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Southern Chesapeake Bay Cruise August 2021

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This is a summary of our cruise of the southern Chesapeake Bay aboard our 38' Silverton powerboat called Pure Lunasea. Initially we planned to do the Delmarva Loop, a 400 mile circumnavigation of the Delmarva Peninsula, but we decided we did not have the time and went with a less ambitious exploration of the southern bay. We called it our "No Reservations 2021 Cruise" because we had a loose idea of our itinerary and no reservations. We picked Virgina Beach as well a several small towns and anchorages as possible stops. This is what our trip ended up being: Day 1  We departed Annapolis on a beautiful still day and headed south. Conditions were perfect and we cruised smoothly at 18 knots (21 mph). It was clear we could cover some ground that day so we looked at possibly making Cape Charles or Virginia Beach. Calls to both locations found no available slips. There was a sailing regatta in Cape Charles and fishing tournament in Virginia Beach. We settled on Plan C - Little Ba...
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Day 18 - The End

Day 18 - Up the Bay The forecast was for sunny skies and light winds out of the south. Our plan was to do 90 miles up to Solomons Island and then decide if we wanted to duck in there for the night or continue the remaining 40 miles to Annapolis. Everything was going great when we got to the mouth of the Patuxent River (Solomons Island) so we decided to continue on. A short time later I noticed that the wind had switched to coming out of the north- interesting... that wasn't in the forecast from the Windy app. Perhaps I should have checked my other weather sources.  Soon the wind began to build and before long it was over 15 knots with 3 foot waves crashing on our bow. We thought Mother Chesapeake was going to give us a warm welcome home, but I guess she wanted to remind us how nasty she could be! We were totally exposed out in the middle of the bay so decided to head towards the eastern shore and possibly get some protection from Poplar Island. It helped a little bit, ...
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Vero to Annapolis - Days 14-17

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Day 14 - Beaufort to Bellhaven Once again the weather dictated our itinerary. We had planned to spend a full day in Beaufort, N.C.,  but a cold front was moving through the next day with high winds and storms so we wanted get some miles in beforehand. We decided to check out Beaufort, have lunch and then continue north. Beaufort is a compact and historic town similar to it's southern sister, but perhaps a bit more nautical due it's proximity to the ocean. Beaufort, S.C. is definitely more southern and stately, but both have their charms. We had a nice lunch in town before hitting the farmers market to score some local grits and seafood. Michelle wanted to try to make a low-fat version of the shrimp and grits we had at previous stops. Gathering the goods. The 70 miles to Bellhaven began to look a lot like the Chesapeake Bay. The Neuse, Pamlico and Pungo Rivers are wide and large. There are small canals that connect them to make the ICW so you go from a big river...
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