Chesapeake Bay

                                                  

There are mermaid sculptures all over Norfolk's waterfront area.

We had such a great time in Norfolk.  First, we had a fun weekend with family.  On Saturday George's cousins who live in Portsmouth visited.  Then on Sunday we went to Eva Gill's home for dinner with her family.  Eva is the sister of my friend Judy Schwarz.  Both evenings were delightful.

Barrie, Wesley, and Addie Harper came to see us on the boat.  Wesley proclaimed it a good boat.
I like to get the approval of a five year old.  They tell their truth.

Trish, Darby, Tommy and Eva entertained us on Sunday in Virginia Beach.
We had a delicious crab dinner and did a load of laundry. Super!

On Monday we were ready for the AGLCA spring rendezvous.  Lots of looper friends were in the marina with us.  We attended meetings with information about the northern sections of the loop, happy hours, and meals together.  We heard all about the upcoming challenges and beauty of the loop.  We also became closer friends with several people.  The rendezvous was attended by people currently looping, gold loopers who have completed their loop, and people who are planning to start the loop.

We also opened our boat to visitors on Tuesday afternoon, so people could see how we live on a 35 foot Mainship Trawler.  Several boats were on the tour that day, enabling folks who are in the planning stages for the loop to view different boat designs and think what will work for them.  It was like an open house.  

We decided to leave Norfolk today (a day early) and start our Chesapeake Bay section. We have planned a six day trip to Baltimore, where we will leave Aunt Aggie while we go home for five days.  That leaves no time for weather issues or any other problems.  By leaving today, we gave ourselves one free day.  

The trip started fine with Aunt Aggie moving through the harbor and dodging big ships.  George did a great job missing two container ships, a military refueling ship, and a cruise ship, "Brilliance of the Sea."  There were also many small boats around us.  

This is one of the container ships that passed us.

Things got rough around the second hour.  We were past the harbor section and into the bay, which was wide open to Africa at that point.  The east wind had lots of room to build waves, which hit us on our beam.  We were rocking!  I was miserable.  I cannot move around or relax or help when the boat is rocking and rolling.  George claimed not to be worried.  I sat down and knitted.  What would happen when we needed lunch?  What about going to the bathroom?  We still had four hours left, much too long for this ruckus.  

Here is the proof of how much we were moving from side to side:  This storage box upstairs is off its wooden block, knocked to the side by the waves.  I discovered this after we anchored.  

See how it is off center?

Once we moved further up the bay and passed Plumtree Point, we finally got some protection from the east.  The winds softened.  The waves calmed.  Martha stood up to watch for crab pots.  George said, "I thought it would smooth out once we got up here."  The water became almost glassy.  It stayed that way.  Yahoo!  We had a nice run into our anchorage at Bryan Bay.  We are in a beautiful and quiet place.

This is the glassy, smooth water we now have.  

We have not anchored in a long time, and we're excited to be out here tonight.  Also we are glad to be on the move, headed for beauty and crab cakes in the Chesapeake.