Day 4

Boy what a gorgeous morning…again.  42 degrees, bright sunshine felt good in the chilly air.  While we were pulling up the anchor at around 8:00 a.m., you could hear the naval base playing revile, and then the national anthem. Very patriotic with the naval ships in your line of sight.  We motored slowly out of Willoughby Bay anchorage and through the Norfolk waterfront. It just goes on and on and on.  For several miles nothing but the industrial looking dry docks, wet docks, port terminals and other facilities.  When we finally leave the Norfolk waterfront behind there are a series of bridges that you need to negotiate, some are high highway bridges that are no bother, others are low train bridges, most of which are open all the time except when train comes, and others are local roads where you have to hail the bridge tender and have them raise the bridge for you.  Sometimes for the latter, you have to wait for the bridge opening which may only be on the hour and half hour.  We did have to wait for a few bridges, along with a few other boats heading in the same direction.  The funny part is that these other boats are faster than we are, and usually passed us and sped off, but we usually caught up with them at the next bridge because they were waiting for the opening.  We lost time waiting for bridges and lost almost an hour waiting at the Great Bridge Lock.  We had to wait to enter the lock, we tied up with the other boats, and because the tender there could see another boat approaching, he held the lock open for them.  Then when that boat was finally tied up, then he saw a sailboat off in the distance.  So we waited some more.  When he finally made it to the lock it turned out there was only one person on the boat.   So getting him tied up was quite the ordeal.  At one point he was sideways across the lock and had to circle around and try again.  In the end, there was very little change in water level.  In fact I didn’t even know anything had happened when they started to open the gates at the exit to the lock.

Once we got past the lock, we were on the Albemarle-Chesapeake canal.  Very straight going through pine barrens and cypress stumps.  Then we moved to various salt marshes, the North Landing River, and then Coinjock Bay.  We left Coinjock Bay and entered the Carolina Cut.  Along the Carolina Cut is Coinjock Marina where we tied up.  They have a restaurant here where you can get either a 16 oz. or 32 oz. prime rib dinner.  We opted for the 16 oz. dinner with was really, really good, but a little too much, so we have leftovers to cut up for sandwiches.

The weather forecast is calling for high winds and a cold front to come through tonight.  The high winds are expected to continue into tomorrow, so we are going to sit tight here for an extra day.  Out on the water high winds created a lot of waves and chop.  The next leg is transiting the Albemarle Sound which is notorious for an uncomfortable ride, to say the least when there are high winds.  Maybe Monday will be better.

Today we traveled 62,7 miles in 8hrs. 52mins.  So far we have traveled approximately 245 miles.

Until tomorrow.

The Albemarle-Chesapeake canal.  Pretty straight.