Side Trips and Weather

It is around 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 8. Tropical storm Debby is churning her way north, she is currently crossing North Carolina. Aevitas is well secured in our slip and we are taking the dog for walks between downpours. The wind is supposed to pick up as the day goes along with peak wind gusts hitting later tonight. We are under a tornado watch until 1:00 this afternoon and a flood watch until midnight Saturday. A year ago I would have been anxious. My lack of nerves now has a lot to do with increased confidence in our ability to prepare for bad weather and the sturdiness of our boat. Our previous experiences with gnarly weather has given me great appreciation for our "BAB" - Bad Ass Boat. Sometimes we use BAB for "Big Ass Boat," but for Aevitas, "Bad Ass" is a better descriptor. In my mind, she is the GOAT of boats. I guess that makes her a GOAT BAB.

We (sans Sofie, who had a land-cation) headed north for a little sailing excursion a week ago, when Debby was not yet a named storm. It was a combination errand run and "let's do some sailing!" kind of trip. On the way north, we stopped by our old stomping grounds, Deltaville, to get measured for an enclosure for our cockpit. It is really lovely there. So quiet, lots of trees, birds, beautiful. Next stop was Solomons Island and a visit to the Calvert Marine Museum. Keeping an eye on Debby, we decided to not go quite as far north. We went to Oxford and then turned around and headed back to Hampton. We did have some great sailing! We experimented with holding our sail out with the whisker pole as we sailed downwind, wing on wing! So much fun. Sofie would not have enjoyed it.

In an unusual fit of common sense, we decided to go half way back on Tuesday. It was a long day bashing into 3 foot swells with 20kt winds on our nose. Aevitas did great! We slammed some, nearly lost our anchor, and ended up with a jellyfish stranded on our bow. We spent a surprisingly peaceful night anchored in Little Bay. The Rappahannock Spit blocked the waves and a little of the wind. We were treated to a breathtaking sunset: the kind the keeps getting more spectacular as the evening progresses. Photos don't do it justice.

The remainder of the trip back to Hampton on Wednesday was actually decent. The wind and waves were off the port side so slamming was minimal. Dave did an awesome job backing into our slip and we docked with no issues on Wednesday. The Goddess of the Universe welcomed us home with a full rainbow!

I'm glad to be tucked away as we hear all these "Pan-Pan" calls on the radio. Pan Pan is an urgency call that a boat needs help, but is not in immediate danger of loss of life or vessel. The most recent one is about an unmanned vessel adrift.

Other interesting events in the past month...

About a month ago, I helped Camille with her move back to Tulelake. The movers were supposed to be at her apartment by 6 pm. They got there at 10 pm (ugh). It was a stressful endeavor, but all turned out well. I took a leisurely drive back to Hampton after Camille was on her way. It was a very hot day and traffic was slow. Side trips and listening to an audiobook (Tom Lake by Ann Patchett) made the trip enjoyable. I found the Suffragist Memorial and the Center of the Universe.

The memorial is in Occoquan, VA. Near the Occoquan Workhouse, a prison, where on the evening of November 14, 1917, the superintendent ordered the guards to assault the imprisoned suffragists. About 20 women were beaten and tortured in what became known as the “Night of Terror.” Why did I not know about this before? The 19th Amendment was first introduced in 1878. Generations of women persisted for 42 years to gain the right to vote.

My second stop was at the "Center of the Universe." also known as Ashland, VA. This also happens to be very near Secretariat's birthplace.

I also did some painting...

and found that drawing is an okay way to pass the time when sailing is smooth.

A tornado warning was just issued for Suffolk, about 20 miles south of us. The tornado watch for Hampton has been extended to 8 p.m. and the wind is now gusting to 30 mph. This is going to be fun!