DelMarVa Fleet Heading Home on Leg 3
by Andy Schell
I'm writing from the nav station on Sojourner now, almost in Chesapeake City in the middle of the C&D Canal. It's the final leg of a 450-mile journey for us and the rest of the fleet. I only wish I could have provided better weather!
Indeed that's usually the talk among sailors the world over, but this week it's definitely been worthy conversation. Leg 1 started with an upwind slog down the Bay, which saw the fleet battling 20-knots of headwinds (and then some). The 36 hours it took to get to Portsmouth was the longest it's ever taken me to do the 130-mile run without stopping. There was a bit of respite on the offshore leg, but the gentle southerly that I'd promised manifested itself instead as a brisk easterly, bringing cloudy skies and fog. At least we had a bit of reaching sailing up the coast in the mighty Atlantic (though you couldn't see much!).
And now, Leg 3, homeward bound up the Delaware and back down the Cheasapeake, and it's weather again that's the talk of the day. Last evening's pot-luck dinner on the pool deck at Canyon Club Marina was a festive affair, but we could have done without the fog and mist that rolled in just after the skipper's briefing finished and the food came out. And wouldn't you know it, but the fog was still there this morning as we departed Cape May just after 6am. Thankfully it was calm, making it relatively easy to navigate the shoals off the beaches, but the lack of visibility was an added stress.
As I write, most of the fleet is holed up in Chesapeake City after the long day of motor-boating up the Delaware in calm conditions. The fog finally lifted for us about halfway up the Bay, and the sun came out for a bit, but it was merely a tease. Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay experienced strong thunderstorms, while we on the Delware side escaped (so far), with only a few passing showers. But the threat of more storms on the way has the fleet waiting out the weather. Tomorrow (with any luck!) is set to dawn crisp and clear after the frontal passage, with winds forecast to blow steady from the NW, hopefully making for a nice way to finish the sail back to Annapolis.
In the end, it's our hope that the weather will be remembered with fondness in hindsight. It certainly added to the challenge, and will make for a much bigger sense of accomplishment when it's all said and done.
Tomorrow night's prize giving at the Eastport Democratic Club will wrap up the event. We hope to see some of our fellow rallies who opted to leave the rally in the first and second legs and who have since made their way back to Annapolis. And it'll be a last chance to share stories as a group and remember the last week with fondness. The party starts at 6pm.