Oct. 15, 2025 Hurricanes to Nor'easters

Wed. Oct. 15, 2025 Solomons to Put In Creek on Mobjack Bay 93 miles and 8.9 hours

After a slow summer of tropical activity, things have really been active the last few weeks. It's been almost a month since we departed Boston and started hastening our way south to avoid weather impacts from approaching storms. Since then we've had 6 named storms churn up the waters and create very disturbed weather patterns. Hurricanes Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen and Lorenzo have barely let the ocean settle before another storm developed. Now it's been several rounds of early season Nor'easters with 20-30 knot winds making travel challenging even here on the somewhat protected Chesapeake Bay. North winds just channel down the length of the bay creating substantial waves with a short period. We've got a slight break in the weather today.

Sunrise in Solomons as we prepare to depart.
Good to see the sun again after several days of clouds and rain

Winds are projected at 10-15 mph with 2' seas which is at the maximum for our usual go-no go decision. But it's the best we've seen in a while. Decide to head out with several bail out options if we don't like the conditions on the bay. We are not alone leaving today. There is a flotilla of sailboats already ahead of us. A contingent of Kadey-Krogens also departs having wound down their rendezvous in Solomons. They all are typically running in the 6 mph range so over the course of the day we pass them all running our 10-11 mph speed.

Several of the Kadey-Krogens traveling south together

Kadey-Krogen has been making these strong, salty, stable economical trawlers for years.

Seas are running the promised 2' from the north which is giving us a relatively smooth ride although we do the usual wallowing motions as waves lift and push us around. Otto is working double time trying to keep us on track and even then still sounds an audible alarm occasionally as our heading deviates significantly off course until he's able to fully correct. We catch a favorable outgoing tide all day helping speed us along. As we approach the mouth of the Potomac River things get a bit sportier as waves built and got more confused. It's expected, but not fun, as the water rushing out the Potomac River joins and mixes the bay. Once past there, things settle back down again.

Point No Point Lighthouse completed in 1904.

Smith Point Lighthouse guarding the entrance to the Potomac. There were several others
before this one was built in 1897. Currently privately owned.

We had marked Mill Creek up the Great Wicomico River as a possible anchorage and bail out point. Weather forecast has deteriorated for Friday with stronger winds so looks like we need a spot to anchor securely for a 2-night stay. We've got the time so decide to push further south to Mobjack Bay which will make a shorter one day run through Norfolk when the time comes. Wound up being a long 9-hour day of boating. Not too much to see other than more old lighthouses.

Wolf Trap Lighthouse built in 1894 at the Rappahannock River entrance.
These caisson based lighthouses replaced earlier screwpile style ones destroyed by ice flows.
This one is also privately owned.

New Point Comfort Lighthouse built in 1804-05 still stands protecting the entrance to Mobjack Bay. Now protected by stone riprap, it originally was part of the mainland.
Ownership was deeded to Mathews County in 1976

Once at Mobjack Bay we worked our way well up the East River to Put In Creek where we found the right spot to get protection from the northerlies'. It's a location we've anchored in before and offers great protection with a good shoreline of trees and homes. One sailboat already here but lots of room for us too. Drop the hook and let out plenty of scope. Forecast calls for strong 30+ knot winds to pass through overnight with those gusts continuing through Friday. Want to make sure dragging is the least of our worries!