Monday, September 8: Weems
| Start: Jackson Creek, Deltaville, VA (anchor) | Miles: 17.3 nm |
| End: Carter Creek, Weems, VA (anchor) | Time: 4hr4min |
| Weather: Gusty around the point, then serene on the Rappahannock. | Waves: 1-2 ft |
The weather was changing, and we didn’t want to be stuck in Deltaville for the next 3-4 days, so we got out before the worst of it came. We just needed to get a few miles north into the protection of the Rappahannock river, but that meant going out to the Chesapeake in 3’ waves and gusts up to 25 knots for an hour. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was a short time and manageable conditions. No sea sickness yet. We had a tiny bit of sail out, and kept the engine on. Once in the Rappahannock, it was calm and the gusts died down to 18 knots. We lost 4 bowls and 3 plates when a cabinet unexpectedly opened during the last gust.
We anchored in Weems, VA, between multimillion dollar houses. Sometimes it feels like we’re parking an RV in random people’s backyards, but only in the finest backyards with gorgeous waterfront property. Rainier requested taking the dinghy out for some kneeboarding, and talked his brother into it. The boys had a blast!
Wednesday, September 10: Urbanna
| Start: Carter Creek, Weems, VA (anchor) | Miles: 8 nm |
| End: URBY, Urbanna, VA (dock) | Time: 1hr59min |
| Weather: Blustery | Waves: Small chop |
We spent a couple days in cute Urbanna. Urbanna is one of many ports established by the British to control trade into and out of the colonies. That means it has great waterfront access, and is walkable from shore. We enjoyed seeing the colonial houses, the Small Town Burger food truck, and the library. The boys spent a few hours reading in the library on the first day, and we came back to research prominent Revolutionary War figures to present to each other.
Thursday, September 11: We Like Our Anchor
| Start: URBY, Urbanna, VA (dock) | Miles: 7.7nm |
| End: Carter Creek, Weems, VA (anchor) | Time: 2hr26min |
| Weather: Warm and sunny | Waves: Glassy |
They boys were excited to get back to being on the anchor, where they can pee off the deck, and back to kneeboarding. So we checked out of Urbanna and headed back to Weems. There were really light winds, but we were in no rush, so we sailed peacefully at 3 knots with the engine off for most of the trip.
Towards the end, a yellow jacket tried to make our canvas her home. Leanne suggested using some leftover “organic” insecticide, so I sprayed it with that. The yellow jacket was mildly irritated at being soaked in this, and started aggressively circling us. I flicked it with my hat to shoo it behind our boat, only to remember that 5-6 knots is nowhere near enough to outrun the wasp. He was tailing us like a bogey, and I brought out the big guns (wasp spray). It felt like an absurdly comical cinematic chase scene after I finally shot him mid-air.
Friday, September 12: Tides Inn Resort
At a recommendation from my coworker, Scott, we decided to book a couple nights at the swanky Tides Inn. The boys were excited by the lawn games (croquet, bocce, and toy axe throwing), so we had lots of fun with that. Corban hit the dart board every other throw. Rainier, every fourth. We had to dig into the bushes a lot to find the errant throws.
We used their kayaks for a fun little excursion up Carter Creek, with Rainier obsessing over how many horsepower can fit on a center console boat. The next day, we used their bikes to visit the farmers market and donut shop in the next town over. After the bike ride, we borrowed clubs to play their under-renovation par-3 golf course. Rainier had a ton of fun, and took a few lengthy detours into the sand.
