On Sunday, we left early once again and enjoyed another beautiful sunrise…As pretty as it is to sail in the sunrise, it becomes very tricky to see the numerous crab pots with the sun in your eyes. Especially when we are motoring, we remain vigilant…we like crabs but not in our prop!!That day, we passed in front of the Potomac river, a 10 miles long entrance! The Potomac is an impressive and mighty river: in a previous trip, we had gone to St-Marys but we never attempted to go the 95 miles to Washington DC. It is also historically interesting to cross or sail the river for the simple fact that here catholics and protestants have cohabited – not always peacefully –since the beginnings of the United states. In the 17th century, one had to choose the Maryland side of the river if catholic and the Virginia side if protestant…and it is still the same today! On the way to our destination Reedsville (Virginia), there were several sailboats enjoying the nice breeze. One caught up with us and came closer and closer…I thought that the crew was a friendly-minded one and wished to talk to us (or hand us lunch)…yes, the boat was coming that close (30feet). My captain believed, however, that the skipper of Moondance (Baltimore), a Sabre38, simply wanted to pass us without having to diverge from his autopilot set waypoint! Finally realizing that this would not be possible, he grudgingly took the wheel and pass us with an angry face !!! Yes, there are such cruisers…

Reedsville, Virginia. A German fellow cruiser had found Reedsville’s anchorage very pittoresque and so, we decided to enter the little bay …having to face local traffic! There is a still active fishing industry here and those vessels are on the bay, every day. Menhaden are the fishes caught by their nets. While the initial mile in the creek did not offer very glamourous surroundings , the surprise was even greater when we sailed deeper in one creek leading to Reedsville!

While we were sipping our wine, a local couple that lives on the bay came to wish us welcome in Reedsville. Such is the Virginian welcome! We spent several hours in the cockpit that night, listening to the numerous song birds but also to “our” Canadian geese that have arrived here to spend their winter.