At last, we are on the Chesapeake! So far, it’s been everything we’d hoped. The bay itself has so much open water — we’ve been able to get sails up each day. There are countless small rivers running into the bay, so it is easy to find a quiet anchorage. Which one we choose depends on several factors:
- Wind direction: we usually want land between us and the direction the wind is coming so that we don’t have a lot of wave action rocking the boat at night
- Location: we want to be well positioned for our plans for the next day. Our plans depend on wind speed and direction (can we sail?), what we may want to explore on shore, and whether we need to aim for a marina for supplies (fresh water and food) or an anchorage
- Access to shore for walks and exploring
We’ve already been at anchor much more often than in marinas. We’ve spent the last six nights without using a marina and could easily do several more before needing to resupply. As we’ve mentioned, we much prefer anchorages — think quiet private space versus busy campground feel. Tilia is much better equipped for anchorages than Guidance was: more water capacity, more holding tank capacity, more diesel for the engines and generator, more room to store provisions, and more comfortable at anchor in a catamaran compared to a monohull. We love it! Soon, we will fire up our water maker, and that will substantially extend the number of days we can go without resupplying.
We continue to make improvements and fix trouble spots on the boat. Our current trouble is related to the top of the genoa furler (the part of the sail that rolls it up) not running well. We will need to take down the whole sail and then take apart and wash the furler mechanism. Hopefully that will solve the issue and we will be able to use it. If not, we will have to have it looked at by a professional when we can. In the meantime, we can still sail with another headsail, our screecher, or “code zero.” We are just somewhat limited in range of wind speed and direction when our genoa isn’t an option.
Our most recent shore excursion was to Yorktown, the site of the siege by French and American troops that led to General Cornwallis’ surrender and the end of the Revolutionary War. We explored the historic buildings and found a great local museum that described the history of the area, including the meteor strike that formed the Chesapeake Bay 35 million years ago, the Native Americans who lived here, the first explorers and the “watermen” (people who make their lives on water through fishing, oystering and ferrying).
