We departed our Corrottoman River anchorage at 0430 hours before dawn knowing that we had before us a long day passage in light forecasted winds, with an aim to arrive back at Willoughby Harbor Marina before dark at 1750 hours, and knowing that we wanted to stop for fuel along the way.

We left on an outgoing tide with E wind 5-10 kts good enough to sail at about 0745 hours . We had to really search the sky for the lights that would center our path under the Rappahannock Bridge. It was a relief to finally spot them as we always want to take a bridge at its center due to our mast height of over 70 feet.

We had a nice long, slow sail south after exiting the Rappahannock, with the wind dying in the middle of the day then picking back up. We stopped at Bluewater Yacht Haven to take on 50 gallons of diesel fuel. This vacation week was just a prelude to the following days we would spend with Dave's family aboard.