We are anchored in the harbor of Tangier Island, where we have good protection from the seas to the West and North of us. This works well for us, as a cold front is forecasted to be coming in and blowing from the North-West! Tangier Island is flat and low, so it will not offer any protection from the wind, which means that the seas in the harbor can get rather choppy.
We explored the town and rowed back to the boat the day we got here, arriving back to the boat in a surreal world of absolute stillness. It was hard to imagine that such a world would turn into a chaotic whirlpool in just a few hours!
Around 3am, the winds began to build, and I let out a bit more chain to give our anchor extra help in holding us still in the water. I also tied on the snubber to reduce the noise transmitted through the chain as well as to reduce the shock loads when we ride up a wave crest. After everything was well set, I went back to sleep, knowing that the conditions were only going to deteriorate as the night progressed.
When the morning arrived, the winds were blowing a steady 20 to 25 knots with gusts to 30 knots. The seas in the harbor are 3 feet, and we are really lurching around! We had plans to go to shore today with our bicycles and ride around the island, but all that had to be put on hold.
The seas are rough and the wind is intense! We knew that attempting to row the quarter of a mile to shore in these conditions would be ludicrous, especially with two bicycles thrown in the dinghy!
Instead, we slept, read, and ate as we waited for the winds to calm down. Listening to the forecast provided sour news. The high winds were slated to last the entire day and into the next morning. With this news, we knew that we had no choice but to hunker down and wait it out.
It is actually hard to find things to do when you know you are stuck in one place. You feel like everything you try to do is simply being done to waste time and make tomorrow come faster! The good side to this situation is we know we aren't going anywhere, so we can spend time making all sorts of delicious foods to eat to pass the time!
The rocking of the boat can make such activities harder to do, as your whole world is being tossed around you as you wait out your time. The important thing to remember is that it is temporary and as soon as the winds die down, we will be able to resume our usual exploring and adventures!
