We left Groton, CT on Monday afternoon, October 19. This was later than we planned for many reasons. In a nutshell: the weather, boat and crew were not ready. The cooler autumn weather encouraged us to set our sights on a more southern destination, Hampton VA; rather than our normal Delaware Bay. We hope to bypass the longer inland sailing route, ie. up the Delaware and down the Chesapeake.
We have had more than our fair share of southerly winds lately, some of them quite strong. So as soon as the forecast did not include winds from where we were trying to go for a couple days; it was time to go! This year that meant leaving with very light winds.
We used our normal four hour watch system around the clock. Thankfully, we both were able to rest/sleep well on our off-watches. No on-deck drills to disturb our rest.
When we entered the mouth of Chesapeake Bay near dawn on the third day, we had approximately 20 miles to go. Unfortunately we faced a few challenges: fog, low fuel in the two main tanks, very light wind and a contrary current for at least an hour. Luckily we have radar, spare cans of diesel, and patience. Such is the life of a sailor.
We arrived in Hampton, VA after a 69 hour 360 mile ocean passage south. Yes, our average speed when motoring is only 5 knots, so sad. 61 hours of motoring and a few hours here and there of peaceful sailing. Wow, it’s quiet when we turn off the engine. It’s a lot warmer here; 80’s rather than 50’s for a high. Yeah, back to shorts and tees.
We added a Garmin InReach Mini to Lone Star this season. Sorry, we choose to share the link with only close friends and family. No need to let the whole world know where we are. It sure added a new level of fun, safety and peace of mind to the passage.
Next we need to decide if we will motor down the ICW or sail around Cape Hateras? Destination: Beaufort, NC. Not yet sure where we will go after that?
Sailing on Lone Star 
Nice…
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