It was an uneventful Leg 2 for the 2016 ARC DelMarVa Fleet, and sometimes that's just the way we like it! The fleet departed Portsmouth, VA yesterday in the pre-dawn twilight - with some boats hoisting sail and flying downwind out of the Elizabeth River - but the offshore leg offered light airs and not much drama.
"We sailed wing-on-wing out the river," said one crewmember, "but by the time we got offshore there wasn't much wind. We maybe sailed for 4-5 hours total."
It was a beautiful motorboat ride nonetheless. Crews reported seeing dolphins, shooting stars and a nearly full moon.
"And there was a ton of phosphoresence in the ocean!" one crew from Caravanserai said excitedly.
By sunup, most of the fleet was approaching Cape May inlet, and the rain had started. The radar did not look promising for a nice sunny day by the seashore, but after two hours of light drizzle, the majority of rain went to the south. Skies are clearing now here in Canyon Club Marina as the last of the fleet arrives.
Tonight's schedule includes a briefing for the final leg back to Annapolis, followed by a Happy Hour at the Harborview deck bar just down the street.