Happy Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby, and cruising day. It feels so great to be back cruising after about a month on the boat. As I write this post, we are traveling north along the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake from Cape Charles. In about 5 hours we’ll pull into the town of Onancock, Va.
We spent a few weeks on the boat at Atlantic Yacht Basin taking care of our maintenance chores, visiting with other cruisers and waiting for the American Great Loop Cruising Association (AGLCA) Rendezvous to begin. AYB is a perfect location for cruisers going north from the Dismal Swamp or the AICW. either way, you’ll pass AYB just before getting to the Great Bridge Bridge and the Lock just beyond. So, with so many boaters passing through, it was perfect timing for AYB and The Waterway Guide owner, Ed Tillett to join with the city of Chesapeake for a Saturday afternoon party. Ed opened his beautiful wooden boat, Adonia, for tours.
The following morning there was a mass exodus as loopers began the 12 mile jaunt to Waterside Marina for the Rendezvous.
Waterside is a relatively small marina for a city the size of Norfolk. It’s a short walk to the revitalized Waterside District with its variety of restaurants. Just a bit further, a walk up Granby St. will take you past several neat pubs and more upscale restaurants. It’s a great area for walking. The US Wisconsin is moored a short distance away.
The rendezvous was fantastic. Kim Russo and crew organized the event for about 350 participants. It seemed like half were in the planning stage and the other half were like us- enroute. We got great info about the legs ahead of us and met some wonderful people.
I was apprehensive about leaving Maggie alone on the boat all day for 4 days and hoped to find a doggie day care for her. Instead, I was told about Rover.com. An app that matches pups with an individual who can help with walks, day care, etc. Through Rover, I found Jessica who lives in downtown Norfolk. Jessica works from her home and has a small dog herself. For $25/day, Maggie got to play with another dog, take a walk, snuggle on a couch, and be well cared for. What a deal!
While many loopers chose to head north to Deltaville for more partying, we opted to go to the eastern shore and Cape Charles for a more peaceful atmosphere. We were stuffed and pooped after all the eating and drinking of the previous few nights.
The weather reports made us a bit apprehensive about heading across the bay; we’d heard warnings about how the Chesapeake can blow up on you and conditions weren’t ideal. Wind forecasts ranged from 15- 19mph with seas in the 2′ range. Chesapeake can blow up on you. Since the waves would be hitting us on the stern and not on the beam, we felt the motion of the boat would not be too bad. I’m curious to hear how the ride was for those who chose to go north. For them, the waves would have been almost dead abeam. That may have made for a pretty rolly ride especially if they don’t have stabilizers. As it was, Tim and I estimated the waves ranged from 2-4′. We watched a couple work boats plowing north with spray flying off their bow and port sides and were happy to keep the waves on our stern.
Cape Charles was just what we needed- quiet with nice walks through town, old residential area, and a beautiful beach. We had great help docking in 20 mph winds pushing us away from the dock. The marina has new floating docks, nice restrooms, but was practically empty. One complaint I have read is that it is bouncy in N to NW winds. Despite having N NW winds that day and night, it really wasn’t that bad. I liked the gentle rolling. Lunch at The Shanty was OK except for the oysters. They were yum. Instead of horseradish, they were served with a sweet vinegary dip. Hmmm, different, but good.
After a night in Cape Charles, it is on to Onancock.