Deltaville to Sandy Point

We stayed longer in Deltaville than we expected. The people are
friendly and welcoming and the anchorage is well protected. Such
attributes make any place difficult to leave; we have not really
figured out a timeline or destination anyway. Besides, did you zoom
in on that entrance? That was some tight gunk-holing and we wanted to
pick a calm high-tide morning to leave. We watched two sailboats get
grounded in the shoals Saturday before the regatta. No serious
damage, but it sent the crew lurching forward on deck. Someone was
not paying attention to the video game…
It had been some time since we had taken on water and we prepared to
catch rain from one of the many thunderstorms that came through our
newly adopted town. We discovered that the water needed to run at a
pretty good pace to overcome the lip around the tank fills. We prayed
for rain that would help us, but not hurt the town. Our tank fills
for the starboard and port saddle tanks are just forward of mid-ship,
reducing the area of rain capture. The collection was miserly for the
first few days, below the rate of usage. Floyd mentioned that some
areas were expecting flash floods on Friday. We dammed up around our
fill caps in anticipation. The first storm of the day was a gulley
washer. We could put an ear on the floorboard over the starboard
water tank and hear the water trickle into the tank. We were gaining
and we were thrilled! The second storm came on about 10 in the evening
and was even more productive. About 2 a.m. Myron had to go out into
the rain and close the port tank cap because the tank was overfilling
and running into the bilge. We believe our saddle tanks are 100
gallons. Quite impressive, our cup runneth over, praise God! Jean
told us their rain gauge showed over 4 inches that day, yet no one
suffered any flood damage. He hears our prayers.
Jean and Floyd Ward are the couple we met when we attended church on
Sunday, July 3. They were incredibly gracious to us, invited us to
their home and to a youth choir performance in Urbanna led by their
grandson. He has been leading this youth choir since he was 14,
twenty years ago. We have been fortunate enough to meet many of Jean
and Floyd's family members, play with their cat "Midnight," tour the
tug boat and get much of the history of the town and the watermen.
The museum we attended was informative to be sure, but this personal
trip to the past was even better. It was a pleasure to return to
church with them yesterday. We even met the couple who bought Floyd's
mother's house and spent a few hours discussing our Messiah,
scripture, prophecy, and the events unfolding today.
I also told John that, in exchange for the tug tour, I would make
mention in our blog that the tug is for sale. I do not know the
price, but some details include two V-12 GM Detroits (1294's) and dual
generators larger than the engine on Hold Fast. You would need at
least a 150 Ton captain's license to operate her. Each of the two
props are 74" in diameter. The cable on the tug had to be 1.5 inches
and the anchor and tow attachment lines could do serious damage to a
back if not probably handled. Other than all that, it would make a
very nice cruising boat. Leave a comment if you are an interested
buyer!
We left Deltaville today on the morning high-tide and headed for
Reedville. Winds were favorable and it was a relatively quick trip.
As you can see by our tracks (zoom in on the Google map), we winded
our way back into the town. It was incredibly quaint, well protected
and the holding ground is known to be good. However, the town is the
home for the entire menhaden fishing fleet and processing. A healthy
South wind was blowing and we could not find a place on that creek
that was not odiferous. It was under mutual agreement that we pulled
a tight u-turn and sought anchorage elsewhere upwind. We are anchored
off Sandy Point as a result. The wind is strong giving us a little
fetch. We do not mind a bit. We are not downwind from the processing
plant and the ships, and the wind makes tolerable today's 90+ heat.
If the wind calms down, we may launch the dingy and do some exploring,
but for now it is time to shower (just maybe some of that odor stuck
to my skin?) and grill something for dinner.
Dena
{GMST}37|49.437|N|076|18.501|W|near Reedsville|Sandy Point{GEND}
post via wifi