I woke up the next morning just before sunrise so I could catch the current that would be running up the bay for most of the morning. The winds were forecasted to be pretty light all day so it would be another motorfest but I was cool with that. My goal for the day was to get to Little Bay (an anchorage we had used coming south) and enjoy a relaxing evening there.
Once I has finished my coffee and prepped the boat, I raised the anchor and motored out of Hospital Point towards the Chesapeake Bay. I officially went by the channel marker that is Mile 0 for the ICW so I could close that chapter of the trip. The rest of the journey home would be in large bays, sounds, and offshore. As I motored out, the catareman that has been travelling with me pulled in behind me. This was their last day of travel as their home port was on the south part of the bay. Soon enough, they had zipped on by as they were much faster than me.
At the same time that we were leaving, the VHF came alive with the Navy talking about a submarine coming into Norfolk. They were giving their usual warnings about stay away from the sub and if you didn’t, you’d be in big trouble. Being from the Groton CT area, I was used to staying clear of naval vessels so no prob there!!
As we got closer to the entrance to Norfolk, the sub came into view. We made the effort to stay outside of the channel markers so we knew we were clear of the sub but the fast patrol boats still have us a good looking over to make sure we were on the good side. About that time, a big tugboat was getting close to the sub so I figured they were going to escort the sub to whatever slip it was going to and paid no attention to it. By now, both me and the cat had caught the tide and were heading out into the bay so both of us started to turn north. Of course, the VHF came alive with the Navy saying that a sub was departing Norfolk and to stay clear…blah, blah, blah.
Wait…what? A sub was departing Norfolk???
I looked behind me and sure enough, that tug was spinning the sub around so they could head back out to sea. Damnit…now I had to try and get across the channel before the sub got closer. The Navy patrol boat called the cat on the VHF and told them they had to turn south unless they could get across the channel faster. The cat replied that they could do 7 knots and would be clear of the sub so the Navy guy said ok. I figured I’d give it a shot so I called the Navy patrol boat and they asked for my speed. I said 6 knots and they said NOPE…😖😖😖. I had to turn south and let the sub go by before I could turn back north to start heading up the bay. Such is my luck…🤷. I waved goodbye to the quickly disappearing cat and set about waiting for the sub to go by.
Well, it took about a half hour before the sub finally got far enough away that I could turn back up the bay. I set the course on my chartplotter and kicked back for the 10 hour ride to Little Bay. The day passed pretty much uneventful which was a welcome change for me. I got into Little Bay just before sunset, dropped the anchor, and settled in for the night. It was peaceful with just a slight breeze blowing. I thought “well isn’t this nice”!! If I only knew…🙄. Yes, I didn’t know it yet but things were going to get interesting the next day!! At least I got one day without any major stresses…👍
Next up… Solomon MD and a proper welcome to the Chesapeake!!
❤️❤️❤️
Sailing Infinity 