April 12, 2023, Little
Creek Marina, East Beach, Norfolk Virginia
We spent the last week
crossing and traveling through North Carolina and we have now entered our 18th
state, Virginia. It was a long week. We moved every day for the first 8 days
and then got stuck in Hampton VA when the cold front went through this weekend.
That is why the blog is delayed this week, ran every day. Typically, we would travel
all morning, arrive in port, wash down the boat and then go explore the town that
we were in as we would be departing early the next morning. It was a busy week,
and we covered a lot of ground. We crossed several large bodies of water and
had a lot of wind, and it is getting cold again, several mornings in the 40’s
when we wake up, BRRR. It is nice to have settled in at Little Creek and have a
break from moving every day. We are really looking forward to some family time
in Colorado. Let us go back to the beginning of this section, so. below is a
review of our last 10 days travel:
Sunday
April 2, 2023, Travel Day # 115 Seapath Yacht Club, Wrightsville N.C. To Casper Marina Swansboro N.C.: Total Distance 55 Miles,
Total Time 6.5 Hours
Our
original plan was to depart Wrightsville on Saturday. Unfortunately, the wind
was expected to blow 25-30 knots with gusts to thirty-five knots, gale force
winds so we spent another day in Wrightsville. The bonus was we were able to
spend an extra day with Jean and Bruce Williams in Wilmington and we had a terrific
day. We visited an old plantation that had been restored and then went through
a railroad museum both located in downtown Wilmington. We had an early dinner
by the Yacht Club and said good bye to them for the second day in a row. When
we got started we still had a bit of wind, but it was a nice sunny day which
always makes for a pleasant journey. We started the day by having to go through
a swing bridge that opened on the hour and the half hour, so we departed at
7:45 and we were able to catch the 8 AM swing and we were on our way northbound.
We have several bridges in the next few days and they all operate on a timed
schedule. Throughout most of the ICW the bridges open on demand, but not so in
North Carolina. The challenge is to time your arrival, so you do not have to
wait at the bridge where the current is normally much stronger as the river
narrows at the bridges. Therefore, all day we are making calculations as to
when to arrive at the next bridge opening, sometimes you speed up, unfortunately
most times we had to slow down. Our first section of the journey on the ICW was
a river size channel, meandering through very rural areas. To the east of the
ICW were many beautiful beach communities Topsail, Surf City, and Ocean City. We
could not really see many of the homes as they are 3-4 miles east of the ICW.
The admiral says I am posting too many houses, so I am holding back! It was a
pleasant journey, and I will include some pictures we took along the way. Our
Nebo was not working this day, so no track to share. We got into the Marina at
2:30, and had two excellent dock hands that helped us in. The docks were pretty
new, but they were fixed so Meredith only got off the boat once. The problem
with fixed docks is when the tide goes out the dock can be 4-5 feet below the
boat deck, so we have a step ladder that we have to climb down to get on and
off the boat. After we arrived we did
our normal clean up, washdown and put away routine, getting ready for the next day’s
voyage. We walked into Swansboro, which was extremely close by. We took two
laps around town, not because we missed anything but because both laps only
took a half hour. We never know what to expect in the towns we come into, and
that is the fun thing about this trip, every day is different, we never know what
is around the next corner or what’s in the next town. No place in Swansboro intrigued
us to stop and have a drink (and we have pretty low standards, “dives” work fine
for us!) so back to the boat we went. We had dinner on board and watched some
TV then went to bed. It was nice to be back on the ICW traveling.
No
Track Nebo not working!
Pictures
Monday
April 3, Travel Day # 116 Casper Marina Swansboro N.C. To Oriental Marina and Inn Oriental NC: Total Distance 50
Miles, Total Time 5.5 Hours, We had an extremely easy departure this
morning as we were the only boat on the dock. We waited until the dock hands
showed up at 8AM because the Admiral was not comfortable getting off the boat, which
was the right thing to do. We departed at 8 AM and had a beautiful morning. It
was a bit chilly 60 degrees when we left, but the sun was out, and we warmed up
nicely. Today we would spend the first half in incredibly open water, Bogue
Sound. I was able to reboot our Nebo unit (by taking the SIM card out and
resetting it) so you will see on the track it is a long open stretch of water.
We traveled on the sound until we reached Morehead City which is a popular spot
and a larger city. We figured we had just been to Wilmington and wanted to get
a few more miles in this day as we are trying to get to Norfolk for the
weekend. From Morehead City we got on the Kennedy River which had a lot of
commercial traffic and then onto Core Creek and we headed north toward Oriental
NC which was our destination for the day. The other town that we unfortunately
passed on was Beaufort N.C, which we understand is nice. A good friend Steven
Spenlinauer, who has been running the ICW for 40 years highly recommended Beaufort.
We are sorry to have missed Beaufort, but we cannot see everything! Core Creek
was a very narrow passageway and very pretty. No houses along the Creek very
rural and it was a pleasant ride. I will show the pictures below. Once we left
Core Creek, we had a 4-mile crossing of the Neuse River which was a pretty open
run. We pulled into Oriental Marina and Inn which was tucked into the very end
of a cove. It was a terrific location. They had no tide, no current and no
wind, how do you beat that? They did have fixed docks which we do not like but
Meredith had no problem accessing the dock. We were also pleased to run into
some fun loopers that we had been with earlier last month, Brenda and Duane from
The Beachhouse. We arrived in Oriental around 1:30, did our cleanup
routine and walked around town which was nice. The marina had a tiki bar, a
nice restaurant and also had an Inn, so it was a wonderful place to socialize.
We walked around town for a few hours and then came back to the boat and
several folks were hanging around the Adirondack chairs (and you know where
this is going!). Amazingly before we knew it we were six, then eight strong
hanging around the fire pit having a few Docktails. It was great to catch back
up with Duane and Brenda. We decide to eat at the restaurant (after a few
cocktails who wants to cook!) and our meal was excellent. After our meal we went
back to the boat and watched the NCAA final game. We unfortunately fell asleep sometime
during the second quarter, then went to bed. Brenda and Tom from The
Beachhouse were headed to the outer banks the next morning, and they are
doing the Dismal Swamp route to Norfolk, (we are taking the Virginia Cut) so we
will not get to see them for a while. They also are leaving the boat for a week
and visiting family next week so hopefully at the end of April somewhere up on
the Chesapeake we will rendezvous. Fun folks to spend time with. Overall, we
really enjoyed our day and evening in Oriental, great marina, good friends: it
was an excellent Loopers day, the finest kind!
Track
Pictures
This was passing Camp Lejeune
Beautiful Shoreline and Marshs
Morehead City
Tuesday April 4, 2023: Travel Day # 117 Oriental Marina and Inn Oriental NC, To Belhaven Marina, Belhaven NC, Total Distance 46 Miles, Total Time 5 Hours, We enjoyed our overnight in Oriental and always great to catch up with fellow Loopers, and todays journey would take us to Belhaven 50 miles away. It was an easy slip to depart from as we had no effecting wind or current so we slipped the lines off the dock and out into the cannel we went. We had crossed the Neuse, which is an even larger body of water River yesterday to get to Oriental and that same large body of water is where we would start this leg. 15 miles long (the river is about 4 miles wide before we got into Pamlico Sound. It was a dark day, we never really saw the sun and we had light winds and a minor chop and good visibility. We were able to move along at 10 MPH all day and it was very pleasant. Being in the larger bodies of water in a way is a little boring as you have nothing to see along the way. There was very little traffic I think we only had two southbound boats and no commercial traffic. Kind of an uneventful day, (which isn’t a bad thing) just doesn’t give me a lot to tell you. The last 12 miles of the trip was up the Pamlico River, which Belhaven sits at the northern end. We pulled into the Marina around 1 PM and was pleasantly surprised to see Picnic Boat tied up in front of us. We had met Tom and Jane back at Pirates Cove in Stuart in February and really enjoyed their company. The Belhaven Marina staff was excellent, and they couldn’t have been more pleasant of helpful. The faculties were excellent, and they even had free laundry and detergent! We cleaned up the boat, did our chores getting ready for the next day adventure. Meredith made lunch and I started the laundry. may as well take advantage of free.
After lunch we went down and caught up with
Tom and Jane, then went for a nice walk around downtown Belhaven. The marina
was located right at the foot of Main Street, so it was a convenient location. Not
a lot happening in Belhaven, but it was bigger than Swansboro. We talked with Tom and Jane and explain that
we were trying to get to Coinjock the next day and going to depart at 7 and
they were headed to an anchorage in Alligator River. So we said our goodbyes
and said we would stay in touch because they also had plans to keep Picnic
Boat in Norfolk for an extended time period and visit their family next
week.
Track day 117 & 118
Pictures
Grey Day passing Pamlico Sound.
Wednesday April 5, 2023, Travel Day # 118, Belhaven
Marina, Belhaven NC, to Alligator Marina, Alligator River
NC, Total Distance 52 Miles, Total Time 6 Hours. They had forecasted a
possibility of fog for the morning. Our original intent was to do a long day
and go ninety miles to Coinjock from Belhaven. There is nothing really to do or
see in Alligator River so we though if we could get off before seven we could
get to Coinjock by five, sunset is now around 7:30 PM. It is great having the
longer days to give ourselves some added sunlight for safety sake. Jane and Tom
from Picnic Boat were planning to anchor out on the Alligator River and
had a shorter day, so we had agreed to be in contact later in the week and
catch up. There was another couple, not Loopers just local folks traveling the
ICW, that were going to Coinjock. We said we would see what the fog was and if
clear we would travel with them. We were getting ready to depart, the other
boat had already headed out, and the fog socked in. Still unsure how they made
out but glad we did not follow them; the fog was very thick by 7 when we had
planned to depart. We do not like traveling in fog, no one does. So, we waited
it out with Tom and Jane. 8AM then 9AM, then the dockmaster showed up and said
it would clear at 11AM. We were hoping for 10 AM, but no luck! By this time, we
knew we could not make Coinjock, so we committed to travel with Tom and Jane from
Picnic Boat to Alligator River. We did not have the time to do ninety miles,
but fifty-three miles was still doable. 1I AM came and it was like a curtain
was lifted, (local Knowledge is key) and at 11 AM we had 5-mile visibility and
the sun was warm and high in the sky. Picnic Boat left the marina first and we
followed them all the way. That made for an easy day for me, as all I had to do
is follow Tom. Our first body of water was the Pungo River departing Belhaven
and the first nine miles was pretty open water. It was nice by the time we
departed but the winds normally pick up around noon. Fortunately, we had the
wind and waves on our stern, so it was a pleasant ride. At mile ICW 75 (9 miles
into our day) we joined the Alligator River and Pungo River Canal which was a
beautiful section of the ICW. This is one of the man-made sections that allows
the ICW to go from Norfolk to Miami. When we cleared the canal we were on the
Alligator River for the last eighteen miles of the day. The river in this
section was four miles wide and eighteen miles to the last draw bridge of the
day. By this time, it was 2 pm and the wind had picked up but was still on the
stern and it was OK, not great but not bad. Lets put it this way, it was
noticeable. Two cool things we had happen in this section was we saw an
unmanned vessel which was taking soundings of the river for the NOAA charts.
They had been broadcasting the past few days these vessels were in the
Alligator river and to be on the lookout, Ill include a picture. Second was we
had two fighter jets that were doing loops over our area. We obviously stick
out in a body of water that is this wide and after the first pass they were at
the other end of the river, and it was cool just to see them Well the next
three passes they were right in front of our boats (we were ½ mile apart). The
next three times the two jets that would buzz us at 1,000 feet off the deck. The
first time they tipped their wings sideway as they went by us, one in front of Picnic
Boat one in front of Her Idea. The second pass as they approached you could
see they were traveling slower, and right in front of us went vertical right
and put on their afterburners (I am going nuts at this point!) and last pass
they just buzzed us going at an extremely fast pace. Then they were gone, an
overly exciting afternoon. WE had one last bridge to get opened and we planned
and made the 4:30 opening. There were two other boats at the bridge waiting one
north bound and one southbound. Right after the bridge was our Marina, which
was a mile and a half from the rumb line we headed west, and Picnic Boat
headed northeast to their anchorage. I was glad to be in the marina as it was
extremely windy then and they had to set anchor three time in three locations
to get a solid set. We got into the marina and were the only boat there, but
they had an excellent dock hand guide us in and help tie up. You cant call this
a marina, it was a convenience store on the side of a country road that had
docks. However, it was tucked away, and we once again had no wind, no tide, and
no current. It was very peaceful, and I will show you a picture of Alligator
River Marina. We had dinner on the boat (we had no other option actually) and
had a very restful night. We had arranged to meet up with Picnic Boat
the next morning and buddy boat to Coinjock. Hopefully we would not have fog in
the morning, fingers crossed. Slept like a baby, great night.
Track day 117 & 118
Pictures
Unmanned Vessel
Alligator Marina!
Thursday April 6,
2023, Travel Day # 119, Alligator River Marina, Alligator River NC, To Coinjock
Marina, Coinjock NC, Total Distance 36 Miles, Total Time 4 Hours. Wednesday night when
we went our separate ways we had agreed to buddy boat with Tom and Jane from Picnic
Boat to Coinjock Marina. They spent the night on anchor, and we slipped
into Alligator River Marina for the evening. We had agreed to stay in touch and
if all was clear (fog was in the forecast but not supposed to be as bad as the
day before) we would depart at 8 AM and meet on the ICW at G-9 at 8:30AM. We
awoke and there was no fog, so we texted back and forth and stayed with our
plan and left the dock at 8 AM. We arrived at G-9 before them, so we just
slowed down until they were ½ mile behind us. Today Her Idea took the
lead and Picnic Boat had the easy navigation day. That is the beauty of Loopers
everyone is willing to pitch in and in fact it is fun to take the lead, ups the
stakes, you have to be on your game. Once they caught up with us we picked up and
cruised at 9 MPH for the rest of the journey. It was windy, but not as strong
as the day before. Both the wind and the waves were from the south, so it was
working to our advantage. The first body of water we had to cross was Albemarle
Sound, which is a large body of water very exposed and if the winds are
westerly or easterly it is an exceedingly difficult crossing. Its ranked as the
4th hardest crossing on The Great Loop. As I mentioned earlier we
had a southerly wind and sea, so we lucked out. It was still eighteen miles
across the sound. We were happy when we got to the North River. By the time we
hit the North River the wind had picked up to 20 MPH and as the river snaked
around when we were bucking the wind and currant and we would drop from 9 MPH
to 6 MPH and the waves were breaking over the bow. It was overcast all day and
a bit hazy, but there was nothing to really look at, so we did not miss
anything. The North River was very pleasant, and I will include a bunch of
picture of the shoreline, This was rural, pretty and we saw no one all day. We
only had one other boat going southbound there were no houses along the route,
even when we entered the North River we did not see anything of interest. We entered the Narrows which is a cut in
the ICW that Coinjock Marina is located on and that also was the only bridge we
passed under on the section, 65-feet of clearance so it was not an issue. Had a
short day and were tied up by noontime which was great. We decided to fill up
on Fuel as the price was $3.89 which is now the lowest we have paid for fuel so
we will be good until we get into Chesapeake Bay in a few weeks. Figured while
we were at the fuel dock we would get a pump out so we should be good for
another two weeks in that department. Since we could not do anything the day
before because we arrived so late I needed to spend some extra time washing the
boat down. With all the wind and waves, we had salt caked on the boat and rails,
so I spent almost 2 hours washing the salt of Her Idea. Tom did the same
to Picnic Boat which was docked directly behind us. There is nothing in
this area (15 miles to the nearest store), so I am working on the blog and
Meredith is watching The Masters (this is a big week for her, she LOVES The
Masters!). The Marina has an excellent restaurant. Tom and Jane had lunch there
earlier and so we planned to have dinner there. We started the evening having
cocktails with Tom and Jane. They went back to the boat for dinner, and we had
dinner at the restaurant. We were the only folks eating outside on the patio.
Then two other loopers joined us for drinks. After dinner Tom and Jane came
down to join us and we all sat outside and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. It was
the end of another wonderful day on this amazing adventure. Another great day
on The Loop.
The
weather forecast for the next few days is not looking good. We have one more
large body of water to cross first thing in the morning, Currituck Sound, and
then onto a very exposed North Landing River, which is a fifteen miles crossing.
We had worked out a plan with Picnic Boat to depart the next morning at
7AM. They were going to travel at a higher speed (18 MPH) to get through Currituck
Sound. We were planning to travel at 10 MPH or lower depending on conditions. We
were docked in front of them so the plan was for us to leave first and then Picnic
Boat, and they would pass us right away. We all went back to our boats and
agreed to meet at 6:30 and confirm our plans for our trip Friday. The wind and
waves we forecasted to be coming out of the North tonight which means for the
journey tomorrow both will be on the nose. Her Idea does not like that combination,
but it is better than when the sea and wind are on the beam (side). The wind is
expected to be 20-25 with guests up to thirty and the waves moderate. On these
questionable journeys days, the night before I many times can’t get back to
sleep and it drives me crazy. Atlantic Yacht Service (AYS) was our destination which
is at mile twelve on the ICW in Chesapeake VA, (we are at Mile 50 tonight) so only
a 38-mile day. Therefore, we are going to try and get an early start and get
this last exposed crossing behind us. Picnic Boat was headed to downtown
Norfolk, so they had another 10 mils beyond AYS.
Track
Pictures
Big Body of Water to start the day
Friday April 7, 2023, Travel Day # 120, Coinjock
Marina, Coinjock NC, To Atlantic Yacht Basin Norfolk VA, Total Distance 38
Miles, Total Time 5 Hours.
When
we awoke the wind had changed and was now from the north which was predicted. Northerly
winds meant it would be on the nose today and was already blowing 15-20 MPH. Tom
and I met at 6:30 to discuss the plan and he had decided already that they were
going to slow down and follow us to Norfolk. There were several folks walking
the docks that morning which is great as many hands make departure easier. Since
we were docked in front of Picnic Boat they helped us off the dock and we
once again took the lead for the day. The first 2 miles of the journey was in
the Coinjock Cut which was very protected. We knew the challenge of the day was
passing across Currituck Sound which is 15 miles long and about 8 miles wide so
a serous body of water. Therefore, we have two hours (hopefully not more) that
will be uncomfortable. We slowed down and crossed at 8 MPH as the wind was on
the nose which was ok, and the good news was we only had one foot chop and no
real waves. Love it when they get that part of the forecast wrong Picnic
Boat followed us across the Sound and a third Looper Miss Michelle,
caught up with us 4 miles into the trip. Tracy is a solo looper who we had drinks
with the night before and he was on the fence when he went back to his boat. He
heard us all leave, so he decided to follow us across the Sound. We had good visibility but and we only had one
boat pass us that was southbound. We were shortly out in the open sound and
just cruised at 8 MPH and crossed it without incidence by 9 AM. Once we got into
North Landing River the tide was low and so we were protected somewhat from the
wind, which was a welcome change. This area of the ICW is also very rural and
we didn’t see any homes on the river for the first 12 miles. We had 3 bridges
that we had to coordinate opening with, so we slowed down 10 miles from the first
one and timed our arrival which worked out very well, we got there 5 minutes
before the hour and the second swing bridge was 5 miles away, so we picked up
the next leg to 10 MPH and arrive at the second bridge on the next half hour
and slipped right through. To make the third bridge we slowed back to 7 MPH made
that one on the hour and we were done with bridges for the day. Miss
Michelle and Picnic Boat had one more bridge and a lock to get through and
they are located right in front of Atlantic Yacht Service. We picked up our
speed to 10 MPH and they slowed down to get to the bridge on the next hour
opening. Overall, it was a pleasant second half of the voyage once we got out
of the wind and onto the river.
Here's
another small world happenstance:
We
talk on the radio with the dockhand and he had us pull in behind a catamaran.
He greets us on the dock, takes our lines and helps us get all settled in. Everything
is going smoothly, and I walked up to the bow and check the lines and look at
the boat in front of us and it is Sea Turtle from Kennebunk Maine. WHAT!. Sea Turtle is owned by Kathy and
Duffy Doherty who we know very well. We both raised our families in Kennebunk
and in fact their son Scott was in Ashley’s grade, Nick was in Baileys grade
K-12 in Kennebunk and Sean was a few years older. Kathy and Duffy live on the
boat all year round now. In the summer they keep Sea Turtle in the same
marina that we keep Her Idea. Unbelievable!! Just about the time I discovered
that, Miss Michelle and Picnic Boat were cruising by to get the swing bridge,
so we talked with them and wished them well and safe passage. Once we got
settled in I was able to find Duffy and catch up with him. They had been at AYS
since Halloween so spent the winter there. AYS was another fixed dock situation,
and the configuration was such Meredith couldn’t get off the boat, so she never
even left Her Idea while we were at AYS. It also was pouring rain by
then and rained the rest of the day and most of the night. The front was now upon
us. Meredith not being able to get off the deck was going to be problematic if
we stayed there for three days so we really wanted to move on Saturday to a new
location. We watched The Masters, and I worked on the blog and had an enjoyable
night aboard. Unfortunately, it wasn’t ideal to catch up the Doherty’s due to
the pouring rain. I was able to chat with Duffy a few times as they have a dog
and he was out walking him between showers, so I’d go out and chat with him,
shocking I know.
Track
Pictures
Saturday
April 8, 2023, Travel Day # 121 Atlantic Yacht Basin, Chesapeake VA, To Bluewater
Marina, Hampton VA Total Distance 26 Miles, Total Time: 3 Hours. We had been watching
the weather all week and had planned to make the journey from Chesapeake to
Little Creek, which was only thirty-eight miles and 4-5 hours journey. The
route would take us up the Elizabeth River, through downtown Norfolk then out
into Chesapeake Bay for fifteen miles and tuck into Little Creek which is
actually located in Norfolk East Beach area. Friday night a front was passing
through and rain was expected until 8 AM, and then it was going to stall, and
no additional rain was expected until after 3 PM. Winds were forecasted to be
10-25 with guest to twenty. If the weather forecast held up we were going to try
it. I got up early and relooked at everything and the rain was supposed to be
around until 9 so we waited for the rain to stop. I was feeling fairly good about
the forecast and developed a B and C plan two bail out spots in case things
changed. Just ½ mile from the Marina was the last bridge that we had to
have raised on the ICW, and there have been many, and right after the bridge is
the last lock (that I think) we have on the great loop. So, two big milestones
right away. The bridge only operate on the hour from 8 AM to 4 PM, so we had to
time our departure for just before the hour. As we were getting ready the rain
had stopped I got to say goodbye to Duffy, and we agreed to see each other in 6
weeks or so at Performance Marina in Kennebunk. He and Kathy are headed out at
the end of this month and should be home in early May. We had a very cloudy wet
first two hours no real rain but a damp day, we were both bundled up for sure.
The river was calm, and it was very well marked making navigation easy. We only
had a few boats pass us and luckily no commercial traffic. There were many
large ships unloading their goods as we passed by but none we had to share a
channel with. We arrived in Norfolk harbor around 10:30 and all was pleasant.
Once we headed north east from downtown still on the Elizabeth River we started
to pick up some wave action coming from the NE and the winds were stiffening. So,
we were going into the wind and current, not bad but were starting to think the
forecast was underestimating the Bays condition. We passed by our B backup plan
which was a marina in Norfolk. Luckily we had a Plan C location which was in
Hampton which is right across from the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. By 11:30 we
were across from the Port Authority which had many ships loading and unloading
product, that is when things started to really pick up. The seas were well over
five feet and the winds were a solid 25-30 MPH, so we slowed way down to 5-6
MPH. When we buried the bow in the waves, which we did many times, the water occasionally
breaks over our windshield which is fifteen feet off the water, and we don’t have
windshield wipers!. For the next 3-4 seconds you cannot see out the window
until that water clears, not a good feeling. We headed directly to Hampton and
the last hour of the voyage was white knuckle for sure. We were safe just not
comfortable. I know it was not good sea conditions when we went by two tugs, who
were waiting for an incoming cargo ship, and they were driving backwards into
the waves and wind. I am thinking that odd I have never seen that. Then I
realize they have 50-60 feet of engine in the stern and by going in reverse
they do not take any water over their bow! Brilliant but not something we could
consider. So, we just took our time and ran across the mouth of the bay and
snuck into Bluewater Marina our Plan C, which is the first time in 10 months we
have had to resort to plan C, we have used our Plan B location many times. It
was great once we had settled in and once we were tied up and cleaned up we
went up to the restaurant and have lunch. No question we both wanted to get off the boat
and onto dry land quickly. After lunch I took a courtesy bike to the grocery
store which was only a mile away and Meredith was able to watch The Masters.
Once I got back from shopping I spent an hour washing off the boat and I knew
it would require another washing on Sunday. We just hung on the boat the rest
of the afternoon, had dinner aboard and were grateful to be out of the wind and
weather. Had a lot of thank you prayers! Once again I gained a great deal of
respect for the size and power of Chesapeake Bay, as I did for Lake Michigan.
The remainder of our Loop will be on large bodies of water, The Chesapeake and
Delaware Bays then all Atlantic Ocean back to Kennebunk. The Rivers, Lakes and Cannel
portion of our Loop is over, it is all high sea’s sailing from here on😊
Pictures
Our last Lock (I think) 
RR Lift Bridge
Navy Ships Everywhere
We found Cape Arundel!
No pictures of the last two hours of this voyage 😁
Fort Monroe
Monday
April 10, 2023, Travel Day # 122 Bluewater Marina, Hampton VA To Little Creek
Marina Norfolk VA, Total Distance 16 Miles, Total Time: 2 Hours.
We
had a great visit in Hampton, The marina was genuinely nice, and they had an
excellent restaurant right on the property. We had a great two days at
Bluewater after our horrible 2 hours finish to Saturday’s voyage. It was nice
to be in a safe haven. As I mentioned earlier we wanted to settle in for the
weekend and enjoy Easter and The Masters and we were able to do that. Sunday we
went to mass at a church witch was located at Fort Monroe (named after
President James Monroe), which is now a National Park. The fort was really
interesting and served as many things but maybe most famous for all the
activity around the Civil War. It sits right at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay
and the Atlantic Ocean. Jefferson Davis (President of the Confederate Sates
during the Civil War) was imprisoned there after the civil war. The church was
very cool, (only got pictures of the outside, did not want to be that creeper taking
pictures on Easter Sunday inside). They have now opened up all the housing to private
residents for rent. The units range from 1,000 to 4,000 sq feet and renting
from $1,800 to $4,000. The grounds are very well maintained and made for a
really cool neighborhood. I had never seen a repurpose like this, wonderful use
of the property. Very cool. When we got back to the boat we watched The Masters,
and I did a few projects and worked on the blog. Meredith cooked tenderloin and
made a n excellent Easter dinner; we played cribbage, had a few cocktails, and
had a most enjoyable evening.
We
were incredibly happy with the docks (floating vs fixed, which means it much
easier for Meredith to get off the boat) and enjoyed the whole setup at
Bluewater in Hampton. However, I was anxious to get to Little Creek Marina to
make sure we had a safe location to leave Her Idea and confirm that the
marina was secure. After watching two days of Norfolk news, it is not a place I
would hurry back to, lots of crime here, and the serious stuff mostly! Therefore,
I wanted to get my eyes on the set up here. We only had 2 hours to travel to Little
Creek which is in Norfolk, so we got up and took our time and departed at 8:30
AM Monday. We checked and rechecked all our weather sources and were confident
we had a good travel day. The two-marina forecast (including NOAA) that we rely
on had 10-15 MPH wind from the NE and 1-foot waves every 7-9 seconds. That
forecast is very doable. After our adventure earlier experience in the Chesapeake,
we left the marina with confidence it would be an easy voyage. As we departed it
was flat seas and less than 10 knots of breeze. Well, that did not last long! After
ten minutes and two miles of our voyage we turned the corner (you can see on
the Nebo track below) and were in open water. This is where the Atlantic Ocean
meets with Chesapeake Bay and so you have conflicting currents and tide as from
two exceptionally large bodies of water. It was not comfortable, and we had fourteen
mile of our trip. The waves continued to build and 30 minutes into the trip we
had 4–5-foot waves crashing over our bow and at least 20-25 MPH steady wind.
The waves were on our beam and knocking us around a lot, (not as bad as
Saturday, we never buried our bow) but the wind was on the nose, so they were
conflicting forces. We decided to not stay on a straight rhumb line but rather we
tacked into the waves and then rode (surfed) them, much more sailing that
powerboating. Unfortunately, I do not have many pictures of this journey, it
was the last thing I was focused on because as we were getting slammed around
however we had two navy vessels and three container ship pass us in the channel.
I can only imagine what the conversations were in the bridges of those ships. Of
course, they do not even feel a thing going along at 20 knots. The biggest
challenge we had being so close to them in the shipping channel was they would throw
up a huge wake. Therefore, we would have to change course every time they went
by so we would get swamped so we would turn 90 degrees and go straight into
their wake. Just what we needed was another variable. Well, our final three
miles was actually a southerly heading which made the waves on our stern and
that was the most comfortable leg we had all day. We arrive at the marina
around 10:30 and were all settled in by eleven. We sure were happy to be tied
up and be out of Chesapeake Bay. We will have to get some local knowledge on
the forecasting going forward as this junction of the bay and ocean has been extremely
challenging on our last two voyages. When we depart here we have to cross that same
body of water, our next leg is forty miles across the same section of bay and
ocean so we will be triple checking the wave and wind forecast before we head
north. If I had know what we know now I would have left the boat up on the
Chesapeake and had a longer Uber ride to the airport. We chose this location
because it is close to the airport, who knew!
The
marina is genuinely nice and very secure, so we chose the right place, our slip
is great with floating docks. We are about a mile to the beach and had a
wonderful walk this afternoon. There is a supermarket three blocks away and a
nice restaurant and bar right on site. We are pleased with the choice Meredith
made, just wish it were north of here.
Track
Pictures
So we are off to Denver for family visit in the morning o dray thirty flight. We wont be back till the middle of next week. We are planning to be back on The Loop once we have some "Southerly winds". I have been talking with the Boat US captains for local advise. Hopefully we will be underway by the 19-20th. So no blog until the end of the month. This one took a lot of time, I need to not post 8 days of travel at once. Way too much work.
Hope you are all well and Spring is around the corner .
Cheers
PJ/Suzy, an incredible adventure, adding 400 miles tells me you are not quite ready for it to end. Enjoy family in Denver and hope all goes as planned and you land in your beloved Kennebunk 6-6
ReplyDeleteTrip of a life time for sure. We will be happy when you are home!
ReplyDeleteSandy
Hey you guys are doing g great and fi ally headed downhill to ho e. The words have been Great in describing g your adventures, as well as all the photos, BUT, I think the greatest memories you will take with you will be all the people you met and shared life with, both old and new friends.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is WOW. You had me on Pins & Needles this blog. For the most part this has been a fantastic adventure and you took us all along with you. Thanks for that. By the time I respond to you Easter will be over but I am sure your visit with your loving family was wonderful. Hugs & love to All.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a super job on this Blog.. Truly a great loop (adventure).
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your trip west.
Peter & Claudia