Singlehanded DelMarva Circumnavigation

I bashed southbound sailing into 20+ knots of wind and white caps toward the Atlantic Ocean for 3 consecutive 12+ hour days in the Chesapeake Bay. Then I turned north wallowing in 5’ following seas for 30 non-stop hours in the Atlantic from the mouth of the bay to Cape May, NJ. I was on a challenging adventure tackling the DelMarVa loop singlehanded in my 27’ Pearson sailboat named Base Camp.

Bashing south, each wave on the nose almost brought my small boat to a standstill, wrestling to regain some speed only to stall with the next wave. Conversely, northbound in following seas, I was surfing down the face of each 5’ swell that came from the stern. Needless to say, it was a thrilling adventure with occasional moments of terror.

This is the counterclockwise tracks recorded on
my Chartplotter during the 8 day circum.

The DelMarVa loop is a 450+ mile circumnavigation of the Eastern Shores of MD/VA. It includes a non-stop 130 mile Atlantic Ocean passage from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware Bay. I choose a counterclockwise route to optimize the prevailing southerly winds while navigating the Ocean segment.
This adventure is completed by many  Chesapeake Bay sailors looking to expand their horizons. There is always stress and anxiety surrounding the Atlantic segment. Its 30-36 hours of non-stop open ocean sailing 5+ miles off the coast, with little option for shelter, 4-6’ swells on a good day and of course sailing through the night and in the vicinity of shipping lanes.  Much focus and planning is around that section, but the trip should really only be considered a success after the Atlantic AND Delaware Bay are complete. The Delaware Bay is notorious for tough and unpredictable conditions, square waves, lots of shipping traffic and currents. Transiting the Delaware bay is the goal and not sailing. Timing for favorable current is also key.

Meet my trusty crew, i can yell at them and they never talk back. :-)

Heading up the Delaware Bay, i ran straight through a nasty squall.

It was the textbook anvil cloud with thunder, lightning and a brief

downpour of rain.

My trusty autopilot drove the boat as i coward in the
companion way under cover of the dodger and rain pelleted down.

Wind at my back with the headsail full, my progress was slow.
You can see the RADAR reflector connected to backstay.
This help large ships see my tiny boat better on there RADAR screens.

My protected cockpit where i can run the entire boat on a typical day.