Sarah's Creek on the York River

White Pepper left Portsmith with her intrepid crew of Jan, Karl, and Cindy Elliot on Thursday. We left late and struggled against a flood tide. Hours passed as we crawled past miles of warships lined up along the Elizabeth River. Finally, at the mouth of the river we passed two magnificent Forrestal class air craft carriers. We did not take pictures as I did not want a Coast Guard boarding.

Eventually, we entered Hampton Roads. For being so famous Hampton Roads is small--maybe 3 mi. by 5 miles. I once lived on the banks of Hampton Roads as a sixth grader. It looked so enormous then. Once past Fort Monroe, where my father was once stationed, we were out in the Chesapeake Bay at last.

Even in the wide open Chesapeake we were confined to fairways. Wide swatches of the bay are assigned to fishermen who can leave nets in the water. We did not see any impediments but stayed in our lane regardless. The wind stayed light from the NE and on the nose. So we had to motor all day. To compound the delay the current changed and now we were fighting an ebb tide.

A change of plans was required. White Pepper turned up into the York River. Five miles upstream and across the river from York Town (Cornwallis, Washington, etc.) we turned into Sarah's Creek. It was the perfect Bay anchorage--tranquil, placid, and picturesque--just as the sun set. We barbecued chicken and spent a peaceful evening.