An hour before the sun scales the horizon I prepare to step off Ferrity, the 30 foot sailboat that I call home. A gusty north-northwest wind pushes the thermometer’s 23 degrees into single-digit windchill.
Chesapeake Bay's normal tidal range is around two feet, but a strong, persistent, northerly wind can blow another two feet of water out of the bay. This morning, Ferrity’s foredeck lies three feet beneath the dock.