August 1-16, 2026 Godfrey Bay, Virginia to Havre de Grace
Saturday August 1st
Up late 0920, English muffin with PB&J for breakfast, anchor up at 1040. Wind had switched to the S and was blowing 8-10 kts.
Saw Soulemate in a regatta ahead of us, but they did not answer our hail. We had our main up just before the chicane and waited til we were safely past the shallows to pull out the code-0. The wind then picked up to 13-15kts and we had to gybe anyway, so we furled the code-0 and put out the jib. Downwind run going 6+ kts. Wind had gusts to 18kts. Some aft quarters and following seas. Turned into Fleet Bay and took down the sails before going into Indian Creek. Arrived at Chesapeake Boat Basin at 1400. There are nice new docks! Stopped at the fuel dock first. We used 16.26 gallons. With that and the generator hours for AC it looked to be 0.62 gallons per hour. Not bad for all the heavy motoring overnight. Docked on a face dock with lots of room. There is a 31' Sun Odyessy aft and room for another in front. Lots more sailboats than I remember. They still have the delicious Nightingale ice cream sandwiches in the office, and still have a courtesy car. We had a quick lunch (it was nearly 1500) and then off to Food Lion for more milk, OJ, deli roast beef and veggies. Stopped at the Ace Hardware on the way back to pick up some Goo Gone for the front hatch. The Velcro adhesive has melted everywhere. Also got some screws for Boji's transom and a couple of plastic plant dishes for the plants. Back to baji-naji to put those under the plants and trim baby Mitch a little. Unfortunately the dish didn't fit under the jade plant but did fine for baby Mitch. Went to dinner with Mindy and Gil Cahill (went to NTW with Mindy) and their granddaughter, Dana, who is just about Tristan's age. Had dinner at The Office, in Irvington, which was quite tasty. Had a good chat with a scenic detour (we turned down the wrong street) and chatted a little more when back at the marina. It was really nice to spend time with them.
There is upcoming weather, with winds and rain. Hopefully tomorrow we will be in Mill Creek, but we will look at the forecast and decide.
Sunday August 2nd
Up at 0730 and checked the radar and the NOAA marine forecast and decided we could set out for Mill Creek. Laz filled the aft water tank and then we went to get some Nightingale ice cream sandwiches in the office. Off the dock at 0905. The wind was from S SSE and strong, 9-13 kts in Fleets Bay then building to 15kts steady. Going 110°-120° with aft quarter rollers. Fast ride to Ingram Bay! Anchored in Mill Creek at 1155, just before I finished my morning coffee. We put out 125’ of anchor line (75’ of chain) as weather reports suggested thunderstorms with gusts to 25 or 30 kts. Had some snacks: those salt and pepper Virginia peanuts are so good! Plus had VA cheddar crackers and some Maryland butter toffee almonds. Went for a swim (no nettles!) then a Boji ride and met a lovely couple on a Bristol 4, Mirabelle ll, out of Deltaville. Chris Arias and his wife (did not get her name). They told me about a product in Europe, Stugeron, for motion sickness that is non drowsy, but you can't get it in the US. They always buy it when overseas eat the airport. We swapped sailing stories then headed off so they could get their swim before the storm came in.
Went around the corner to a very pretty area with beach. There is definitely more wind and wave without the spit of land shielding us. Headed back to baji-naji for a late lunch of leftover Thai chicken satay with peanut sauce and some romaine in a wrap. I went for another swim then sat and read as we watched the storm come over and by us. We got rain but no thunder and lightning or big wind near us. I finished Ann Leckie's Radiant Star, a great entry into the Imperial Radch universe.
Dinner was leftovers…Laz had the shephard’s pie and I had the ahi tuna. We finished the last of the Mason St. Bakery sourdough which was heated in the oven along with the shephards pie. It's still hot, 80° and humid. We will likely put the AC on to cool down the cabin, especially after I made dinner in the oven, but it will be a hot night sleeping. I don't think it will go below 78° tonight.
Monday August 3rd
Well it was 81° in the cabin at 0100 so I turned on the generator and the air conditioner in our cabin. The promised wind overnight didn't happen and it was quite still with the hatches open. Woke up at 0800 and heated up one of Oso’s cinnaknots to go with my usual yogurt, berries, chia and Stacie's granola. Ground the Ethiopian Kochere beans mixed with Brazil Natural Legender Especial decaf beans for coffee. As Laz was pulling up the anchor line a little crab was on it and kept swimming back to the line. It was adorable. Swam back three times then gave up and swam elsewhere. Since there was not much wind overnight, the chain was thoroughly muddy. We raised the main, reef 1 as big wind predicted, and motor sailed out of Mill Creek.
Coming out of the narrow part of Mill Creek we saw 4 dolphin, 2 of which came swimming alongside our hull! So beautiful. I slowed the engine so we could watch them for a while. They were near a field of crab pots so I'm sure they were looking for the soft shelled crabs they love.
As we exited Ingram Bay, we put out the jib. Winds were from the SW, 13-16 kts with 2-3 ft seas. We tacked out at 120° then gybed to head to the Potomac. Seas built to 3-4 feet and winds were 16-18 kts. The usual oscillation although it switched to the S completely as we headed past Smith Point in towards the Potomac.
There were some really cool clouds overhead but we did not get any rain on us. Wind softened to less than 5kts once we were in the Potomac and past the Point Lookout state park so we furled the jib and put on the engine. Docked at 1512.
We went looking for Paris Athena, the Vagabond 47 that we saw a couple of years ago in the water bere. We found her up the hill in her own work shed. Paris and Braddock showed up as we were admiring all the work that they have done. We got a lovely tour, so amazing what they are doing. They also follow Sailing Uma and have learned things about sailboat renovation. Link to their YouTube:
We went to dinner with Paris and Braddock at Courtney's Seafood, which was so much fun. The food was amazing; I wish I had taken a picture of the garlic and butter oysters, wow, and the fried zucchini and hush puppies. We swapped stories and had such a nice time. The promised thunderstorm with wind came through as we had dinner, so we stayed for dessert.
The rain had stopped when we stepped outside. There was a beautiful sunset waiting for us.
It was so stunning I took another picture of it when we got back to the dock. The storm also cooled everything down so it was 72° instead of the 103° our thermometer was reading earlier. Tomorrow we are headed to the Honga.
