Thursday - June 3 - Headed to Cape Charles and for a change were under sail - no engines! Glorious day! Cought up with Stewardship (a sailboat owned by our friend Dave Steward, and in charter service for sunset and dinner cruises with first mate and on-board chef Hania). They were on an afternoon charter, so we tried racing them, but lost miserably. No one said a large, comfy catamaran would also be a star under sail!
In port at the town docks (a working dock for crabbers and fisherman) I stopped to ask a couple of fishermen what they had caught, and where I could get some fresh fish. They offered me my choice of whatever was in their cooler, so I took two and put them on ice until I could clean them. Dave and Hania came into port shortly afterwards and agreed to join us for a fish dinner, so it was time to eviscerate the fish - a first on Deeper Season. Discovered that the steps down in the back (I guess the fantail) works just great for the purpose, and in no time we had our catch ready to go in the oven. A great dinner, and great to catch up with the captain and first mate of Stewarship. The next day, Dave took me and Hania out for a sailing lesson, and I finally learned how to do a man overboard rescue. I also learned just how much I really do know about sailing, so my confidence factor rose measurably. As thanks for the lesson we took Dave and Hania to dinner at Kelly's Pub in Cape Charles, and it was fantastic.
On Saturday, we followed Stewarship for a sail across the Chesapeake to Jackson Creek. Found a beautiful anchorage and rafted up (another first for us). Hania cooked - stuffed grilled clams, fish tacos, rice and beans, and mojitos. Unbelievable! If you ever receive an invitation to dine on Hania's cooking, say yes!
This morning, after a great breakfast cooked by Hania and Bill, we parted company with Stewardship and went north. We were aiming for Solomons Island, but fell quite a bit short. Strong winds and a resulting broken fair lead block on our jib, plus threatening thunderstorms, encouraged us to duck into Mill Creek just south of Reedville, VA - an anchorage Dave recommended. We had a lazy afternoon and took a very refreshing swim (another first for our journey) before the storms came in. Once they were through, we had yet another glorious sunset. All in all, a great couple of days with friends!
No comments:
Post a Comment