Monday, September 15: Lumpy Seas
| Start: Sandy Point, VA (anchor) | Miles: 47.3 nm |
| End: Breton Bay, MD (anchor) | Time: 9hr29min |
| Weather: Breezy wind, mild temps | Waves: Lumpy, 2’-3’ |
Yesterday we started noticing the weather forecast for today was changing. Two days ago it said light winds and no waves all day. Yesterday they added a Small Craft Advisory starting at 4 pm. Checking it again this morning, that Small Craft Advisory begins at 7 am. These storms must be challenging to forecast. A few days ago, there was one day of rain and wind we wanted to avoid. Now it looks like some rough conditions Monday through Wednesday.
We’re headed up the Potomac to Washington DC, and our reservation starts next Saturday. We’re not behind schedule, but we’d like to put some miles behind us before we need to wait out the storm coming Tuesday/Wednesday.
We decided to press on and move 45 miles to Breton Bay / Leonardtown, MD. We figured it would be 10 miles of motoring into the wind and 1-foot seas, then we could get the sails out for a beam reach and following wind/waves for the next 25 miles. It ended up being 10 miles of bashing into 2- or 3-foot waves. Then the next 12 miles on a close/beam reach also wasn’t very fun. We were reminded that when we’re bashing into waves, not only is it uncomfortable, but it also slows us to half our speed, meaning we experience the “washing machine” conditions for twice as long. Rainier felt it the worst, and lost his lunch off the stern. Mercifully, the waves died down after we cleared Point Lookout and properly entered the Potomac River. Once we felt comfortable, we turned off the engine, put out some of our mainsail, and had a relaxing 2-hour sail to Breton Bay.
A buddy boat we passed yesterday (Quetzal) had anchored close to us last night, and we saw them heading out. We wished each other good luck on the rough seas, and it was comforting to know someone else was out here with us.
Tuesday, September 16: Holed Up in Breton Bay
We’re hiding in Breton Bay, MD while this storm passes. We’re expecting 1-2 inches of rain and gusty conditions, but the north end of Breton Bay has been wonderful protection. We made a short trip to the beautifully quaint Leonardtown, and hope to go there tomorrow for lunch if we can find a break in the rain.
For now, it’s just time for us to catch up on homeschool and boat chores. Norfolk is supposed to get 30 kts sustained wind, so we’re (again) happy to be on the move.
Wednesday, September 17: L-Town
The storm was supposed to bring 1.25” of rain and 25 kt winds. Instead, we saw 0.25” and 10 kt winds. We stayed in Breton Bay, but decided to go ashore with the surprising weather. Leonardtown, MD, was a port town established by the British in the early 1700’s for tobacco exports, and it has an incredible downtown area. We enjoyed the boardwalk with informational posters, by-the-slice pizza parlor, the old jail museum highlighting the town history, a creamery and an escape room. We also met a couple who were maintaining automated water analysis stations (Bay Observation Boxes), and got to hear the story of these Arduino-powered observation stations.
Saturday, September 20 – The Pride of Mount Vernon
Last night we motored 48 miles up the Potomac to anchor in front of George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon. We spent the better part of the day avoiding logs and debris in the water on the way up. We asked a cruising couple who had been there a few times about how to anchor close to the wharf, since the charts seemed to show shallow water. We had read from a couple sources that it’s possible to get close with a minimum of 7’ of water. We followed their instructions and ended up in 5’ of water (our draft is 5’7”), so we decided to turn around and anchor out in the river.
We spend the better part of the day exploring George Washington’s estate, having signed up for the Hamilton-themed tour. Our boys raised their hands every time the tour guide asked a question, so our focus on early American history seems to be paying off. The museum closed down early because Trump was supposedly hosting an event there that night. We took our dinghy right past the fireworks barge brought in for the party, got back to our boat, and chased our friends in Kosmos to Washington DC.
