Tag Archives: Wormley Creek

Another Long Day!

Posted on September 27, 2021 | Comments Off

Thursday (9/16) – Norfolk, VA

Denise started the day with a quick run through downtown Annapolis and then through the neighborhood around the marina in Eastport. It was near dark when she started, but captured a few pictures of downtown Annapolis at dawn.

We left Spa Creek just before 8:00 am when the tide was low enough for us to once again squeak under the Spa Creek Bridge without requiring it to open.

We cruised out of Annapolis Harbor and into the Severn River, finally turning right at the buoy and headed south on the Chesapeake Bay. Less than 30 minutes later we were passing the Thomas Point Shoal Light. This is one of the most photographed lighthouses on the Chesapeake, and we are always thrilled when we pass by it.

It was a nice calm day on the Chesapeake, although overcast. We made as straight a course heading as possible for Cape Charles on the Southeastern shore for the first few hours. However, it was not long into the journey that Captain Mark suggested a change in plan. The window for a comfortable passage from Cape Charles to Wormley Creek on Friday afternoon had shut, and now we were rethinking our overall plans. After much discussion, we changed our plans for Cape Charles and Wormley Creek in order to get into safe harbor for the evening. Friday through Monday was going to be really rough on the Chesapeake and the best option for us was to go all the way into Norfolk tonight. However, we needed to see Denise’s brother as he had several packages for us, including the main salon window shade we had repaired. We had discussed going to Norfolk, renting a car and driving up to see him, but after several scenarios we chose to just take the boat up the York River to Wormley Creek for a quick stop over on the way to Norfolk.

With this in mind, we altered our course to hug the western shore and ran close to the LNG facility at Cove Point, near Solomons. For the first time here we actually saw a ship docked at the pipeline. And right after that we passed the Cove Point Lighthouse.

Ship at Dominion Cove Point LNG facility near Solomons

As we continued south, the water continued to get calmer and we made pretty good time. We ate lunch along the way and around 12:30 we passed the Smith Point Lighthouse.

It remained calm as we continued cruising; at one point we could see the eastern shore of the Chesapeake near where we would have gone in if we were going to Cape Charles.

Just after 2:00 pm we passed by the New Point Comfort Light house and shortly thereafter we turned right to go up the York River.

The wind had picked up a small bit, but it was at our back and we were fine. We were a little concerned with what we may face on our way to Norfolk, but so far it all still looked good. Meanwhile, we had been in constant communication with John (Denise’s brother) who agreed that a meet-up at Wormley Creek Marina was the best alternative all around. So we made our way back to the place we stayed in the spring, and he met us for a quick hello and package exchange.

In less than an hour, we left Wormley Creek and headed back out on the York River. It was a little bumpy as we were now facing the wind from the east, and the current was also against us. But it was certainly tolerable and we knew that we only had 1.5 hours left to go before arriving in Norfolk. Along the way down the Bay today we had cancelled our reservations at Cape Charles and Wormley Creek (all without penalty), and made a reservation at Waterside in Norfolk.

We entered the Chesapeake and immediately were faced with increasing chop. It was not very comfortable for the first 30 minutes or so, until we rounded the Poquoson Flats. But, as we neared Ft. Monroe we were able to change to a more southern (less easterly) course and that made it a little better.

Old Point Comfort lighthouse – At Ft. Monroe

We then crossed over to the eastern shore of the main channel heading into Norfolk where the land blocked the wind and things finally settled down. As usual, there was lots of boat and barge traffic that required Captain Mark to keep a sharp eye and steady hand on the wheel. It was here that we passed the USCG sailing vessel “Eagle”. It was a thrill to see this beautiful ship up close.

We entered Norfolk harbor and the US Naval Shipyard where we were amazed at how many boats were in port at the same time. Wasn’t this not supposed to ever happen again after Pearl Harbor?

As we moved up the channel to the “no wake” zone, we approached a large yacht (“Serendipity II”) trying to pass a barge and attempting to raise him on the VHF. After several miscommunications between the two vessels, the yacht made their way around the barge without issue, as we did too. We then both approached the Waterside Marina about the same time, but we were requested to hold outside until the yacht was docked. Once it was tied-up and settled at the outermost dock, we were instructed to come into our assigned slip in the marina’s basin. As we entered, Captain Mark had to make a tight left turn near this large vessel, and our stern turned towards the yacht. The Captain was on the deck of the boat looking down and gave Denise (standing in the stern) an awful scowl. What he couldn’t see from his vantage point was that we cleared the hull of his boat by at least 10 feet. He had nothing to worry about and just minutes later Mark successfully docked our boat around another yacht in even tighter quarters.

Finally, we arrived in our slip and secured our boat for the night. It was 5:15 pm and we had traveled a total of 156 miles, including a side trip up and back down a part of the York River. We checked in with the marina to get the usual information, and poured ourselves a celebratory cocktail. We were disappointed that we would once again miss Cape Charles, but we were glad that we would now be able to head south before the NS #7 railroad bridge was locked down.

When we arrived at Waterside there were several other yachts in the marina, including a Berger Yacht we saw in Portland, ME (“Wrigley”). Then we watched another handful of boats pull into the marina, including a 60 foot “Downeast” boat from Key West called “Indigo”. We did not have a chance to talk with them, but we did like the lines of this older but beautiful boat. Unlike in the spring when the marina if full of “Loopers”, the majority of the boats here were larger yachts who were like us, trying to get south.

Before it got too late, Mark hosed the salt off the boat and Denise prepared a dinner on board. We took a short walk around the marina, then retired for the night. Like in the spring, the handful of restaurants remaining at Waterside were blaring music quite loudly and it barely faded us. It had been another long day!

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Annapolis, Chesapeake Bay, Norfolk, Wormley Creek

Socializing in Seaford!

Posted on June 1, 2021 | Comments Off

Wormley Creek Marina – Thursday, 5/26 through Sunday, 5/30

From Wednesday evening until Sunday afternoon, we spent some good quality time with our family in Seaford, VA. We attended a baseball game for a grandnephew (Colton), cooked a few meals together, went over to Shannon’s (niece) one night, and played cards just the four of us. Denise got in a few runs in the neighborhood around J&C’s house, seeing deer, bunnies, turtles, and even horses.

We went back to the boat a few times to check on things, and also for John to assist Mark in a minor repair on our galley hatch gasket; using a 3M product, of course! (For those that don’t know, Denise’s brother John is retired from 3M). During this time, we noticed the fireboat was done being painted and was now back in the water.

We also went to check out another potential marina (Mills Marina) that is actually closer to J&C’s and once again attended Joan of Arc Catholic Church for mass on Sunday.

Throughout the weekend we were also watching the forecasts for our planned departure. We still looked good for leaving on Tuesday and made arrangements for Tuesday and Wednesday nights at Herrington Harbor, MD and Delaware City, DE, respectively. We changed our stops along the Chesapeake in order to make some progress north, still looking to be at the Looper Pig Roast on 6/13 in NY, if at all possible.

On Saturday and Sunday the rains came, and brought with it at times some fierce wind. When it shifted out of the north it brought cold weather (55° at 8:00 am) and water from the York River up into the marina; once again the docks were covered. This was how it was when we arrived back at the boat on Sunday afternoon.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon we said good-bye to Cathy, and John took us back to our boat. We had things to do and wanted to make sure they had time to enjoy the rest of their holiday weekend without us in the way. We are so grateful for their warm hospitality and for sharing their home with us. We had fun and hope to get to see them again in October on our way home.

Once back on the boat we settled into putting things away and identified a few things to get done before our early Tuesday am departure. The rain had stopped (finally), but it was still overcast and very windy. And the boat was cold, which means we turned off the AC and turned on the heat.

When we returned to the marina we also noticed that the fireboat was now back on the hard. We are not sure of the reason for this and it was supposed to be ready for Memorial Day. However, no one was around to ask and it sat there for the rest of the weekend.

In the evening, Denise got the last blog update published and Mark reviewed the weather and tide forecasts. He planted the seed for adjustments to our itinerary from Wed. on, and confirmed we are good to leave on Tuesday as planned. We also spent time talking to both our family members and friends, some of whom we are especially thankful for as they are making this trip possible for us, by covering for things on the home front.

Wormley Creek Marina – Monday, 5/31 – Memorial Day!

During the night the clouds disappeared, and we woke up to a cool and breezy morning, with temperature at 50°. We welcome the sun and the cool (not cold) weather. The wind was still blowing, reminding us that there was a reason we did not plan to leave until tomorrow.

After breakfast we looked at the updated forecasts for the coming days. We now have a window of opportunity to get very far north by Thursday morning, and possibly to Staten Island, NY by Thursday night. But then we will have to sit for a few days as the next weather front comes through. Of course this could also change, so we can’t commit to anything right now except leaving tomorrow morning.

The rest of the morning Denise worked on prepping some food for the week, and Mark handled a few financial items for the business, as well as us personally. We also did a few minor boat chores and talked with some of the locals in the marina.

At noon we heard a cannon blast and looked towards the USGC Training Center Yorktown. Sure enough, they were commemorating Memorial Day and made 21 cannon blasts for fallen soldiers. It was pretty cool to see this from afar.

In the afternoon some of the sailboats in the marina headed out onto the York River. There was no organized event, just some great sailing weather and we could see them go up and down the river. While the wind had died down (as forecasted), it was still blowing enough for them to go have a great day on the water. We hung out around the boat, reading, writing most of this blog, and just relaxing. Coming up, we will have a few long days on the water and wanted to take advantage of a lazy and relaxing afternoon.

We have enjoyed our time at this marina, and will write a positive review when we get the chance. We may even stay here again on our return trip south.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Seaford, Wormley Creek

Warm up at Wormley!

Posted on May 30, 2021 | Comments Off

Wormley Creek Marina – Friday, 5/21 – Mark’s Birthday!

In the morning Denise went for a walk around the neighborhood surrounding the marina. The main road (Waterview Road) is a rural two-lane road with only a few streets off of it. One forms a circle for about a half mile and there are houses on both sides. These houses range from older small homes and newer larger homes with nice landscaping. Also bordering this road are private drives that take you to houses on Wormley Creek, or north of the marina, on the south banks of the York River.

Road near marina
House near WCM
House near WCM

After returning to the boat, having breakfast and getting showers, we arranged for our Enterprise rental car for the weekend. They came to the marina to pick us up and 15 minutes later we were at their Newport News location getting our wheels. We had decided to make this our “errand day”. Having been in this area before, we knew what was available and roughly the location of each. With Google Maps at the ready, we headed out with a list of places to go, and a list of things for each destination. First was Costco, followed up by Wal-Mart and then a few other stores. We even managed an early lunch at Chick-Fil-A; Mark’s request – after all it was his Birthday!

We returned back to the boat with our purchases and proceeded to find places to stow it all. Not surprising to us, it all fit somewhere. We then took care of a few business items in the afternoon, and talked with a couple of locals in the marina. Throughout the day we watched the marina move a fireboat that had been in the yard, into the big shed and begin taping it up. They were readying it for painting. Naturally, Mark had to walk over to the worker and inquire on what was going on. He learned they were simply repainting it and it would be back in the water for Memorial Weekend.

Later that evening, we got back in the car and drove to Newport News to Schlesinger’s Steakhouse, a local’s favorite and recommended by Denise’s nieces. We had a delicious steak dinner to celebrate Mark’s big birthday. The food was really great and the atmosphere we very nice. We just wished we could have had more people to celebrate the day with; maybe we can come back here in the fall with Denise’s brother (John) and sister in law (Cathy).

Wormley Creek Marina – Saturday, 5/22

Denise started the day with a run in the area around the marina. This time she started out heading north and running just up the bridge where the power plant has a cooling water basin which dumps into the York River. Along the way she spooked a few deer who took off running, then stopped, gathered a few others, then took off running again.

She turned back around, ran past the marina and further down the main road before turning back to the marina. In total she was able to get in over 5 miles, and saw more deer and rabbits than cars on the road.

Once back on the boat she joined Mark for breakfast and we planned out the day. Our first stop was to the Yorktown Farmer’s market, right along the waterfront. Even though we have been to this area, we forgot how many historic places there are here. In addition to the National Park, there are marked battlefields, cemeteries, buildings, the Victory Welcome Center, and the Yorktown Victory monument.

After walking through the Farmer’s Market, we walked out to the city marina (where we stayed in 2015). Here we saw two Looper boats, and stopped to talk with them for a short time before walking back to our car. We also encountered a gentleman on a Caliber Sailboat, which was similar to the one we used to own back in the 1990’s. We could have stayed and talked longer, but we needed to get going as we had places to go.

We drove from Yorktown to Newport News to a softball game where we were able to see some of our family. Shannon (Denise’s niece) is coach of her daughter’s (Harper) softball team, and on this day, her firefighter husband (Shawn) was assisting as he had the day off from his hero duties. Their other daughter, Macie was there too. We got to watch Harper’s game and talk with Shawn’s parents (Robin & LF) who were also at the game.

During that time, we were in communication with Denise’s sister-in-law (Cathy), and made plans to meet up with her for a late lunch in downtown Yorktown. We left the game and went back to the boat for showers, then met them at Water Street Grille. Luckily Christen (Denise’s other niece) and her two boys were able to join us, and Cathy and her out-of-town friend (Mona) coordinated it all so we could be together for a short visit. This was great as we were not expecting them to be available to spend any time with us until Wednesday.

After our afternoon together, we drove to St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church for the Saturday afternoon mass. We have been to this church several times and we have always been impressed with the Pastor (Father Mike) who is blind and uses a braille version of the Missal for saying the mass. Unfortunately, we were disappointed as Father James was the celebrant instead. We still felt very welcome in this diverse church, who practiced social distancing but where we did not have to wear face masks! We felt liberated!

Since we had a late lunch, we were not hungry for dinner, but did enjoy some cocktails once back on the boat and streamed a movie before falling asleep. It was a fun-filled terrific day!

Wormley Creek Marina – Sunday, 5/23

This morning we decided to use the marina facilities and get a few loads of laundry done, while doing a little bit of future planning. Our check of the upcoming weather now had us putting in place contingencies as it did not look like Friday would be a good day to leave and head north. Since it is still early and forecasts can change, we didn’t spend too much time on it. But it is a bit discouraging when the weather dictates the agenda and holds us up from going places; something those who are traveling in RV’s or cars don’t usually have to deal with.

We also took advantage of still having the rental car and wanted to do a few more errands. Mark needed a haircut and Denise wanted a pedicure, so once our laundry was done, we went to get these personal services addressed. Within 90 minutes we had accomplished these and headed back to the boat for lunch. In the afternoon we took advantage of quiet and downtime and simply relaxed, reading a book (Denise) and taking a nap (Mark). This is what Sunday’s should be about, but rarely do we ever get to take advantage of them.

At this marina we have encountered several locals, who are very nice and hospitable. Most live in the area and either take their boat on the weekends, work on their boats (in water or on the hard), or just come down to the marina. Because it was so warm today, some were also at the pool, which has now been opened and has nice warm water; but it is still a little too cool for us Floridians. All of these people have volunteered to give us a ride somewhere, offered to take us on their boats, or had suggestions for places to go or things to see. It is a very friendly place and we have enjoyed it.

We still had the rental car and thought it might be smart to go out to dinner one more night; we will be eating onboard the next few nights so it made sense. But, we were not interested in a big meal and opted for a light dinner at Panera in Newport News. During the week this would have taken us 30 minutes to get there, but tonight it only took 15 minutes. While dining we thought it might be a good idea to go to the grocery store, in case we did not have the opportunity until later in the week. We drove to the Kroger and picked up a handful of things, including FRESCA (which Mark likes) and is not always available everywhere.

One of the other things we remembered was to purchase any other “bottled” or “canned” refreshments here in VA because as we get further north they get more expensive. All the other states charge a $.05 or $.10 “refundable” deposit on all such containers, but their recycle centers are not always conducive to marinas. Therefore, each one is just a little more expensive for us and they add up over time. So we stocked up and when we got back to the boat, we literally were trying to find places to put it all……but we did.

Wormley Creek Marina – Monday, 5/24

Today was a work day. We both had been putting off some work tasks and we needed to address these important things. Mark spent almost all day on the phone or in web conferences. Denise had to respond to an Orlando prospect that could work out perfectly if they string out their decision making to the fall; how perfect it would be to come back to a project kickoff in late October.

In mid-morning Mark took a break to return the rental car to Enterprise while Denise did a little advanced cooking and blog writing. She posted the last update and began work on this post.

During the day we talked with Denise’s brother (John) who would be returning home on Tuesday from his out-of-town trip. We set some tentative plans in place for meeting up Wednesday afternoon, or definitely Thursday. Of course weather will dictate whether we leave on Friday, and therefore have a short visit, or stay through the weekend for longer time together.

Later in the afternoon we once again got an update on the weather and tried to formulate a plan. Right now it does not look like the upcoming Memorial weekend will be a good weekend to travel and we don’t want to go north only to get stuck somewhere for a handful of days when we could be here with family. We really have no plans; although we would love to go up the Hudson River in NY and be at the Shady Harbor Marina Pig Roast the weekend of 6/12. But, we know we could change our plans and not attend this event; we have too much big water to cross to be on a schedule.

Our evening was spent hanging around the marina and talking with a few of the locals. We had a dinner of smoked pulled pork we brought from home (the last of it) from our freezer. After dinner we went for a walk around the marina grounds and noticed the water level in the creek was quite high. We are on a floating dock and don’t notice it as much when on the boat. But when we walked up to where the marina office and other buildings are, we could see the significant difference against the fixed docks. The docks and water were almost one, and our gangplank which normally we have to walk up, we now had to walk down. Come to find out Wednesday’s full moon is a “Supermoon” and we will have higher and lower high & low tides greater than normal.

Because of the high water, once back on the boat we were able to see over the embankment to our north which is the private property of a homeowner. Here we could see the dock of the second house over from us, and discovered they have lighted decorative palm trees along their dock. We did not see them coming into the channel on Thursday, and only now got to see them illuminated. It is clearly someone’s tropical paradise overlooking the York River.

Wormley Creek Marina – Tuesday, 5/25

We woke up to cloudy skies and a temperature at 6:00 am of 64°; the warmest morning yet. Denise went for a run and actually wore a tank top for the first time since leaving on our trip. On her return, she encountered a man and his two dogs in the marina parking lot. After some small talk she discovered “Scott” lived two houses over from the marina, and it is his house that has the lighted decorative palm trees on his dock. She also learned he is an oral surgeon and moved here from Hampton three years ago, with his wife. He talked about the area and how much he loves his view of the York River and the bridge. When she returned back to the boat, Mark was already up eating breakfast and ready to take on the day.

The intention today was for it to be a boat-chore day, and it was in a sense. We had a long list of inside and outside chores, but we also had to put more water on the boat, which required moving to the haul out area and again using two connected hoses to fill up the tanks. We figured at the same time we could get a pump-out; even though the holding tank was not full, it would save us from having to do this in a few days. All this activity had to be coordinated with the marina as they had several haul-outs planned for the day and we needed to make sure we were not going to be blocking the haul-out bay.

Around 9:30 am we headed out of the slip and ventured to put the water on the boat. This took us about a half an hour, then we moved to the dock for the self-service pump-out. Once in place we started the equipment, but we were unable to get it working. After several attempts we called the marina office and Doug (owner and husband of Pam), came down to help us out. After several more attempts, a discharge of the system and more attempts, we were unable to get it working. He was going to have to get their septic tank serviced and would let us know when it would be fixed. So back to our slip we went, burning nearly 2 hours and now getting back just in time to make lunch. Our morning was shot and we had not accomplished much at all.

After lunch we both had client work to do, then we set about to do a few of the chores on the list. Denise also worked on this blog. After the 3:00 updates were in, we looked at the upcoming weather. Friday looks to be a good day to travel north, but Saturday and Sunday were awful and would force us to stay put wherever we are. Unfortunately, Monday (Memorial Day) is also not looking great. This was disheartening as Denise really wants to spend more time with family but if the weather stays bad for a week we could be sacrificing our trip back up the Hudson River. But to cut our visit short after waiting since Norfolk to see family was also discouraging. We agreed not to make any decisions for now, and would see how the forecast holds in the next day or so. Monday is a long way off for weather forecasts and anything can change.

One of the issues with staying put in this marina is the water situation. Normally if we had potable dockside water we would not care. But without it we are forced to use the water from the tanks, which require filling about every 3 – 4 days. Plus, with it being in a rural area we are limited in where we can go unless we get another rental car. We are looking forward to spending time at John & Cathy’s, and get off the boat for a few days. This will alleviate both of these concerns and allow us to also share some desired family time.

One of the interesting things we have not yet shared about this location, is its proximity to the US Coast Guard (USCG) Yorktown Training Center. In addition to watching the USCG boats go out of the creek each day, we get treated to a few of their routines. The first is at 7:55 am when they play a bugle tune over the campus that can be heard all around this area. Then at 8:00 am they play Reveille. In the evening near sunset, they play “Retreat”, then “Taps” at 10:00 pm; we figured out that one must be for “lights out” as it is officially used to signify “quiet hours”. We have also heard them doing gun fire exercises or target practice. All of this to keep us all safe, and to be there on the waterway when any of us need them. Some reviewers of this marina have made negative comments about these routines, but we consider these minor issues for a stay at this marina. Besides, we love our Coasties and will support them in any way we can.

Wormley Creek Marina – Wednesday, 5/26

We woke up to a nice breeze blowing this morning, but it was warm and we had the AC going. After spending some time on emails and work items, we tackled some initial boat chores, including Mark changing out the engine and generator zincs, and Denise polishing some stainless steel and chrome. We also managed to go see the fireboat in the shed, now all nicely painted.

After a few hours we noticed the wind had died down, so Mark suggested we use this opportunity to once again try for a pump out. Doug (owner) let us know the equipment was back up and running and we were at a good transitioning point in our chores. So, we untied from our slip, and moved the boat to the pump out dock to take care of business. It worked much better this time, and within 30 minutes we were back in our slip.

We then did a check on the upcoming weather forecasts. It did not look good for leaving on Monday, but Tuesday was shaping up to be (possibly) a good day to leave. After a conversation with John, we decided that we would stay with him through the weekend and make plans to leave on Tuesday. If things improved beforehand, we could leave earlier, but it was unlikely this would be the case. We also confirmed with the marina we could stay on without issue.

Then it was back to our boat chores. We finished up around 2:30, then packed up some clothes, food and other items to take on our land adventure for the weekend. At 3:00 John came to the marina to pick us up and 10 minutes later we were at his house in Seaford, VA. Clearly this was a good marina choice for being so close.

We spent some time talking with John and Cathy (“J&C”) before John had to head out to help coach a softball game for Harper (granddaughter). Cathy and Denise then left for Colton’s (grandson’s) baseball game, while Mark enjoyed some quiet personal time at the house. It was hot and buggy and the girls ended up leaving the game a little early. On the way home, they picked up dinner (a pizza, salad and garlic knots) that Mark had ordered. Once back at the house they ate dinner and sat around talking until John came home from his outing.

Not long afterwards, a horrendous thunderstorm came through with violent winds and rain. It was short-lived, but was strong enough to knock out the power. It was just one day too soon; J&C had already installed a whole-house generator, but it was not yet hooked up and the technician was coming in the morning to complete the process. So there we sat with battery-operated lanterns illuminating the place while we continued our conversations. Finally, we all went to bed hoping the power would come back on before the house got too hot. The temperature had reached 94° today.

We will be spending the weekend with family in Seaford, VA, and will not post another entry until we have returned to the boat.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Wormley Creek, Yorktown

Working our way to Wormley Creek!

Posted on May 24, 2021 | Comments Off

Wormley Creek Marina – Thursday, 5/20

With the sunrise now before 6:00 am it is hard to stay awake must past 5:30 am when the sky starts to get light. Naturally, Denise was wide awake and got the generator going for coffee and to turn on the heat. It also may be the last morning for a while that we will need to do this as the forecast is for warmer weather in the coming days. But it was so beautiful a morning that it was hard to disturb the peace, even for a little while.

After Mark got up and we had breakfast, we called WCM and they were able to allow us to come in a day early. They gave us the go ahead, which made us quite happy. Plus, because we were intending to stay a week and now adding an extra day, we got the 8^th night free.

We left our wonderful anchorage and headed out the east river, passing the Williams Wharf Landing, a privately owned waterfront park with approximately ¼ mile of shoreline on 5 acres of land. We passed by the big structure that we had seen two years ago and we are still questioning if it is still under construction or completed. There has been an organization that has been formed for the preservation of this area, and they have more information on their website, here.

Matthews Wharf – still under construction?

We entered the wide expanse of Mobjack bay and then turned briefly up the York River.

We didn’t have far to go before we turned up the Perrin River and headed to Crown Point Marina for some fuel. We did not want to fill up out tanks here, but need enough to get us to Wormley Creek Marina (WCM), and then 70+ miles up the Chesapeake when we leave WCM. The creek was very shallow and the tide was still going out, so we did not want to spend a lot of time here. We added the fuel as fast as possible, and when Mark returned he realized that the BoatUS discount they offered was 10% off the total bill, not $.10 per gallon as he originally thought. He was contemplating adding more fuel as this made it very inexpensive, especially compared to all the other marinas around. However, filling the boat and sinking it down into the water further on an outgoing tide in shallow water was not a good thing, so he changed his mind and immediately got us moving. The depth gauge showed 4’6” and as he pulled away from the dock we saw a bit of mud kicked up in the water.

We exited the channel to the marina back into Perrin River and out onto the York River where we only had 2+ miles to go across it and enter the channel at Wormley Creek. To the left of the creek is power plant, preceded by a large fuel pipeline. On the right is the US Coast Guard Training Center (TRACENT), Yorktown. It was good to see our “Coasties” out patrolling the waters as we approached the creek. Once inside the creek breakwater, we made a sharp left turn past the docks for the private homes and into the creek’s narrow channel that runs right in front of the marina.

Our first order of business at WCM was to get a pump-out. This was easy to do and Pam (marina owner) was down with her newest employee (Madison) to lend a hand and share information. Here we learned the water at the slips was well water and she did not recommend us drinking it. Therefore we needed to add water on the boat in order to have some for showers, cooking, etc. while here. To do this we needed to move the boat around the pump-out dock to the haul-out area and hook up a hose to the spigot that is provided by the city (i.e. is potable). To get the hose to the boat, Mark had to connect 2 of our hoses (one 50’ and one 150’) to reach the boat for filling our water tanks. It took about 45 minutes for all this activity, meanwhile the temperature was rising and it was getting hot!

Finally, after filling the boat with fuel, pumping out our waste, and adding water, we were able to move to our slip where our Island Office will sit for the next 8 days. It was nearly noon and the Captain was hungry for lunch and thirsty for his daily Diet Coke. But before he could enjoy this indulgence, we had to go check into the marina office before they closed for lunch (at noon). Here we re-encountered Pam who was so informative and as nice as she could be. She explained the issues she is having getting staff and thus the marina is not quite where she would like it to be: the gardens need weeding and the pool was still not open as it requires cleaning of the tables and umbrellas, etc. She was willing to go the extra mile to make us feel welcome in this family-owned marina. We chatted further with her as we checked out the restroom and laundry facilities (pay for on the honor system) and how hard it is for her to get away from work; her and her husband live on the property in the house that overlooks the marina.

Finally, we got back to our boat, ate some lunch and turned on the air conditioner as it was 85° and hot. Mark did some work as Denise got caught up on emails, and published the last blog. Mark also rinsed off the boat with the dock water, and made arrangements for our rental car pickup for the weekend. Meanwhile, Denise was in contact with the nieces (Christen & Shannon) and made arrangements for Mark’s Birthday dinner on Friday evening.

We had leftovers for dinner aboard the boat, and streamed a few shows on the TV before calling it a day.