini and didn't seem to miss the extra space. The folks on S/V Ladybug, my original inspiration, circumnavigated on an Antigua 37 just like ours, and loved it.

There are advantages to being on the small side. Most marinas charge by the foot. A shorter waterline translates into a smaller bill. Haulouts are cheaper for smaller boats. Also, bigger boats require bigger, more expensive hardware. More boat means more boat to maintain. I know all of this. So, why do I spend so much time on Yachtworld lusting over bigger boats?

Outremer 5x - I want one!

 I guess it's only natural to dream big. Those big cats with their massive sail plans and cavernous cockpits leave me drooling all over my keyboard. These things are basically homes, complete with showers and tubs, that are in some cases capable of sailing faster than the actual wind speed. While it is fun to look, I need to keep my desire in check. Ti' Punch is plenty of boat for us. These big cats start out at 2.5 to 3 times the price we paid for our boat, and that's the low end. With just  a fraction of that money, we could turn our little cat into a pretty sweet cruising machine. Ti' Punch has been perfect for the type of coastal cruising we've been doing here in the Chesapeake Bay for the last 4 years. The S/V Ladybug folks proved that the Antigua is a capable bluewater boat as well, if our cruising ambitions grow in scope. 

I'm sure I will keep browsing Yachtworld and dreaming, but Ti' Punch is going to be the boat that keeps making our dreams come true for years to come.

Trip Report - Cape Charles to Home

Our month of slip rental was up this weekend, so it was time to bring Ti' Punch home. The plan was to drive up Friday night, spend Saturday on the boat, and then make the trip home by boat on Sunday. It's only a 45 minute drive from home, so not a big deal to go back up and pick up the car later.

Things started to go awry almost immediately. Wicked thunderstorms rolled through Friday afternoon and stayed well into the evening. I was prepared to go anyway, having already fought it out with the kids (no Dad, not another weekend away from the PS3!). The Admiral had missed all of this drama while at work, so when she got home she made the sensible proposal that we wait until Saturday morning to drive up. Cue the rejoicing from the children. I hate it when the children are happy. Not really, but I was at the end of my rope. I recognized that she was right, of course, so the trip was postponed until Saturday.

Saturday was not a pretty day either, but there were no more delays. The kid's pleadings fell on deaf ears as we loaded up the car and headed for the Eastern Shore.

Ti' Punch waiting for us

 

The crew reports for duty - somewhat sullenly

 

We had a nice lunch at the marina restaurant with a great view of the storms out over the Bay. I spent the afternoon working on a repair to the steering, which went better than expected. Dinner was good as usual at Kelly's Gingernut Pub. It rained on and off Saturday night, but at least it was nice and cool. Most of our month at Cape Charles had seen weather in the upper 90's and even a few days over 100 deg F. It was nice to have a comfortable temperature for sleeping on our last night there.

The kayaks didn't get much use, but the bikes were great for getting around town

 

 Sunday morning was overcast, but we had a favorable wind out of the Northeast. We got away from the dock around 0930 and immediately noticed that we were moving slower than expected. All the warm weather must have boosted barnacle growth, because we had lost about a knot and half of boat speed since the trip up. Once we got out to the open water, up went the sails. We had about 10-15 knots of wind at our back and a straight shot home on a course of 230. I'm guessing on the wind strength because our TackTick wind indicator decided to take this trip off. The sun eventually came out, and much fun was had by all. Well, at least I had fun. 

A cloudy farewell to Bay Creek

 

Is that sunshine?

 

 Our only deviation was to alter course to pass behind this behemoth

 

 Enthusiastic teenager - see my improvised AC system?

 

 Enthusiastic pre-teen - and yes, my finger is in the frame

That's my boy! Sleeping on the tramp in the shade of the jib

Admiral at the wheel

Passing Fort Wool at the HRBT

 

Just as this guy was passing us, my steering repair failed causing an accidental gybe and a few moments of intense excitement.  Order was restored before any harm was done.

We came up against an adverse current just about the time we reached Thimble Shoals light. The outgoing tide conspired with our dirty hulls to slow our progress to a mind numbing 3.5 knots. With the wind still blowing strong behind us, we fired up the engines and motor-sailed at 5.5 knots through the HRBT. 

 

We made it down the main branch of the Elizabeth River without incident, but suffered a slight delay at the Berkley Bridge due to some knucklehead motorists that ignored the red lights and got caught between the closing gate and the bridge. The bridge operator had to leave his tower to come down and colorfully urge them across the bridge so he could proceed with the opening. 

 

We were nearly home now. We dropped the sails as we passed Harbor Park, and the Admiral took the wheel as I rigged fenders and fender boards. As I was tying off a fender she asked, "What does it mean when all the lights on the bridge start to flash?". That got my attention. We were nearly in the channel at the Eastern Branch bridge near the old Ford plant when it started to close. This is a remotely operated bridge, no bridge tender on site, but they always announce the opening or closing on the radio and sound a horn. Not this time. The channel signal was still green, but the bridge was definitely starting to move. I told her to reverse and grabbed the radio. I called the bridge operator on ch. 13 and asked him to hold the bridge as we were nearly through. He said he couldn't, there was a train coming, but if we were close enough just to keep on going. No way buddy. We stopped and backed out of the channel and circled around for about 20 minutes until the train finally showed up. At least he was quick to open it for us after the train had passed. Still, we've been through this bridge dozens of times. I know they can stop the open or close if they want to. We've seen them do it. The whole incident cast a shadow over an otherwise pleasant trip. 

File photo - the offending bridge

 

 

Our timing was impeccable. We made it home at exactly low tide, pretty much the only state of the tide that we can't get from the channel to our dock. Facing the prospect of an hour or two with a boat full of irritable kids stuck on a boat within sight of their game systems, we decided to chance it. I guess it was that Northeast wind blowing all the water down the Bay and into the Elizabeth River, but whatever the reason we were just able to scrape up to the dock. 

 

The crew made a quick exit while the Admiral and I tidied up and secured the boat. All that was left was the drive back up to Cape Charles to retrieve the other car. That went without incident. So ends our month at Bay Creek.

 

Destination - Cape Charles, VA

Now that we have had our boat for a few years, we've started to develop a list of regular destinations. One of our favorites is Cape Charles, VA. It is just a short sail away across the lower Bay and over to the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

In the late 1800's, Cape Charles was the terminus for a railway that went all the way down the eastern seaboard down the length of the Delmarva peninsula. At Cape Charles, rail cars and passengers would be loaded onto ferries and taken across the Bay to Norfolk. The construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel eliminated the need for the ferries, but the town is still there. They have a nice museum that covers the history better than I can, and it is a great place to spend a couple hours.

Cape Charles also has a fantastic beach right on the Bay. The water is shallow for a hundred yards off the beach, so you can let the kids play without having to worry too much. The beach is so nice that we sometimes drive there instead of going to the oceanfront here in Virginia Beach.

 Beautiful sunsets over the Bay

 My kids burying somebody else's kid

Looking North toward Cherrystone Inlet

Most residents get around by golf cart, but the town is very walkable. Mason Street is the main commercial drag and features several small shops and galleries along with a hardware store, bait and tackle shop, kayak outfitter, hotel, and 3 or 4 restaurants. Kelly's Gingernut Pub on Mason is located in an old bank building and is a family favorite. We enjoyed good pizza from The Hook U Up Cafe on Mason during our last visit and had out of this world grilled portobello mushroom sandwiches at Cape Charles Coffee House. Brown Dog Ice Cream Co. just recently opened their doors and we greatly appreciated it in the 100 deg F heat on 4th of July. Rayfields Pharmacy has an old fashioned soda fountain and makes banana splits to die for. 

Kev taking a break during a hot day on Mason Street

 Colvin takes on a Rayfield's banana split

Victory! - yes we know about diabetes

We have always stayed at Bay Creek marina when we go to Cape Charles. It is a very nice place if you can get past the pastel colors and Disney design elements. It is definitely not old school Cape Charles, but it puts you within easy walking distance. One of the best features is the bath house. I can stand in the shower stall with both arms outstretched and not touch the walls. It is light years ahead of what you find at most marinas. They also have a washer and dryer you can use for free, which is nice. 

 Had it to ourselves during the week, but filled up on the weekend

Looking from the office towards A dock

 There are other options. The Town of Cape Charles has recently renovated the town docks, and they look really nice. The town docks have the advantage of being closer to the channel going out to the Bay and being closer to town. We will likely give them a try next time we go. 

 Nice new docks

 Seem to be popular

Nice new bath house too

For the hard core cruisers that only anchor out, you can do that too. There is an anchorage in King's Creek behind the Bay Creek marina that we've seen several boats use. We've also seen people anchor off the beach, but that sometimes ends badly.

I'm sure he meant to do that

If you are planning a trip to the southern Chesapeake Bay, Cape Charles should be on your list.