Tuesday, October 25, 2016

October 24- 26, 2016-Virginia

October 24, 2014
7:45am- Beautiful sunny day and leaving Solomon's and heading for Potomac.
You know when it is beautiful out when you hear Steve whistling away.  Nice to hear.  Looking out I see dozens of boats going south.  
As we are leaving Solomon, I noticed the trees have not started changing colors yet.  When I looked in the sky, I saw Navy fighter jets in training. Solo us island was used for in WWII for the naval amphibious training base. It no longer exist except for some old buildings. The navy uses the Western side of the Chesapeake in this area for their flighter jet training.  You see them constantly training and hear the roar of their engine quite impressive. 
10:00am- We haven't had to use our motor. We have been broad reaching at 7 knots.  A comfortable sail.  So peaceful. Lots of Pelicans flying around.  It is so interesting how they dive head first and place their wings on the side as they dive for fish.  
12:00pm- Steve decided to cook a couple of hot dogs for lunch.  Not the healthiest thing but once in awhile he craves them and treats himself.
12:45pm- Just going by the Smith Point light and approaching Virginia waters. 
Heading towards an anchorage.  As we were approaching the area, we had to ensure to follow the markers due to water depth.  In one point, we were 20 meters from the beach following the marks into Deltaville and the anchorage at mile 152


4pm- Arrived at an anchorage across from Deltaville Marina in Jackson creek. Beautiful anchorage.  


Now  for a lasagna dinner, a glass a wine...or two....and a good night sleep. 
Early start tomorrow and off to Norfolk.
 
October 25, 2016
7:15am- Had an early start this morning as we left Deltaville, Virginia.
Actually, while trying to lift up the anchor, I ran the boat aground.  It wasn't hard to get it out of the soft bottom.  Steve is all happy to say that I ran the boat aground. But of course, he was telling me what direction to head out he doesn't accept that as an excuse.  
 We followed a boat from France out of the channel.  What a gorgeous sunrise.

9:25am- Going by the Wolf Trap lighthouse.

11:30am- off to a distance, we could see a military helicopter hovering over the water.  We figured they must be practicing.


12:30pm- Approaching Lamberts Pt. in Norfolk, VA.  The waters have calmed down and it is warmer.  I can remove a few layers.  
On our left is the vehicle tunnel entrance which goes under water.
Busy intersection as we approach Norfolk. What do you think?  Should we cut in front of this ship?
According to the Waterway Guide book, the Norfolk Naval Station, the largest naval installation in the world, is home port for US Navy's Atlantic Fleet encompassing aircraft carriers,  cruisers, destroyers, frigates, support ships, nuclear submarines and admiral 's barge..

This is one way to have bow and stern thrushes 
It is so busy around here that I have to have my cameras on all the time. 
3:00pm- Staying at Ocean Marina Yacht Center.  
We covered 49.42 miles today in about 8 hrs. 


This is the view from the back of our boat at the marina

October 26, 2016
It 7:00am- Leaving Norfork,Va

Actually, the weather isn't as cold as I thought it would be although I do wear layers.  
One things I noticed was the color of the water.  It has a brownish tint to it and it foams up easily.  It is almost like they put soap in it and it gets foamed up as it gets disturbed.  As you follow a vessel, you are following a trail of foam.  Steve said there are a lot of fertilizer plants here and maybe that is the cause. 

7:25am-Going under the Jordan Harbor Bridge.   The smell isn't the greatest going by here probably due to the fertilizer plants. 
8:00am- We arrived at the Gilmerton Bridge a little too early.  The bridge opens at 8:30pm.  It was fun watching the gorgeous motor boats go by.  We weren't the only early birds.
9:30am- We managed to squeeze in the lock along other power and sail boats.  Just pack them in like sardines.  This is when you realize how many boater's are going south.

The dock masters helps you hook your lines. The lock level drops only 3 ft.  No turbulence at all. Once you go thru the locks, you have to wait until all the boats come out of the lock before they open the lift bridge. 


You then go thru other lift bridge which remain open.  No waiting for them. You feel like part of a convoy.

Once we went passed the lift bridge, the scenery was beautiful.  I was able to sit on the deck and take photos.  You have to ensure to stay in the Center of the channel since there are stubs coming out of the water on each side.  Apparently at high tides, some of these stumps are under water and not marked.  

The leaves here are just starting to turn. 













Funny to see grass growing out of the tree stumps

11:15am- We get to the North Landing swing bridge and have to wait once again.  We decided to have a cup a tea while waiting.  The bridge opens on the hour and half hour.  We can hear and see fighter jets go by.  
After we went across the bridge, it widened enough for a trawler to pass us.  We noticed a shift in current.
Lots of empty Osprey nest.  Guess they all went South. 
Just before we went under the Pungo Ferry Bridge at mile 28.3 mark, we noticed a couple of sunk boats.  Not sure if it was due to hurricane Matthews a couple of weeks ago.  Very scenic all along.  

1:00pm- We were able to let out the jib in order to motor sail.  Beautiful! 


1:15pm- We just crossed from Virginia to North Carolina

I can't believe how many crab pots there are all along the side of the channel..
I decided to make Steve coffee.  As I lit the stove, I noticed we ran out of propane. Not bad since it lasted us 1 1/2 months. No worry, we switched the propane tanks.  Good thing we brought 3 of them.  
3:00pm- We stopped at a place called Midway Marina.  We covered 38.87 miles today. Time to relax.
Not the fanciest place but it is 1.50/ft, we have power, shower and good wifi.  That is all we need . 









1 comment:

  1. Yes quite the busy harbour we spent two weeks in Norfolk in 1980 before jumping off to the Virgin Islands

    ReplyDelete