Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg

We departed Norfolk mid-morning under clear skies and fair winds for the trip into Chesapeake Bay and up the York River, 4.5 hours for the 37 mile run.  As we are just getting the boat going again after 17 months of layup, my objective is for modest daily runs.  

We arrived with lots of time in the afternoon to explore the town on our bikes.  

Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg are 2 parts of the historic triangle  including Jamestown, which we also visited 2 years ago.  

Yorktown is most famous for being the site of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War in 1781, which this monument was built to honour.  

The Riverwalk Landing marina is located right in the centre of town, with great access to all the main sites.  

And we certainly had our share of entertaining sights there with USCG trainees practicing docking, a submarine transiting the river, and a large supply / refueling ship requiring a bridge opening. 

The next day, we Ubered to Williamsburg with great expectations for a day of history.  Williamsburg was the British Colonial capital of Virginia from 1699 to 1776, and the Capital of Virginia from 1776 to 1780. The townsite is huge, over 300 acres, with many buildings including the Governors House and the Capital building, as well as many trades buildings, shops, churches, and homes.  Many of the homes are still lived in at the historic site.  

The day turned out to be a bit of a disappointment though.  Many of the building tours were restricted in scope due to Covid, the interpreters were rather uninspiring, and all of the restaurants at the east end of the town were closed, just as 400 people departed a performance from a nearby outdoor theatre at lunchtime.  

Oh well, in our travels we sometimes find places exceed expectations, so I guess some have to under deliver. 

Our plans to depart the next day were nixed with a brisk east wind rolling up the York River.  An increase in wind had been forecast, but not to this extent.  The local 100' charter sailing vessel was even rocking up and down at the dock (This picture was taken the night before in the calm waters).  Oh well, good day to get some B and C list maintenance chores done.  

It was so rough, that Judy started to feel sea sick just sitting on the boat at the dock, and had to go ashore to a bench to read at a stable location.  We weren't in a picture taking mood at the time so don't have one to really show the conditions. 

The next morning the wind was similar and forecast to build through the day,  so we moved across the river  to a more protected marina.  This place also provided a courtesy car so we took advantage of the opportunity for a provisioning run.

Judy then spent part of the afternoon at the pool while Greg continued with some boat chores, including launching the dinghy to test the engine start.  Launch went well, and engine started just fine, only to find that the steering was seized.   Another job to add to the maintenance list. Boats shouldn't sit idle for 17 months!

With a forecast of much lighter winds, we departed the next day with the objective of getting about 25 miles further up the Bay.  By 11 we were well into the Bay but getting thumped trying to push into stronger than forecast NE winds.  The option of turning back was considered, but the option of taking a 90 degree turn to East and heading across the Bay for 12 miles to the eastern shore won out.  Heading E allowed us to take the seas on the beam, and the stabilizers on this boat do a marvelous job of reducing motion in beam seas.  Unfortunately they don't do anything about taking head seas. 

As we crossed to the eastern shore the waves reduced and the last half of the trip into the town of Cape Charles was much more comfortable. 

Cape Charles is the southernmost community on the eastern shore, and its heritage is about the sea and the railway.  The rails are gone now but it is a reasonably thriving tourist destination community now.  

With the wind blowing the next day still, it was another good day for maintenance projects.  We did take the opportunity in the afternoon to explore the town on our bikes and visit a great local brewery.

And the next day, more wind and another good day for maintenance projects.  We utilized our bikes

again  to explore more of the town, visit the museum, the beach, and another local marina, shown here.

So after leaving Norfolk 6 days ago, we have made it all of 30 miles into Chesapeake Bay.  The weather forecast for the next two days still calls for wind, so we are camped out here awaiting better weather.  At least when the winds abate, it is still forecast to blow from the E to NE so moving up the Eastern Shore will at least be in somewhat protected waters, and much better than trying to get up the Bay on the western shore.