It’s Thursday morning, the sun is out and we are in Hampton Virginia. Yesterday we sailed, did I say SAILED?, all the way from the Potomac to Hampton, after sailing nearly all of the way THERE from Annapolis. That’s over 100 miles under sail in two days. And, we did it in daylight hours. Not bad, not bad at all.
When we arrived at the little harbor off of the Potomac River, “The Gleeb” it was too dark to take any photos. I snapped this one early yesterday as we were leaving. I was struck that the trees are different here, mostly pine. It was a very rural and stark place, especially in the early morning haze. 
At one point we were sailing on a broad reach and passed a sailboat that was motoring along on the same course. Not sure why he was motoring, but he was. It’s indeed a nice thing to have a boat that passes most other boats under sail. It’s still novel for me and will probably always be. Frankly, it bugs the hell out of me if I see a boat and can’t catch them.
Tuesday was sailing with the wind but yesterday was on the wind the entire time. It was a bit of a push, I’ll admit, but I really wanted to get there in two days (most make it a three day trip) so that we would have a day in Hampton to see the sights prior to heading up to our friends Harris and Barbara’s home in Williamsburg for the weekend.
I suppose that pushing so hard with Brenda on board was one of those “career limiting moves” that our older son Rob talks about. By the time we got here yesterday, after 11 hours of sailing on our ear, Brenda was a bit peevish. Happily, an “adult beverage” as my friend Rodney says, softened her a bit. That combined with roasted potatoes and thick cut lamb chops with one of Brenda’s special sauces, did the trick.
While Tuesday was totally overcast, yesterday began to show signs of life with the sun peaking out more and more as the day progressed. Today dawned without a cloud to be seen. Brisk yes, but not as chilly as the past few days have been.
So, what about those “milestones of sorts” y0u say? Yesterday marked our being further south on Pandora than we have ever been. It was also marked by our first sighting of pelicans (actually, that was on Tuesday) and our first sea turtle sighting. The turtle was a big one, perhaps 3′ in diameter and he spotted us too as we raced by under sail, picking his head up to get a good look. Sadly, I wasn’t quick enough with the camera so you will have to take my word for it.
Interesting, the water temperature is a lot cooler here than in the upper bay as I spied it aS nowthe low 70s. It was also a lot cooler than we had in Long Island Sound when we left home a monthago.
As there wasn’t much to take pictures of when we were underway yesterday save the occasional 850′ freighter coming by. “No more pictures of freighters Bob, enough already”. Perhaps, but I will not be deterred as I haven’t posted any photos of menhaden fishing boats yet. So here’s one we saw yesterday near Reedville the home of a fish meal processing plant. I just love ships.
In particular, these ships are purse-seiners as they use the smaller boats on davits to run a large net around a school of menhaden, sometimes called bunker. After the school is encircled, they pull a rope that closes the bottom of the net, like a purse. When the net is fully tightened, and the fish are concentrated in a small space, they stick in a big hose and pump them out. Hmm… It sucks to be a fish. Pun intended. After being unceremoniously sucked into the ship, they are taken ashore to a factory, boiled down to a slurry and separated into fish meal and omega oil. Yes, it smells plenty good too. Try visiting Reedville sometime. Think of those little fishies when you next reach for the omega oil pills in Walmart. Still want to learn more? I did and found this link that tells the history of the company, Omega Protein, that owns the ships.
I also enjoy watching the water go by the hull when we are under sail, particularly when we are on the wind and pushing hard. Did I mention that Brenda’s not happy when we are doing that? Thought so. Anyway, here’s a few shots of Pandora romping to windward. Later in the day we were really healing over (way more than in this picture) as I was pushing to be sure we arrived before dark. Just in time actually, as the sun set (18:30) just as we entered the harbor. The last two days provided another milestone as I have never sailed for two days straight, in this case over 100 miles, without using the engine except to enter and leave the harbors. It was great! Oh yeah. Now we have been away for a month and have gone over 600 miles on our trip. 
I am endlessly fascinated by the look of the water coming out from under the transom. It’s sort of the nautical equivalent of a dog with his head out of the car window on the highway. I guess you had to be there. Trust me, it was fun to watch. Simple pleasures for simple people.
Hampton should be fun as this is home to the Virginia air and space museum as well as a Jacques Cousteau society museum and I hope to take them both in. Here’s the view that greeted me this morning when I came up on deck. What a pretty place. This is the air and space museum just up the harbor.
Here’s a lovely clock tower that chimes on the hour just off of our beam.
There is a park just off of our beam. Very scenic.
There is a terrific person, Kate, here in Hampton who runs a cruising station for the SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) and she has been just terrific in helping us get a feel for the place. Recall that I established a new cruising station for SSCA in Essex CT. Our plans include putting on a gam for SSCA next June in Essex next summer. That should coincide with the northern migration of the SSCA snowbirds as they head for Maine.
So, lots of milestones. Furthest south, pelicans and a turtle. That and sailing further than EVER in two days. We are on our way, totally.
And, lots to do here in Hampton. Time to get going. Yikes, it’s already 09:30. The day’s a wasting…