|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Irvington, Tragedy at Sea, & Reedville
Irvington is the town nearby and is off the Rappahonock River up Carter Creek. It was over caste and rainy that day when we crossed the Rappahonock leaving Deltaville. We headed up Rappahonock River to Carter Creek which is right after the bridge on our starboard side. We entered the picturesque Carter Creek. We passed the Irvington Marina on the right which looked like a derelict place. I guess it was still recovering from damage done by the last hurricane. It looked like it was falling apart and barely patched together. Beyond that were green rolling hills cascading down to the waters edge with picturesque boat house kissing the waters edge. Wonderful old farm houses and barns overlooked the creek as they sat high above on the crest of the hills. As we entered deeper in to the creek the few houses were more recently built and more upscale.
We could see the Tides Inn ahead and their docks. Their old Queen Anne, motor vessel was tied to the dock out front. How picturesque the boat was and how comforting to know that it was in good condition and obviously was getting good. It also was proved to still be useful to the Inn by taking guests our each day on afternoon cruises. It was a beauty.
We didn’t waste anytime as got on the shuttle
boat and headed to the resort with Ziggy. We were told the restaurant on the
point had some outside seating and Ziggy could go there. It was right beside
the swimming pool and though it was raining, we were sheltered under their patio
awning and enjoyed the service from the young wait staff. We had a huge
delicious hamburger and relaxed after our short trip from Deltaville.
We explored the Inn before heading out on a short walk to the town of Irvington. The Inn had a large sitting room off to the right of the entrance that overlooked the water. It was decorated very old Virginia style. Off to the left of the lobby were the two dining rooms, one requiring a jacket and the other with the same menu, not requiring a jacket. We made reservations in the more informal one for that evening.
We headed out the front door towards town and walked through part of the golf course area in the front of the inn. The Inn wasn’t much to look at in the way of architectural style but was a busy bustling place. It was a longer walk than we thought to town but we enjoyed looking at the several houses along the way.
Before long, we reached the Steamboat Museum on
the left in a nice new building but designed to reminiscently reflect an old
train depot. Larry and Zig waited outside while I wandered through the displays
as quickly as possible so they wouldn’t have to wait too long. It was a nice
little museum and worth the visit. The town was not much, in size. We were surprised! There were a couple shops, a coffee place, a church and that was it! An architect had recently come to town that it was said was updating the Tides Inn and was influencing the look of the town as well. He had a whimsical flare to his style of architect which was shaping the few small stores in town. He designed the local dental office whose front porch was supported by columns that were large toothbrushes! So you kind of get the picture of his talents and humor. We had a coffee and looked around, enjoying the magnificent crepe myrtle trees that were in brilliant bloom. They are really something!
That night we had a nice meal and felt civilized again. The Virginians seem enjoy getting dressed for dinner and it was fun to watch. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE
The next day it poured cats and dogs the whole darn day. Larry wanted me to go to the spa but it was overbooked, I guess due to the rain. So we spent a quiet day on the boat watching the rain come down. I read and Larry did things that needed to be done on the boat. The rain broke slightly in the late afternoon and we took advantage to take Zig for a walk up the hill from our side of the dock. We were thrilled and surprised to find the loveliest golf course and woods I’d ever seen. They had lovely walking paths to explore and since it had rained so hard that day, not a soul was out. It gave Ziggy the opportunity to have total freedom and he could run and stretch his legs and chase squirrels. We walked and walked admiring the lush greenery and beauty of the place. We stayed in that night for dinner as it was another downpour. It was a shame that we hit rain at the Tides Inn and were unable to enjoy the pools or spa but tomorrow we wanted to head on to Reedville.
Tragedy at Sea We had decided to leave the Tides Inn that morning and head on up to Reedville. It was still raining and icky out. We could see a few other boaters on the dock away from us leaving together. We untied our lines and left the old wooden docks, not without one more walk, to let Ziggy run, by the lovely golf course. We were monitoring channel 16 and 68. We had checked the weather report before we left and the seas were to be 1-3 feet and 10-15 knots, with rain and thunderstorms. We could hear the other boats that had left chattering among each other on channel 68. They apparently were buddy boating together and we could hear them taking about the conditions out in the Chesapeake. They were about 45 minutes ahead of us so we couldn’t see them but could hear them. A boat still at the dock had hailed the lead boat and was asking how the weather was outside the Rappahonock River. The lead boat answered back that the seas were about 5 foot. We were shocked because the weather report said 1-3 and we were wondering if he was exaggerating. We would find out soon though. The guy on the dock said he was going to stay at the dock and golf instead that he didn’t want to go out in that.
As we came out of the Rappahonock, the seas
were picking up a little along as was the wind which was predicted to be 10-15.
We were about an hour out, when we heard one of the boats hail his buddy asking
if he could come back around as they needed assistance. The other boat
responded that he would. Nothing was said of the problem but after more
conversation the original boat called “Un Otra” said he was taking on some
water. He sounded very calm and said they were trying to see what the problem
was. We could hear another buddy boat inquiring as to what the problem was.
Then “Un Otra” answered back that they were bailing water out of the cock pit
with buckets. Still, the boat having a problem seemed very calm and they
casually were talking back and forth. The next thing we hear is that they are
taking water on pretty quickly. He asks if the other boat has a pump. They
answer back that they don’t. Then we hear “Un Otra” call the Coast Guard.
Still, at this point, he doesn’t sound desperate or even ruffled. He tells the
coast guard his problem and asks if they have a pump. The coast guard
immediately asks the regular questions: “How many aboard?” “Get your life
jackets on!” “What is your position?” All of these questions were repeated and
asked over and over again. Soon, “Un Otra” is starting to sound kind of frantic. Still the girl on the radio from the Coast Guard seemed to be asking the same question over and over again, even though the distressed boat repeated the answers. The Coast Guard said a boat would be there in 18 minutes. We plotted their position and it was a mile and half off Windmill Point which was just out the entrance from the Rappahonock. We picked up our speed and headed in their direction as fast as our boat would allow. In the distance we began to make out three boats in the haze and rain. The seas now were very rough and we were pounding our way there. We could see one boat in a stationary position and the other two boats circling around. We couldn’t really make out what was happening.
We were getting closer and could make out the boats much clearer now. We could see the ship in distress as its bow was pointing up and we could clearly see two people on the bow. We wondered where the rest were. We could here the coast guard woman on the radio again saying a boat was on the way and would be there in 15 minutes. It was becoming obvious that that would not be soon enough. We then heard the rescue coast guard vessel on the radio. They were doing their best to find their position. He was calling over and over to the distressed vessel. There was no answer so the buddy boat answered back.
We had arrived in time to be of help but weren’t needed so we slowly proceeded on our way and tried to stay out of the way of the guy in the dinghy who was trying to get back on his boat. What a brave guy he was and how fortunate that they were there to help them out. I can’t imagine how tough it was for him now to get that dinghy safely stowed back on his boat and the seas were still creating havoc. We were careful to stay clear of the area where the boat went down because it went down in about 20 feet of water so it was a danger as it was submerged just below the surface .
There was a lot of debris left in the water.
Many life jackets, cushions and other loose items from the sunken boat were
floating in the water. We could see some antennas sticking up from the water.
Larry said the depth was shallow that and that the boat would be an unseen
hazard to other boaters coming in this direction.
We heard on the radio that the Coast Guard was taking the rescued people to the nearest port which was Windmill Point. The other two buddy boats decided to follow them in and forget trying to reach their planned destination for that day which was to continue across the Chesapeake Bay. We were able to get pictures of the whole event and I called the Coast Guard to tell them we had them if they needed or wanted them. They were excited to get them and soon we had a call from the local sheriff and the owner of the sunken vessel who wanted copies too. Thanks to amazing digital photography, we were able to send digital photos to all parties via email off our cell phone card.
What
We later learned from speaking to the owner of the sunken vessel that his swim step became partially detached and the combination of the rough seas and the pressure from the loose swim step created a leak in the lassarrete. It opened very quickly and the water just flooded in. It happened in just a brief matter of about 15 minutes before the boat was completely submerged. COMMENTS FROM THOSE THAT WERE THERE (May 2005)
REEDVILLE
We had a rough trip today and were a little stressed out after seeing the sea rescue and sinking “Un Otra” by Windmill Point. We had forgotten all about having lunch and by now were now famished. We tied up, plugged in and went to the little crab shack nearby, got a table on the deck and sat down to experience some delicious crab cake sandwiches. Just as we were finishing the rain started again so we gathered ourselves up and got back in the boat.
Reedville is a charming little village. Not much there in the way of restaurants, just the “Crab Shack” at the marina (which is closed on Mondays) and another up the street called “Tommy’s” that is in an old grocery store building. We walked the small main road and admired the old mansions. They were built in the town’s heyday when fishing for menhaden on the Chesapeake was a prosperous occupation. One small old brick building is now a local ice cream parlor, with real homemade ice cream. The homes were interesting and charming and the residents took pride in keeping them up. They decorated them with flags and signs. Their front porches looked friendly with flower pots and rocking chairs CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE
About half way up the block is the Fisherman’s Museum which turned out to be was very interesting and well done for a small town like this. A nice older lady, who was a volunteer that day, gave me a nice personal tour of a modest old fisherman’s house. The house has been donated to the museum and it has been preserved to show what was typical of the time for the modest income a fisherman’s family. We then watched a short film on the menhaden industry. It was interesting to see how those big ugly ghost ships that we passed when we came in, actually work out in the Chesapeake and what happens to the cargo when it comes back to the town. It was fascinating to learn that the fishing fleet is aided by the use of small airplanes that are able to through radio communication direct the fleet to large schools of menhaden. Inside the main museum is an excellent display of the town’s history and how important oyster fishing was in the past. It became clear how important the menhaden fishing industry to the economic survival of Reedville. In the water, back of the museum, were several historic boats to look at. We were able to see an original skipjack and a waterman’s boat first hand. Also on display were antique marina tools and fishing gear that were used to harvest oysters. The most interesting tool to me was the oyster rake. Pretty much like a garden rake that clasped together which the harvester had to then with strong arms pull the tall poles up and into the boats to unload whatever the rake could grasp. What hard work that must have been and required a strong arm. We had a nice meal the first night at “Tommy’s” just a short walk up the main road from the dock. It was a lively place, crowded with locals, and the food was pretty good. Larry had local striped flounder and I had fresh broiled scallops. We took Zig out later for a nice walk around the neighborhood. The neighborhood dogs all run free and so Zig was off leash too-our kind of place. None of the yards have fences or hedges to divide and separate their property which gives it an open old time feel. The town is absolutely quiet too. What a peaceful place. Our second morning, we got up a little late. We were walking Ziggy and wondering if there was a place nearby where we could get some coffee and breakfast. I decided to poke my head in the local crab factory to ask if they knew of a place that we could walk to or go to on the dinghy. The “factory” was really not much more than an old turn of the century wooden warehouse. It had a high ceiling and the room was filled with tables lined with soft shell crabs, buckets and boxes. The women workers were trimming and cleaning the soft shell crabs and stacking them in nice neat rows in crates. One woman was snipping the crabs with small scissors and removing the lungs. She would then put them in small plastic bags and then pack them in nice neat rows in what looked like white gift boxes for shipping. I was amazed at the site and happy that I just happened to stumbled onto this operation. They said there wasn’t a breakfast place for miles around. The closest place for breakfast was 11 miles away. I asked them a few questions about the crab cleaning process and asked if it was OK to take a few pictures. They were very friendly and asked where we were from. They were amazed that we had come all the way from California on our boat to their little village. As I was leaving, a man who had been visiting with the women, followed me out and was asking a few more questions about our journey. He said he lived up the street and would be glad to go home and get his car to take us to breakfast. I thanked him but told him it wasn’t necessary. He wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. I was amazed at his friendly gesture! We couldn’t refuse, so we put Zig in the boat while he walked up the street to get his car. In a few minutes he was back at the dock and this perfect stranger picked us up and we all headed down the country road for breakfast. Sure enough the breakfast “joint” was exactly 11 miles from town and nothing much else was around either except for corn and soybean fields and old farm houses. It is beautiful country! The breakfast place was a small little place. Inside were large family style tables and filled with locals. Everyone knew each other and it was definitely a gathering place. Fred was our new friend’s name. He recommended the country ham. He said it was the best for miles around. So we ordered up some eggs and country ham. It delicious, nice and salty and very thinly sliced. Through breakfast we found out that Fred was 67 years old and had been retired from the CIA for 11 years! We heard some interesting stories about his time in the CIA and also, heard all the gossip about the area. After, breakfast, Fred drove us to what he considered all the significant sites of the area. He showed us the small cluster of old houses in Fleeton the next village over which is located at the entrance to Cockrell Creek which leads into Reedville. He drove us threw the black neighborhood, and pointed out where the Jergens family (of Jergens Lotions, I guess) bought a house, and where his relatives lived, and where he lived. He said his family has been living there for three generations and he married a girl he went to high school with. It was a great tour and gave us a chance to see sights that we wouldn’t normally see without the insight of a local. He drove us past the local cemetery off the main road that was an unusual site with its old gravestones and huge entry pillars. The cemetery has many more occupants than the living locals I thought. Later in the afternoon, after Fred dropped us off, he returned with an armload of spy novels to give us. He said he had tons of them and that reading spy novels was his favorite pastime, ready spy novels. We reciprocated his generosity by taking him a bottle of California wine. What a kind man. (By the way, Fred, if you are reading this, I enjoyed Rebecca – Thanks very much!) We put the dinghy in the water later that afternoon and poked around the whole area. There are many little inlets that branch off Cockrell Creek and we pretty much explored them all. The inlets are scattered with lovely old homes nestled here and there. Pretty much every house has its own dock and usually an old wooden boat tied to it and frequently the typical waterman’s boat. This place certainly is peaceful, quiet, picturesque and no tourists! Across the creek from us was another old fish processing warehouse. It was an old white clapboard building with large orange crabs painted on the side. It said “Crab and Fish Deli”. We finally decided we had to go over and check it out. We tied up to the old dock out front. Inside the crisp white building was a small store type counter filled with all kinds of wonderful things to eat. They had a menu too to order freshly fried fish cakes, shrimp, and clams – well pretty much anything you can imagine as long as it was fresh and fish. We ordered some crab cakes and shrimp salad for a late lunch. We thought we’d join others outside eating their lunch on the picnic tables that lined the grass edge of the water. The black ladies behind the counter were very friendly and said they were going to package our food up for us as they said it was going to start to rain in a couple minutes. She was right, amazingly. The minute I stepped outside with my package of food, it started to downpour. So, we hopped in the dinghy and had lunch on the boat. That Monday, was a quiet day on the dock. The Crab restaurant and the Tommy’s and the ice cream shop were closed. In fact everything in town seemed to be closed. The watermen keep working though. We saw them coming and going and a large fishing boat was busy at the fish processing warehouse near us, unloading his catch which took a good part of the day. We felt like we had the town to ourselves and I think this will be one of my favorite places on the Chesapeake. On to the POTOMAC
|
Irvington was going to be our luxury stop. We
were going to stay at the Tides Inn which was supposed to be a top notch resort,
recently remodeled and updated by Sedona Resorts. It’s supposed to have a first
class spa and golf course, swimming pools, tennis courts and several good
dinning rooms, one requiring a jacket! We were ready for that.
We were directed by the dock master to “tie up
at the dock across the way near the round building.” The hotel was not much to
look at, in fact, quite disappointing in a way. The architecture was very 70’s
looking but we were excited to explore all its amenities anyway. We were
assigned to the docks opposite the creek from the resort which meant we would
have to take the shuttle boat back and forth to the resort. The docks were old
and not the floating kind. We are learning to get used to them but don’t like
too much. I always hate the poles, trying to lasso the lines around them. I
can never get off the boat to tie it up as we are never level with the dock so I
can jump off. We get help from the dock boy and a friendly welcome even though,
as we docked, the rain started to pour in buckets and he and I got drenched.
Larry gave him a generous tip for his trouble and I think he felt better. They
put us way off to the other side of the docks, away from the cluster of boats at
dock on the other side. I think they put us here because of the depth. We felt
a little lonely but it was fine, we had peace and quiet and a nice view of the
inlet and nice cove behind us.
Things were getting more and more frantic on
the radio as they said they were taking on water rapidly. We heard them telling
the Coast Guard that there were five people aboard, three adults, two children
and a dog. We then heard a woman’s voice on the radio as she called to one of
the buddy boats, “Johnny, get your dinghy down NOW and come get us, we’re going
down!” He replied he would. We watched from a distance as it seemed like
forever for us to get there. It also seemed like forever for him to get the
dinghy down. We couldn’t imagine how he was managing getting a dinghy down in
these conditions. It must have been dangerous. We heard her again, not much
later, with fear in her voice, saying merely “Hurry!”
As we got closer we thought we would be needed
to help as the coast guard wasn’t there. I ran to the back of the boat and
opened the lasserette to get whatever I thought might be useful to help with the
rescue. When I came back into the pilot house, we saw the other smaller buddy
boat finally get his dinghy off in the rough seas and saw him head towards the
boat. He was going up and down in the heavy seas over the waves. I looked
back at the distressed boat and kept wondering why there were only two people
standing on the bow of the boat. Where were the others? By now the distressed
vessel’s bow was pointing drastically up to the sky. Again, I said “Where were
the other people?” Larry said that they put them in the water he heard it on
the radio. That meant that they put the woman, two children and the dog in the
water. I could a lot of floating debris off away from the boat but the seas
were so turbulent that I couldn’t make out any people in the water. 
Just as we arrived, and were getting ready to
assist, we saw to our starboard that the Coast Guard had arrived. The Coast
Guard boat was spraying huge amounts of water off the as they were giving it
everything they had to get there in time. It was a dramatic heroic scene. They
immediately went to the area where the debris was floating, and rescued the
mother, two children and the dog. The friend from the buddy boat that was in
the dinghy was simultaneously circling the bow of the sinking boat. By this
time there was not much left of the boat. Both men were holding on to the bow
of the boat which was pointing straight up to the sky. They both had their life
jackets on and were carrying bags, maybe get home bags. The waves were
tremendous and at one point we saw the rescue dinghy being thrown straight up
out of the water. Just in time, in a split moment, the guy on the dinghy
managed to get the two men off the sinking boat and onto the dinghy just as the
boat sunk. As it sunk there was a great splash of water that shot up into the
sky. It was amazing!
The Coast Guard, after successfully saving the
mother, two children and the dog, raced over to the dinghy and got the other two
men into the rescue boat. We then heard on the radio as the Coast Guard radio’d
back to headquarters that all passengers were safe on their boat, three adults,
two children and a dog! They sounded very happy and very proud!
a
day, what a rescue, what chance to have been there at that very moment and
thanks that it all turned out safely for those people.
Reedville is what is left of an old fishing
town located off the Wicomico River on the Eastern shore. We meandered into the
Cockrill Creek passing scattered old homes on the point and then the decrepit
looking menhaden fishing fleet docked at the fish processing plant to our
starboard. The huge grey ships looked ghost like. Most are rusty and look like
they’ve had a hard life, but are serious work boats. We pass what is left of an
old tall brick smoke stack on the starboard side. These remains are the only
thing left from the old brick processing plant that is now replaced by a huge
grey building with a new grey smoke stack. On the opposite shore are more
interesting ruins of another fish processing plant. It’s what is left from an
earlier era when menhaden fishing is what put this town on the map. Ironically
on top of the old ruined brick smoke stack is a pile of neatly stacked sticks
and twigs making a huge osprey nest.
We see ahead the small dock at the end of a
small road where we are going to dock. Anchoring the dock is the “Crab Shack”
restaurant and to the left is another fish processing plant. We are welcomed
and helped with our lines at the dock from the owner. As we pull up close to
the dock, I notice that Knotty Dog is making a strange load noise and smoke is
coming from the wing engine exhaust pipe. It was a bit scary smelling and
seeing the smoke. Larry said that the salt water pump had failed and there was
no cooling water coming in to cool the engine. Fortunately Larry had spares and
was able to fix it with no problem.
