Tuesday, November 1, 2011

We had such a good sail down from Yorktown to Hampton.  We had never been to the Norfolk area.  It was so strange to have a USN Frigate follow us into the river.  We followed the markers and got to Hampton without incidence.  The anchorage was crowded.  Everyone had a bow and stern anchor.  Tide and wind were definitely against us.  We got the bow anchor down without incident.  The stern anchor was another story.  We couldn't get the anchor to bite.  So a motor boat decided they had to speed by us during the anchoring phase.  Cut the stern anchor line and the line get wrapped around the prop and rudder.  Matt to the rescue!  He had his wetsuit, fins and snorkel on in minutes.  Unwrapped the prop, started to pull the bow anchor up and snagged another boats anchor and chain.  Left the area in search of a slip.  Found a slip in Bluewater Yacht Center.  Pulled in one alley, it was the wrong one.  Called the dockmaster for better directions.  Got to the right lane, about to pull into the slip and the dockmaster said, no you need to back in.  Backing a 42 ft sailboat is not an easy or pretty sight.  Wind and tide again had a role in this maneuver.  After a few tries we were put into the slip next to the bulkhead. 

Things we learned, don't force a situation.  Either weather, anchoring or moving.  Keep your cool and have fun.  During these events we didn't yell or panic.  We just did the best we could.  One sailor watching the anchoring said , your line is around your prop, Matt said, 'worse things have happened'.  We are having fun, even when things go wrong.  We were both so sore that it was hard to sleep.  But warm showers and a warm meal worked wonders. 

We are going to walk to the store and have a fun land explore day.  We are checking the weather.  Time to get our game faces on for the ICW.  Still living the dream!

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