There was a pretty good weather-window on Thursday (July 16), so we decided to take advantage. Our next stop along this ‘never-ending-journey’ was ACTUALLY one we had been planning since we started. Tangier Island, VA. Its only 14 miles south from Crisfield, MD. Should be an easier travel day…

We planned to stay at a marina whilst visiting, because it is the only place to stay on a boat. There really aren’t any anchorages around the island, so it was marina or bust. After some reading, we learned the marina has a very strong current flowing right through it. That means, we would have to dock with said strong current working against us. And being that we are so inexperienced with docking….well you can imagine.

First things first. Gotta get there. Our weather said that we may have some big waves (3 feet) leftover from all the huge storms that have been beating down over the last several days. Only problem is that the wind was basically nonexistent.

Thing is, we had to get there at a precise time, for slack-tide. Slack tide is when the current is not ebbing or flooding (coming or going), so theoretically it is nonexistent. Docking may be more doable? Slack-tide was set at 3:06PM. It was only 10:45AM. We had already gone 2 miles just motoring out of the channel, so with only 12 miles to go, we figured we might as well practice in these conditions.

This made for a new sailing experience for us on Bosco. Actually is was more of a ‘float’ than ‘sail’. With the huge waves and lack of wind, sailing on a run was virtually impossible. Lots of rocking and rolling, no progress forward. I think we actually went backwards a ways. We attempted the old broad reach-jibe-broad reach tactic…also didn’t work out very well. It was so-so at best. We were moving forward slightly (about 1 knot (mph)).

As time ticked away, we realized that we weren’t going to make it here by slack-tide if we didn’t pick it up, so we turned the motor on around 2:00PM. We were still 4 miles from the channel entrance.

Once we picked up speed, the boat was completely inundated (more like attacked) with biting flies, butterflies, insects of all kinds. They were EVERYWHERE. It felt very bazar to be so far out in the Chesapeake and surrounded by bugs like we’re in the jungle. It made for a funny sight I’m sure. We would take turns whacking em with our fly swatter while prepping everything for docking (fenders out, dock lines ready, etc).

After the battle of the flies, remnants of war were scattered all over the cockpit. Little dead fly bodies of all sizes scattered about. Normally that would FREAK me out, but I was so distracted by the task of docking the boat I couldn’t be bothered (well not yet anyway).

If you don’t recall, we (I) have only ever docked Bosco two times. Once with a professional onboard. The other was in our completely current-and-wind-free marina, where I could make easy enough work of it. So I was a little terrified as we made our way through the channel and towards the docks at the marina. At least it was a cool entrance!

Its hard to describe the setup. Basically, the dock is RIGHT at the west entrance of the channel, which is where the current and tide flows free. Since this is an island, there is not much land protecting the marina or docks (Most are completely protected by surrounding land) from elements. It was just barely after 3PM, but there was still a significant current running perpendicular to the docks.

The owner of the marina is an 83-year old man who has lived on Tangier Island his entire life. His name is Milton Parks, though everyone just calls him Mr. Parks. And the marina is rightly named Parks Marina. Mr. Parks called us on the VHF to let us know that he would meet us on the dock and point us to where we should park the boat. As we pulled close, we saw an old man on a scooter. He told us to park our boat in slip #10. There was a boat 3 slips down (#13) otherwise the rest were vacant. So no crashing into other boats.

Based on how we entered, we would have to approach from the opposite side (starboard) than we were used to. This is difficult if you understand how the throttle is setup in the cockpit. Its easier to dock from the port-side, because then we can see the corner of the pilings and maneuver the boat better. But from starboard, its impossible to throttle up and down AND see where your actually going.

So I just went for it. I rounded in for my first attempt, and maneuvered her back, to realize we were floating away from the slip. I bailed and made a second attempt around, this time getting Bosco closer to the pilings. I did manage to back her up very close, but just like the first time, the current swept the stern down the line and away from slip #10. The third time around I was getting really frazzled. I got as close as I dared and rounded up, and as she started to float away, I laid on the reverse. Jake managed to grab a piling two spaces down (right next to the fishing boat) and we really pushed hard on the throttle to get her butt backed in.

By this time we had an audience. The watermen heading back onto their boat and another group of guys (and Mr. Parks) were all barking directions at us. It was getting kind of stressful and chaotic. But we did back her in slip #12, and threw dock lines out to anyone who would grab them.

Whew that was a battle and a half! It took us almost an HOUR to dock.

Yay we are at our very first dock AT a marina since we have become cruisers. This will be our first time parked and plugged in. That means POWER. A/C. Glorious A/C. Showers too. And we could watch movies on the boat! First time since we left the marina to do that. Such a treat! There is no internet or phone service in Tangier, so that is one less distraction.

Tangier is actually the first place that we planned to visit since we became cruisers (and our first island!). We were so excited to make it here. It makes this cruising life feel possible.