We waved goodbye to good friends, dropped our American Yacht Club mooring lines and departed Newburyport early on a sunny morning. After overnight anchoring stops at Block Island, the Delaware River mouth, and catching the early tide north, we traversed west through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. We turned south again making another stop near the mouth of the Sassafras River, Maryland, with plans to for a week-long rendezvous in Weems Creek, Annapolis.

Finding our spot crowded initially with larger power yachts, we observed a slow turnover to anchored sailing yachts. Like a floating version of Ford vs Chevy, we arrived between their respective boat shows as many visiting yachts of all types come together making this stop along an annual fall pilgrimage. Some come from nearby Chesapeake Bay ports, but most seem to be like us snowbirds while heading for points further south.

Meeting up with new and old friends at the show, often familiar faces sharing our passion of adventures afloat. As a bonus, family came to visit us aboard Fayaway!

After our rest at Weems, we continued south, taking advantage of the following northwest wind, setting us on a lovely sail for 95 nautical miles south to Mathew’s, Virginia. We stopped to anchor for one rolly evening, then were welcomed the following afternoon to their Queens Creek home/dock by our OCC friends, Bill and Chris.

We met this OCC couple aboard their Dickerson-design sv Plover, with dog Flaco, last summer at the Shelburne Yacht Club while cruising Nova Scotia. We continued to a share anchorages and good times together, soaking up their cruising experiences and stories. Fayaway eventually split off in Cape Breton, as Plover continued to St John’s Newfoundland, and so we haven’t seen them again until now.

SV Plover’s home now became a staging for multiple local gatherings: a heart-felt Bon Voyage party for cruising friends at Fishing Bay YC, more OCC dinner/meetups, as well as an MYC presentation by a local sailor who told his tale of sailing through a hurricane earlier this year. We made memories with dockmates Ian and Betsy, of sv Brenna, and so many other OCC members, such as with Will Whatley, captain of the Sir David Attenborough, a British Antarctic research vessel.

A few years ago, you might recall a story about a naming contest in the UK, for a new $50 million Antarctic research ship soon to be launched. The government offered a public contest for names to be submitted and voted upon. However, authorities rejected the winning name, Boaty McBoatface, instead christening the vessel as Sir David Attenborough, and thereby creating a public dustup! 

This year, we’re taking a slower path, migrating with other birds along the Intracoastal Waterway (aka The ICW). We’re choosing this course south of the Chesapeake Bay in lieu of immediately heading offshore to the Caribbean this year because we have an appointment to visit the Pacific Seacraft factory in Washington, North Carolina.

Additional special thanks go out to our amazing friends John and Kris, for their incessant hospitality (and delivery of many important packages, and for forwarding early voting ballots, and… we just can’t ever offer enough thanks), to David and Karen of sv Soulemate, for helping us participate in the send off of Nica and Jeremy of sv Calypso. Again, our most humble thanks to Bill and Chris B. for their recent hospitality, and setting the example for encouragement to continue cruising for decades to come! So many people we owe gratitude to for allowing us to pursue our dreams aboard. 

Next up: Queens Creek to Phoebus.