Day 5-6 Ct-Miami
My first overnight passage! We went further offshore this time as well (about 5 miles) because there are several zones along the coast that require special attention. (fish traps, debris, etc) So, we left Ocean city MD just before midnight and the wind had thankfully died down to about 4kts so getting lines off pilings and zipping out of the slip was easy. The inlet at Ocean city is pretty easy to navigate and didn’t have any iffy shallow spots that were a problem, but it was still incredibly dark without any moon and all the glare of the boardwalk lights made it a little stressful. But once we got out past the buoys and everything my eyes adjusted and it was magnificent. Also, the STARS are as amazing as I hoped. And when the sliver of red moon finally rose a little before 4 am it was also stunning. AND, when it was just barely approaching dawn and was still pitch dark above and to the west, there was an amazing subtle pink glow that crept through at the eastern horizon and really lifted me after several FREEZING hours in the dark. Being able to see the stars and the moon and the glow of the impending dawn is pretty crazy.
HOWEVER. I deeply, DEEPLY regret not getting the warmer foulies at the boat show. I feel like such an idiot replying to the saleswoman that I didn’t want anything too hot. I cannot explain it but even if the temperature is something totally reasonable like 44-60ish range, off the coast the moment the sun is not fully blasting you, and there is any hint of wind. !@#$%^&*() !@#$%^ (insert all of the expletives you like) I cannot stress this enough. SO, I guess now I know. (And so do you!)
Some awesome things about going a few miles off shore at night are:
I got to learn to use the radar, gain confidence in my light pattern recognition and understanding of other vessel’s trajectory/movement, experience extreme peacefulness (sort of, I am desperate to do this without the engine running now!), learn that I prefer some kind of shift system for periodic rest/refreshes instead of staying up the whole time (even if it is manageable, I would be more "with it" if I got several brief pauses for rest), the STARS (I saw a couple of shooting stars and they are SO much more sudden bright flashes than when stargazing in my previous experience), and, idk, I love pretty much every single thing about it except getting in and out of populated areas and the !@#$%^&&()! cold, but that was also a learning experience which is a positive because I won’t make that mistake again.
During the day we passed through a right whale management area (I think that must be sort of like a preserve because large vessels are supposed to slow down) and I saw 2 whales! I also saw a couple dark colored dolphins which were different than the light ones I saw previously. (There were also Dolphins in the Norfolk channel/bay/open area after the bridge-tunnel!) I was able to catch a couple of glimpses of the whales on video but never could with the dolphins.
Norfolk inlet/channel/harbor is MASSIVE. It reminds me a lot of the Annapolis-Baltimore corridor, but on steroids. I think my experience with the giant carriers and barges has really influenced how I plan all my movement because I kept wanting to adjust our bearing or speed to deal with potential intercepts which was annoying the skipper. “But the CPA is 0.23, no now its 0.18, now it’s 0.11 and less than 2 minutes!!!! Shouldn’t we radio them to tell our intentions?!?” (maybe it’s worse having the AIS on because not only can I see that we are on an intercept trajectory but the computer confirms it and tells you exactly what the countdown is lol) I’m sure I was a very irritating nerd about it but I kept expecting to get 5 blasts and a huge wake. It took us 4 hours full throttle motoring to get from the bridge to the marina we stayed at. The marina is pretty awesome (Tidewater), there is even a mooring ball area where you can stay and then just pay $12/day to use their dinghy dock and all the facilities. And the restaurant (Fish & Slips lol) has great specials. ;-) Also, when we were coming in to the slip I was getting ready to hop off to tie up and the NICEST power boating grandpa in the WORLD came over to grab the line and help. And then he brought us beers and said he wanted to make up for all the times we got tossed around by thoughtless jerk speeders. Actually it seems like boaters just love chatting and even this morning when I was rushing to get to the airport some just kept trying to talk! They are full of neat info about where they just came from and weather info and all kinds of neat jobs they have done.
