Matthews, VA
After Landing at the dock in Hampton, VA from our exhausting 9-day journey north from Fort Lauderdale, it seemed like the boat work began instantly. Not that we broke a whole lot on the trip north, but more so from all the minor issues (that you might not have noticed at first) that one discovers after spending any considerable time on their boat… a lesson we would come to learn very quickly on Offbeat over the following year! The laundry list was long, to say the least.
New shore power cords were the first and most important thing we needed to replace as the ones from the previous owner were highly corroded and the ground post had snapped off of one of the 30-amp cords. We also noticed on the trip north that the generator was mixing seawater with coolant and the AC rotary switch, which Just Catamarans claimed they fixed, was in fact not working. Engine and generator services were due… and on and on it goes.
Over the next month, we made many trips to West Marine and the local hardware stores, spending a mini fortune in the process. Fortunately, we were knocking a bunch of projects off the list.
Also during this time, we met up with Kelley’s parents who had been watching our two older pugs for us during our trip from Fort Lauderdale, Oliver and Elliott. It was now time for the boys to join back up with us and meet their new floating home! Yes, we were not leaving the boys behind on this adventure, Kelley would not have it. Fortunately, the boys, despite their old age, managed to get around the boat just fine (for the most part). It was one of many reasons we opted for a catamaran- they offer a large outdoor area and a spacious inside so the boys were able to walk around just fine. The boat also had some safety barriers in the cockpit that allowed us to keep the boys secure outside while underway. The only tricky part was getting them on and off the boat, but we managed to get a system down and they were getting into a nice routine.
Feeling good about this and our boat projects completed to-date, we decided, what the hell, let’s take off for the weekend and head out to an anchorage and test all the things we learned on our trip north with Captain David (see Parts 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of our 4 part series covering our trip north). This would be our first solo trip on Sailing Catamaran Offbeat! No one to lean on except Kelley and I.
Talking with some local cruisers, many of them suggested heading up the East River on the North side of Mobjack Bay, about a 25-nautical mile trip from Salt Ponds Marina where we had been staying for the last couple of weeks.
We looked at the forecast and it looked to be pretty favorable to head north to the East River with winds out of the southeast and sea state in the bay forecasted to be pretty calm. However, there was a small cold front that was going to blow through Saturday Night that we were going to have to be aware of and anchor accordingly.
Fuel, water, provisions, engine and safety checks, we went through a checklist David provided for a pre-departure 2010 Leopard 38 -March 2020 Checklist. to follow anytime we depart from the dock or at anchor, all looked good. Last thing we did was pump out and we were off. Anxious, we navigated the narrow channel out of Salt Ponds and made it to the bay and set the course northwest across Mobjack Bay.
Weather was warm, sunny and we were able to set the jib and motorsail about 8-knots for the first couple of hours, dodging crab pots left and right the entire time across the bay. We were definitely a bit hesitant to haul up the mainsail because the weather forecast called for looming thunderstorms coming out of the west, which kept us on our toes as sudden wind gusts can be prevalent with these types of storms.
Almost on queue, we watched as a thunderstorm tracked across the bay with a wall of water following. Fortunately for us,the rain was the only issue we had with the storm and it made for quite the interesting entrance into the East River. The charts were on point and before we knew it the rain was lightening up and the vizibility was coming back.
As the rain storm hit, we decided to roll in the jib to increase visibility and to motor the rest of the way up the East River. We had scoped out an anchorage on Navionics and found what looked to be a great anchorage right behind Williams Wharf landing. As we approached the anchorage, the wind was all over the place, coming from all directions, making it quite challenging to find our nose to the wind to drop the anchor. Kelley was at the helm and I was on the bow managing the anchor.
During our first attempt, we let out over 100 feet of chain in about 15 feet of water which would have been an almost 10:1 scope. After we ran the chain out we decided we should back down on the anchor but to no avail. As the chain tightened and we tried to make reckoning to the shore of our position, we began moving backward. I know we were beginners but I knew that wasn’t supposed to happen! It was clear our anchor was not properly set.
Not comfortable with that holding, we decided to pull the anchor up and try again. Anchor up, nose back into the wind, anchor down, and this time we laid the chain out a bit straighter as the wind had backed off a bit. Backed down again and this time the anchor felt like it dug in a little better and seemed to be holding. This initial anchoring exercise didn’t make us feel that great about our anchoring skills or the existing Delta 45lb anchor that was attached to our 150-foot chain.
We dropped the dinghy and went to shore to check it out and let the pugs run around. Williams Wharf is a nice public pier on private land that is owned and managed by the Matthews Land Conservancy. Surprisingly there is quite a deep history at the Wharf, from evidence of tribal life going as far back as 6000 B.C., to being a port of call for tobacco and cider exports to later bing a stronghold for Union Troops, to shipbuilding and oil exports… this little wharf does pack a punch of history. The conservancy has a more in-depth write-up of the wharf and you can read about it here.
The wharf nowadays serves as a recreation hub for all different types of water sports and fishing including a nice dinghy dock for us to land. Heading ashore we found a nice bathroom and a quiet little street lined with some beautiful cottages. After a little walk with the pugs, we jumped back onto the dinghy and did a little dinghy ride up the East River to again find the shores lined with beautiful homes and green lawns reaching down to the shores of the river. Matthews is a very quaint place.
The night was forecasted to be calm and ended up being as such, but it was not without anxiety and restlessness as we woke at any hint of a wind gust. But the anchor held and we eventually woke up to another beautiful day on the East River. The plan was to hop in the dinghy and try and adventure up Put-In Creek to a supposed kayak launch that we could then tie up and explore the town of Matthews.
We needed to time the high tide to allow for the most amount of water in the creek so we could navigate all the way up to the kayak launch. We did so successfully and tied up the dinghy and headed to shore. We spent the next few hours exploring the town and grabbed a bite to eat and a beer at Southwind Cafe, a cute little cafe with delicious seafood and a great beer selection. Matthews is a quiet little town with a few restaurants and bars as well as some cute shops.
We headed back to the boat that afternoon and began prepping for the cold front to arrive that evening. For a bit more security I decided to back down on the anchor one more time before we headed to bed. Took it up to 1500 rpm and it felt like the anchor was solid so we would sleep a bit easier. The night was another restless one as the cold front hit after midnight with not terribly strong wind, about 15 to 20 knots, but enough to keep me awake the entire night.
We made it through the night fine but the wind continued to build and was gusting to the mid 20’s by the time the sun started rising. We had been tracking our movement on the Navionics app and it looked as though we were not moving until all of a sudden the GPS started moving backwards. I jumped to the helm and sure enough I looked at the shore and we were definitely dragging anchor. Fortunately we had both engines running because we were charging our batteries at the time, so it was easy enough to get the anchor up but it certainly put the entire boat/ crew into a panic.
Since we already had the anchor up, we decided to head further up the river to try and get a bit more protection from the northerly winds that were forecasted for the next 12 hours or so. We were able to tuck in behind and anchor in a little cove near red channel marker #18. The rest of the day we were glued to the chart finder and GPS making sure we were holding properly.
Fortunately, the wind continued to die throughout the day and allowed us some much-needed rest throughout the evening.
The next morning brought clear skies but there were still some northerlies blowing as we exited the east river and we were met with 2 to 3-foot swells right on the beam within a short period between waves. Now even though those aren’t huge waves, that short period on a beam of a catamaran made for a brutal 4-hour sail back to Salt Ponds Marina. We had to deal with the Northwind when docking but were helped by a friendly Canadian couple who we would befriend over the next few weeks.
Whew, first solo sail down! But we realized after this trip that the first priority would be to buy and install a new anchor!
