Anomalous Weather Patterns and a Fleet Stuck in Hampton

And “The Rest of the Story”

I started writing this post  on the boat while anchored outside of St. Michaels, MD on November 6 on the way back to Annapolis.  I’m just now getting back to it on November 13 after a lot of changed plans and gear-shifting. The original post title above made sense at the time but now that I’m back home writing at the kitchen table a week later, Paul Harvey’s signature radio segment title, “The Rest of the Story” seems wildly more appropriate.

November 6, 2022

It’s been a long while since my last post owing to longer single-handed days working my way down the Chesapeake and making preparations for the big offshore leg. I still plan to write about the time spent in Annapolis and  the cool trip segments south to Hampton, VA but there is less urgency now given changed circumstances and new plans. If you are watching my tracking map you will have already noticed that Rejoice is now heading north in the Chesapeake, rather than six days off shore and south of Bermuda somewhere. 

 I arrived at Safe Harbor Blue Water Marina just south of the Hampton Roads Tunnel that connects Hampton to Norfolk on October 26 right schedule. I had already configured and filled my 25 gallon bladder tank on the sea hood in Deltaville, VA so I just needed to top-off the main tank in Hampton to make sure I had maximum fuel for the upcoming voyage. Seven gallons was all it took giving me 72 gallons between the 37 gallon main tank, the two five gallon Jerry jugs in the cockpit, and the 25 gallon bladder tank. I targeted getting to Hampton a full five full days before our anticipated launch date so I could start meeting others in the fleet, prepare the vessel for the 10-14 day offshore voyage, and most particularly, be in a position to fully engage in the daily weather briefings offered by Chris Parker from Marine Weather Center starting on the 27^th. I was now on a dock making for easy on and offs for the time I’d be in Hampton and for my two crew to bring their gear aboard. They were due in on October 29 and 31 respectively. Life was good and right on track!

It was pretty clear from the first weather briefing though that this trip was not going to be a simple on-time departure with  historic weather patterns and navigational routings. What we hoped for was  “easting till the butter melts” with a turn south at 66 degrees west longitude or a bit farther east for a wonderful long reach in the trade winds to the eastern Caribbean. Instead what we heard was a forecast for near impossible Gulf Stream crossings for yachts our size and capability and direct headwinds thereafter with, oh yes, building and unstable tropical conditions, otherwise known as a weather petri dish for hurricane formation. Chris was suggesting that a persistent trough of low pressure was blocking the normal transit of cold fronts moving off the east coast creating compression zones in the Gulf Stream with estimated 40 knots of wind against 3 to 5 knots of current, a place you really don’t want to be when that happens. Adding insult to injury, the low pressure trough  was producing steep seas and big headwinds on the eastern side of the Gulf Stream right in the direction we wanted to go. Additionally, Chris saw evidence in the weather models of several sub-tropical low pressures developing in the western Atlantic and the Caribbean, which we know now developed into Hurricanes Lisa, Martin, and Nicole. So, in the days leading-up to our anticipated November 1 departure, the options were to wait until the weather pattern changed in a few weeks (at best) or change to a more southerly destination like the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, or the Dominican Republic. I started writing to my crew letting them know what was up and what to expect once they got to Hampton. Each to their credit said they were on for the long haul, still planned to come, and looked forward to getting together to evaluate and discuss the situation as a crew. 

In the meantime, my immediate mission was to be prepared to launch as soon as the crew arrived if conditions changed for the better or if a temporary window of opportunity presented itself. There was still lots to do. The single side band (SSB) radio had to be programmed for Chris Parker’s daily offshore weather broadcasts and the Salty dawg Rally radio nets, the anchor had to be removed, disassembled and stored, the anchor chain deck pipes had to be filled with putty and tightly covered and sealed with canvas. Though I had a storm trysail on board, I wanted to add a third reef to the mainsail reefing system if we needed to further de-power in a hurry given the forecast winds and sea state. Lastly, I needed to provision with fruits, vegetables, and cold stores that had a short shelf life. By the night of October 31, both crew were aboard, all the preparations were done, and Rejoice was ready for sea. Every briefing thereafter, though, seemed to get a little bit worse rather than better.

We decided that waiting several weeks for a weather change was not a tenable option, nor a certain one. It could have been a month. I was very open with the crew that I was not a “sun chaser” and was really in it for the 1,400 mile offshore leg, so sailing south to Florida, the Bahamas, or other destination really had no appeal to me. Both crew had the same motivation with the same expected outcome, so we collectively decided to retire from the rally and punt. Crew member Rick had never sailed the Chesapeake before and I had only really seen it on the way down to Hampton, so we decided to take a week to 10 days to explore it and end up in Annapolis to store the boat there for the winter. Dan was from the Philadelphia area and had cruised the Chesapeake before, so he opted to return home instead. We launched on our original departure date of November 1, but went north instead of southeast!

November 13, 2022

Of the 180 boats originally heading to Antigua, several diverted to the Bahamas, a few went to the Dominican Republic,  but the balance waited in Hampton or surrounding anchorages for things to change. I was thrilled to see that the weather system that kept everyone pinned-down for two weeks finally presented an escape opportunity and that a great majority of the fleet is on its way today. They are all headed for a winter in the Caribbean and I wish them all a safe voyage and wonderful time there. Truth be told, though I met some wonderful people in the process, I’m delighted to be home with family and  friends and can’t wait for a crisp Thanksgiving, the annual local Christmas parade and, yes, some snow. Maybe there will be a time for an island visit down the road, but for now wool socks, the smell of spruce, and sight of a thin whisp of smoke from a chimney are all comforting markers that its November and I’m home. 

“And now you know  – the rest of the story”!