South from the Solomons

The weather forecast on Sunday Sept. 20th promised a week of light winds with calm seas--perfect conditions for a leisurely cruise south to Norfolk. On our first trip this way we had boogeyed on down with only a short stop at Reedsville and Mobjack Bay in our haste to stay ahead of the hordes of northern boats heading south. This time we planned to hop-scotch along the Virginian coast exploring creeks and villages along the way.

Our first anchorage was at Reedsville, some 40 plus miles away from the Solomons. Many cruisers pass this village by--put off by the rusted hulls of old ships, dilapidated buildings just off the entrance channel and the possibility of odour emanating from its fish processing plant. But once past all these horrors, the channel bends and ends in a surprisingly beautiful anchorage of deep calm water. Trees and foliage line the banks on all sides and there is complete protection from winds of any direction. Two lovely old homes are visible on shore and a great little restaurant with docking facilities offers good food at reasonable prices. Some cruisers tie up here for the night--paying marina prices for the privilege. But there are no marina facilities. Since the restaurant is only open for dinner, we prefer to tie up at its dock early in the day, explore the town by foot return later for a meal--thus justifying the tie up--and anchoring out for free a few hundred feet away for the evening. This is a great place to go for refuge in a blow because the anchorage is a virtual hurricane hole and the town, with its docking facility, pretty homes, good restaurant and interesting museum offers the chance to get off the boat in pleasant surroundings.

The next day we crossed the Great Wicomico River to Fleets Bay, a mere 3 hours away. Indian Creek, Dymer Creek and Antipoison Creek all offered possible anchorages and we chose the middle one--Dymer. We dropped our hook in 10’ of water in an idyllic nook behind a multi-million dollar estate, but there was no protection from an east wind. A truly beautiful spot, but a little worrisome. We won’t go back again. We awoke to fog and drizzle and, as soon as it was possible to see what we were doing, moved on to Deltaville, the next destination.

The entrance passage here at Jackson Creek was very narrow and, despite claims of a 10’ dredged channel, we saw depths of 6’8” in one spot. Once in however, we were happy we came. We felt safe and secure in 10’ of water in the comfortable horseshoe shaped anchorage which is surrounded by attractive homes and an excellent marina/boatyard facility. This is a wonderful stopover for cruisers on a budget because the Deltaville Marina offers a great deal for transients wishing to anchor out. For just $10 per day per person, cruisers can make use of all marina facilities including: laundry, showers, restrooms, lounge with TV and coffee, attractive swimming pool, bicycles and complimentary car. The shops and restaurants are few and far between and quite a hike from the marina, but the residents here are extremely friendly and each time we chose to walk to town, cars stopped and offered us a lift. One driver even invited us back to his home later in the day for a cold beer. We met up with our old boat buddies Ed and Eva from “Makai”, who were having work done on their boat here and spent a very informative evening with them catching up on news of their travels and perusing charts of the Bahamas together.

The next morning the weather turned nasty and we found ourselves confined to our boat for a few days as it seemed to rain every time we ventured out in the dinghy. On Sunday Sept 27th however, the winds and waves calmed down enough for us to make our escape and boot in on down to the James River and Hampton. After an 8 hour sail from Deltaville, we finally pulled into a snug anchorage in front of Hampton University and enjoyed a restful night. The next day we decided to take a slip at the Hampton Public Docks which offered a very good rate--$1.25/ft and was located in the centre of everything. Our first day here we explored the Hampton Historical Museum where we spent an interesting morning followed by a great lunch at the “Grey Goose” next door. We passed the afternoon poking about the little shops, reading and snoozing. After a great buffet breakfast the next morning just steps away from the boat at the Crown Plaza Hotel, we spent the bulk of the day a mere block away enjoying fascinating exhibits at the Virginia Air and Space Centre followed by an IMAX film. Hampton is a really great place to spend a few days. In the summer bands play every Saturday night and in June the town celebrates its annual “Bluebeard Festival” with a pirate theme. We will definitely come back on our return journey.

We are now anchored at Hospital Point, 2.5 hours further on from Hampton, and another safe, comfortable anchorage in interesting surroundings. There is lots to do here too--but we’d need to take the dinghy off the boat, attach the motor and make our way to shore in order to experience it all. And for the rest of the day we’re really just content to relax on board with our books, knitting, and Sirius radio after all the bru-ha-ha of the past few days. Tomorrow we enter “mile 0” of the actual Inter Coastal Waterway or ICW, and begin the next leg of our journey south to the Bahamas.