On October 2nd we left East Warrick, RI for Gloucester Point, VA (around 393 nautical miles). It had been getting pretty cold in RI with way too much use of the heater. Our friends Buddy and Renee were having some work done on their boat Star Watch and were happy to come along for the ride giving us the luxury of a three hour watch schedule. We waited until the 2nd to get a consistent northerly wind component. Weather router Chris Parker advised us on a 4 PM departure to wait out an incoming front, but the radar looked good so we left around 10 AM on the outgoing tide. We made good speed leaving the Narragansett with a brisk wind on the beam from the passing front. As the days advanced the wind shifted from the beam to aft, however waves did not catch up so it was slightly rolly. We had several land birds visit that we fed and gave water. One left the cockpit, captured a moth, and returned to eat it which Jim quickly named Mothra. We are happy to report no birds died aboard. We enjoyed clear nights seeing falling stars with a full orange moon. We timed our night approach to the Chesapeake entrance for the incoming tide and stayed in the channel to avoid crab traps. The marina entrance is skinny and shallow with no room for error so we worked as a team operating the chart plotter and identifying and shining the spotlight on navigational marks so Jim could steer keeping full night vision. The teamwork paid off and we docked the boat around 2:30 AM. This is the first time we dared leaving port on a Friday which is a serious violation of sailing superstition but we are happy to report the passage was completed safely with no breakdowns so keeping inline with another sailing tradition we immediately toasted our trip with shots of rum before turning in for the night.
