We said we were going to sail. It was 8 days and 250+ miles spread over 52 or more hours of sailing. We kept our promise. This sailing quest was conceived almost a year ago by Dave and Rob, and was realized October 15th through the 22nd by a flotilla of four boats chartered out of Deltaville, Virginia. This cruise, consisting of 4 boats – Dreamer II a thirty-nine foot Beneteau skippered by Dave Steward, Victoria a thirty-eight foot Beneteau skippered by Rob Chichester, another thirty-eight foot Beneteau, Sea Spirit skippered by Julio Menendez and a thirty-five foot Beneteau skippered by Stan Richmond would take us into some of the more historical areas in our Nation’s history – both maritime and wartime – but also to some of the most remote and pristine areas of the Chesapeake Bay. Club members began arriving on Friday the 14th after a wet drive from the north and south stowed their gear and greeted their crewmates. This first day out was just less than 34 nautical miles to a small, attractive bay on the Severn River. We arrived around 1600 and quickly assembled a raft. The sunset in Mobjack Bay followed immediately by the moonrise suggested a continuity for the rest of our week’s adventure. Day 2 and our Float Plan for this day called for continued southing into Little Creek in Norfolk, Virginia and the Bay Point Marina roughly 30 nautical miles south and east of Mobjack Bay. Freshening winds once again filled our sails as we moved from beam to close and ultimately to broad reaches. Soon enough the Thimble Shoals light appeared as the fleet bore left for the entrance into the creek that also holds the Navy’s Amphibious fleet; an interesting juxtaposition of warships and pleasure-ships nestled within yards of one another. Land-based visitors joined us in the small picnic grove available in the marina. We watched the moon rise again as we feasted on various southern fare. Our third day met us with stiff breezes out of the northeast, increased swells, and wind-blown whitecaps in the lower Bay. The flotilla beat toward Cape Charles and a brand-spanking new facility there called Bay Creek Marina. The circuitous route into Kings Creek will necessarily demand one’s attention but was rather entertaining to execute nonetheless. The underused marina was most spacious. Huge fairways and well designed slips make this destination a recommended stop for the cruiser. Even the heads were ornate with marble and plenty of room to spread out. The Cabana Bar gives a panoramic view of the Chesapeake Bay and its expanse at this latitude. We paused to watch the sunset. As the last streaks of orange light dripped below the horizon, we spun to see the full moon rise over Kings Creek. The fleet departed early on the 4th day for Pungoteague Creek. This was a new destination except for an earlier car ride to a point just off the intended anchorage to research the situation and what the charts revealed. It was also going to be another good day’s sail given it was 39 nautical miles from marina to anchorage. Pungoteague Creek provided the quintessential gunkholing experience as we found the bottom with our keels but not with our anchors. The raft of 4 boats had tangled itself overnight so once all were disengaged the fleet motored out of Pungoteague Creek heading for Crisfield, Maryland. Little or no wind forced us all to motor until reaching Somers Cove Marina, a facility run by the state of Maryland just inside the Little Annemessex River. This was our 5th day underway and would be the only one where no winds were present. The Bay was so flat that it provided the crews an opportunity to take in the surroundings and accurately dodge the myriad of crab pots that seemingly bob out of nowhere. Crisfield provided an opportunity to re-provision and shower, but the visible decay and commercial inactivity were incongruous with the construction of the mega-condos taking place along the riverfront. Nonetheless, The Cove restaurant provided our stomachs with some good down-home cooking and it was just across the street from the marina. The forecasted wind direction was about right, but the 20 plus knots far exceeded the predicted 10 knots. This wouldn’t be the first time NOAA would give out an inaccurate wind speed. This was the second longest day of our proposed 8 day circumnavigation with 40 miles to cover. Sails were quickly hauled just outside Crisfield at G “1”. Several tacks later, and we were on course for Holland Island light, then on to R “72” and a course heading change for a close haul into the Patuxent River and ultimately into Solomons, Maryland. We had come to cruise but the conditions were right for a race to break out. Victoria (Rob, et al) shook out her reef and man a run at Dreamer II (Dave and company). Dreamer II got the stuffing beat out of her by Victoria even when they deployed the “rail-meat,” but what a sail it was. Those aboard Dreamer II almost didn’t make it in to Back Creek and Zahniser’s in time for check-in because the sailing was just too fine. So, okay, all good things must come to an end. And, so did the weather, but not the winds. Friday and our 7th day out met the flotilla with low scudding clouds and drizzle. It would get wetter, but the sailing would be outrageous! Swells built to the 5 to 6 foot range and with headsail alone we made over 7 knots to our intended destination for that day; the longest of the circumnavigation at 41 nautical miles, into Mill Creek south of Reedville. What was estimated to be an 8 hour trip, assuming 5 knots, was only about 6 hours and some change. We were not alone in Mill Creek. It seemed every snowbirding cruiser had dropped a hook there. Once again our fleet rafted, chatted and slept through torrents of rain with flashes of lightning and thunder. It was a good gunkhole, though, and well protected from the northeasterly blowing outside. We had reached our 8th and final day of what had become an absolutely fine cruise. We would only find out later what a fortuitous window of opportunity we had with Wilma churning across Cancun then lower Florida. The fleet once again removed itself from one another and along with the southbound cruisers who also were weighing anchor we made our way out of this splendid hurricane hole and pointed southward back toward Deltaville. This day would have been yet another in a great sail, but alas…check-in time back at Deltaville countermanded that decision. We had arrived 8 days earlier ready for adventure. We were leaving physically spent but nonetheless invigorated from the experience and feeling very much alive. Indeed, the Bay less traveled was exactly that, as we rarely saw other sails other than our own. This portion of the Bay gives one a sense of openness and “offshore-ness” not achieved in other parts of the Bay. Best of all we got to sail!