inlet one fine, sunny, 70 degree December day. My son and I headed south in search of Rockfish, and almost went to the NC line. We saw some friends out there, who mentioned they were hearing reports over the radio that it was getting kind of rough around Cape Henry. We all looked around, took in the serene seas, shrugged our shoulders, and let out a collective, "oooookay!?".

Well, my friends called it a day a while later, and headed back to Rudee, but we stuck with it for maybe another hour. Finally, I headed home, and noticed I was pretty low on fuel - pretty much the same time I noticed the seas and wind kicking up. As we got to Rudee, I made the call that I better get gas, but the delay was going to cost me, as conditions rapidly got worse. We fueled up and headed back out for the trek to Lynnhaven, as all kinds of boats were coming IN, just staring at us as we went back out. We did notice another boat, some kind of "dive and rescue" on the side, also heading in our direction, haha.

As I turned north, we immediately were getting hit head on with about 4 footers, seemingly running perfectly south and perpendicular to the beach. We kind of laughed it off, even though we were getting drenched with 40 degree water. At one point, I looked over at the boardwalk and noticed we were moving about as fast as people were walking.

So we plugged along, until we made the turn around Cape Henry, and I figured we were home free - but that was when the real fun began. That cold front had rushed straight down the Bay, and was piling up 8-12 footers against the shore, and we were taking them broadside. At this point, I was thinking our inboard was going to get swamped, and we were going swimming - not great with my son's arm in a sling.

My next move was to maneuver inside 50' of shore, so I could swim my son home if need be. Then I started powering up and down, threading my way through the valleys of the waves, but inevitably taking one down broadway every once in a while, thinking that would be it for the motor. But it held up, and we made to the Lynnhaven Inlet bridge, and our last hurdle.

The water had piled up so much from the wind, that about 500 yards of 8-12 foot swells were literally just standing up and not really moving. I think they are called deadmen? You couldn't just get inside a pair and ride it home. You had to cross them, up one side and down the other. Not ideal in a 20 foot boat. But we made it.

Never left a dock without really taking a hard look at radars, forecasts, etc. ever again.