York River: The Final Frontier

Today we head to the York River Yacht Haven where we will stay for at least two weeks. YRYH is located on the eastern shore of the York River on what is known as Gloucester Point. This marina has been recommended to us by several fellow mariners and if after talking with the YRYH Service Department, Captain Mark is satisfied with the answers they provide, this will be the location where the Lolligag is placed “on the hard”. Since I am hard of hearing, when I first heard this nautical term, I thought I was misunderstanding what was being said as the words were an odd sequence for me to process – kind of like Yoda-speak…However, the term means exactly what it says: the boat will be placed upon hard ground for an extended period of time.

The today started off bright, sunny and primarily uneventful but definitely a wonderful day upon the water. The temperature was comfortable and seas calm. Since it was a Tuesday and later in the season for most Chesapeake boaters, we had the waters pretty much to ourselves.

As we rounded the Virginia shore to enter the York River, we were amazed by the beauty of this river. First, by how wide the York River is as it joins the Chesapeake Bay. At this point which is the river’s mouth on the west side of Bay, the river is over 2.5 miles wide. We can only imagine that the awe and wonder we experienced seeing this sight for the first time was the same feeling as shared by the early explorers of this area. Modern development has been kept to a minimum in this area of Virginia so the shoreline looks very much like it has since the first written records were created by the early European settlers. Secondly, as we looked to the west, we could see a storm squall line headed in our direction. We knew the storm was coming but it was our hope to reach our slip at YRYH before the brunt of the thunderstorm arrived. As the storm came closer, the temperature dropped and winds picked up. However, once again Neptune and Mother Nature favored the Lolligag crew, particularly the Deck Monkey, whose job it is to be outside the pilot house (in the rain) to secure lines while arriving at a wet, slippery dock. In addition to the assistance given by Mother Nature in holding the worst of the storm off until we were secured in our slip, the staff at York River Yacht Haven were standing in the rain to meet us and grab our lines upon arrival thereby saving this Deck Monkey who did not have to slip or fall on the wet dock. Right from the beginning, I knew that I would love staying at York River Yacht Haven.

Hours on the water: 6
Nautical miles traveled: 40
Number of bridges to be opened: 0
Time spent waiting at bridge: 0
Next Destination: Undetermined
What we are listening to: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
What we watched: The storm
Lesson for the day: YRYH is the best!
Obligatory knitting report: Blue Heron Yarn Shawl