Double-reefed Off Parrott Island

 

Sunday is better. A little at first, then a lot. The Small Craft Warning is downgraded to an Advisory. It will remain gusty for the first half of the day, big gusts, but they will be spaced further and further apart as the day progresses, and lose their punch. By late  in the day it is as close to perfect as sailing gets.

Our hotel in Warsaw is not far from the one where Paul Manafort is spending a few nights before his trial, and not that unlike it, apparently. Warsaw had the closest available rooms we could find. Kind of weird for such a remote and unassuming place to be part of such a big story. There’s a Hardee’s and a McDonald’s, a Tractor Supply, beauty parlors, a tire store. A pressure treated wood factory. And, clearly, a regional jail.

It’s a 30 minute drive back to the marina. For such a small boat, a slip is only $25 for the night, with showers, a pool, a cafe. Well worth it. Next time we’ll just stay on the boat and skip the hotel and the driving. With the kinks from yesterday all worked out, and the boat already in the water and ready to go, we’re back onboard and underway with little fuss.

Continue reading “Double-reefed Off Parrott Island”

Double-reefed Off Yankee Point

photo by Doug Lawson

 

First sails for new boats are often troublesome affairs. Nothing has been tested or put under strain. Things go wrong. Little details left undone and  forgotten suddenly get remembered, always at inconvenient times. Knots come untied, screws come loose. It’s common enough that most builders take a “shakedown cruise” before the first official launch. Gives a chance for glitches to surface and get worked out under safe conditions, preferably without an audience.  So taking a new boat on its first real sail for two solid days, in a Small Craft Warning, is not a conservative move.

But that’s what we did.

Almost a  year has passed since Doug brought his new Marsh Cat back from the mountains of southwest Virgina.

Continue reading “Double-reefed Off Yankee Point”

A Double-reef Sorta Day

[dsgnwrks_instagram_embed src=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk9JM5UHo8p/” type=”video”]

Rappahannock River Oysters, LLC

 
postcards from the road