Time: 18:20 local
Lat: 37 50N
Log: 76 16 W
Reedville, VA

Two short hops have brought us further up the Chesapeake Bay to the delightful anchorage in the town of Reedville, VA on Cockrell Creek.  Karen’s description of a town that looks like a movie set is exactly right.  A very strange mix of industrial and just plain pretty, with everything just exactly as it should be.

Reedville is the home to one of the largest menhaden fishing fleets on the east coast, and to the processing plant that takes in the catch.  (To my father: Yes, it smells as bad as you remember when you are downwind!)

For those of you who may not be familiar, the menhaden is a large herring that swims in schools by the millions in this part of the Atlantic Ocean. In various localities it goes by other names, mossbunker, pogy, or bunker.   It is processed into fish oil, dried fish meal for animal feed, and various other industrial products.  It is not considered edible by any human I have met.  Makes great bait to catch better tasting fish and crabs, however!

At least from the water, the town looks just beautiful.  Bald eagles, ospreys, kingfishers, terns, and (of course) seagulls all fly along the water front.  It’s pretty enough that we are going to spend tomorrow here and walk around a bit.

We had a minor issue with the boat yesterday while sailing.  A key part in the electric furler for the jib sail shattered, preventing the electric motor from turning the foil to roll up the sail.  Fortunately, Amel thought of something like this when they built the boat, and installed a system so the sail can be furled manually.  It’s not convenient, but it works.  The broken piece is a very simple part, easy to have fabricated locally.  Something to do when we get to Annapolis!