2020: Lower Chesapeake

14 October 2020
Depart: West River Anchorage, VA, 8:20
Distance:  80.5 nm
Conditions: Sunny, breezy, Flat Water

Arrive: Prentice Creek Anchorage, VA, 5:45

 We woke to 48 degrees outside and 60 in the stateroom. I donned a long-sleeved t-shirt and two fleece jackets and still felt chilled. I made a cup of tea and wrapped my hands around the mug to warm my hands.  Thankfully, warmer weather is predicted in the next couple of days.

 Very little boat traffic showed itself on this stretch of our travels on the Chesapeake Bay. To me, it felt for a while like it was just us out there – very peaceful and worry-free.  From a distance I noticed what looked like a lop-sided lighthouse, and that turned out to be precisely what it was.

Abandoned Lighthouse

Our peace was disturbed by a jet breaking the sound barrier.

Action in the Sky

We did see a Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse – not abandoned.

Chessy Lighthouse

Having not slept well during the night (way too cold), I laid down on the pilothouse sofa and passed out for a couple of hours. Clark said he did not know I was napping, he thought I was in the salon reading or something.

 Clark found us a well-protected anchorage for the night in Prentice Creek.

 

Boat House and Tower at Anchorage in Prentice Creek

Boat House and Tower at Anchorage in Prentice Creek

When I went up to the bow to prepare for the anchor to be dropped, I was amazed to find the anchor pulpit festooned in cobwebs. That spider must have been busy out there for our entire trip today because it was not there when we pulled up anchor this morning! That speaks loudly to how calm it was on the water – no wind, no waves. It gave the spider time to work but never successfully complete a web. What I found was a multitude of single strands crisscrossing the bow. I returned to the cabin and grabbed a fly swatter to swipe away the web strands. It was truly unbelievable how much I had to clear away to get to the anchor.

 

Sunset at Prentice Creek Anchorage

After dinner Clark went out to check the anchor and came back in telling me to come see the stars. I grabbed a jacket and went out for a look. Although the anchorage is tucked back out of the way, and we still had no wind to speak of, the boat had a continuous rolling motion. Trying to stand still while looking up to observe the stars proved challenging. Feeling like I might fall overboard, I kept tipping over and having to grab the boat rail to steady myself. Very weird sensation! Clark noted that we would sleep very well tonight with the motion of the boat.

 Usually, I can find a few constellations that I recognize – Orion’s Belt, Cassiopeia, Ursa Minor / Major, … Tonight, nothing, nada! I did not see anything I recognized except tonight for the first time in I don’t know how many years, I saw the Milky Way!! Beautiful!

 

15 October 2020

Depart: Prentice Creek Anchorage 8:50
Arrive: Top Rack Marina 5:30
Distance:  56 nm
Conditions: Temps in the 60s with bright sun so felt warmer, 1 to 2 foot seas on the nose
 

 Clark had hoped to get all the way to the free dock at Great Bridge tonight, but he wanted to get fuel and water at Top Rack Marina. Mid-afternoon, he called Top Rack and found out they would be closing at 4:00. Uh oh! Change of plans. He asked if we could tie up after hours to get fuel in the morning, and they gave us instructions on where to dock.

 I got rid of garbage on board and Clark filled up the water tank last night, so we would only need to get fuel in the morning and then be on our way. Our travels today took us through Hampton and Norfolk, Virginia where we saw a lot more vessels than yesterday – some underway and many at dock.

 

Wolf Trap Lighthouse

Commercial Boat Traffic

Passing through Hampton, Virginia, we saw …

 

Helicopter (one of many)
over the waters near Hampton, VA

One of many Naval Vessels at Hampton, VA

“Victory Rover” – Naval Base Cruises

Yet Another Naval Vessel

“Comfort” – Hospital Ship

In Norfolk waters, we passed by …

 

Maersk Container Ship

Tug – “Patricia Moran”

 Lambert’s Point

“American Rover” –
sailboat cruise out of Norfolk, VA
(I have only ever seen them at dock before!)

Smaller-sized Sailboat in amongst all the “big boys”

Our timing is never the best when leaving Norfolk. It seems like more often than not we get stuck with the train bridge closed at Southern #7. Today, we got doubly unlucky and got stopped at Bridge#5 as well.  

Train on #5 Bridge

We were not alone at #5, two tugs waited with us to pass through. As we exited the bridge, Clark remarked that we had a “Vulcan” following us! It took me a while to make the connection to Star Trek.

 

Vulcan Tug

Train on Southern Bridge #7

If not for having to wait for the two bridges, and if not for Top Rack closing at 4:00, we might have made it to the free dock, but it was optimistic knowing we had to get through Norfolk and the super long no wake zone through there.

 On the bright side, we had electricity for the night and got to recharge our batteries fully. Of course, it was on a night where we did not need heat! In fact, it was 75 degrees in our cabin, so I was ripping blankets off the bed!

 

Sunset at Top Rack Marina

 

16 October 2020
Depart: Top Rack Marina 9:25
Arrive: Great Bridge Free Dock 11:12
Distance:  3.3 nm
Conditions: rain predicted, cool (not cold), 4-knot wind

 We traveled less than 4 miles today, but it took almost two hours to do so. Shortly after 8:00, we called the dock master at Top Rack and someone came down and helped us with fueling. We put a total of 339 gallons of diesel fuel in the boat. Fortunately, the price here was only $1.74 a gallon! The slip rate was great too at a flat rate of $50 for the night – good for us and expensive for little guys for a change!

 Finally, we were ready to leave just before 9:30. I forgot about the lock-bridge timing issue. The bridge opens only on the hour and the lock lets boats through accordingly. We arrived at the lock at 9:40 and had to wait until 10:20 to enter the lock. After tying up in the lock, we had another wait as four more boats tied up along the wall behind us. Then we had more of a wait until it got close enough to the 11:00 bridge opening for the lockmaster to start the locking down procedure and ultimately allowing us to exit. Ten minutes after we finally got through the bridge, we were tied up at the free dock.

 Today was very definitely a short travel day. The reason for that was two-fold. 1) With rain predicted, it would be a yucky day on the water. 2) Stores are within walking distance of the free dock, and I had a few things I could pick up if we stopped. We debated should we, shouldn’t we and finally decided to tie up and travel tomorrow.

As I cleaned up the lines, etc., Clark navigated the waterway. Unbeknownst to him, a tug with a barge was around the next bend and taking up the entire width of the bridge that Clark was heading for. With no room under the bridge, Clark quickly had to pull to the side to let the tug pass by. He said, "Note to self: remember to check the AIS before pulling out of the slip at the marina!" All was well. The tug pilot said he wanted to pass "one whistle", so Clark pulled to side and they passed port-to-port.

 

I thought that the folks I saw in kayaks were extremely 
brave with all the big traffic around!

Great Bridge 10:00 opening; our turn at 11:00;
meanwhile we float!

Ready at bow,
waiting for gates to close and lock to start draining

As we tied up at the free dock, a man and his three-year-old son stood on the dock and watched our every move. The boy likes to come watch the bridge go up and down. He had wide eyes as we pulled up in front of him. A cold front moved in as we docked and the air temperature dropped from the sticky 70s by about 20 degrees. Suddenly instead of being too hot, it became almost cold out! The man and his son left because they weren’t dressed for the chill.

 After getting settled at the dock, we grabbed our backpack and raincoats and set off for the supermarket nearby. Upon exiting the boat and weaving our way to the main road, we found a bit of history! I had Clark pull out his camera and start taking pictures.

 

Park Welcome Sign at
Entrance from Land

On 9^th of December 1775, British Lord Dunmore led his troops in the Battle of Great Bridge -- an attack on the colonists during the Revolutionary War. He as defeated and driven out of Norfolk as a result of his loss.

 

Welcome Sign
for the Site of the 1^st Land Battle in Virginia

“You Are Here” picture of historic area

Old Fence at Great Bridge historic park

Not knowing how long the rain would hold off, we decided to hit the supermarket before doing any more sightseeing.  As we approached the bridge, Clark noted the time – 11:55. Uh oh! We needed to hurry to get across or we would be stuck waiting for the bridge to open and close. Clark took off running and left me chasing him, cursing him the whole way! Just as we got to the far side of the bridge, the lights changed and the bells started clanging, we had made it!

 Depending on one’s point of view, our timing was either perfect or the worst possible. We completed our shopping and started on our way back to the boat at 12:50. Clark said, “Isn’t the bridge about 10 minutes from here?” Uh oh, here we go again! We picked up speed and, yet again, made it across the bridge just in time. Weighed down by groceries, Clark chose not to run though he still left me trailing behind him as we “raced” for the bridge.

 Before returning to the boat, we completed our walking tour of the historic park.

 

Walking tour of park, Great Bridge open

“Liberty or Death, Don’t Tread on Me”
Flag of the Revolution

A museum is located in the park, so we decided that it would be fun to look around inside. We have stopped at the free dock a few times but always arrived late and left early. This was our first time with an opportunity to look around.

 After paying our entrance fee, we met a tour guide in full Revolutionary War regalia. Most of what he was saying flew past me as I found his gun much more interesting than whatever he was telling us. I guess he noticed my either inattention or focus, because he asked if I had any questions. I told him I was admiring his gun, and that was all he needed to go into great detail about the weapon.

 

Ready to Fire

Bayonet Attached

Gathering I had an interest in weaponry, he followed me through the museum until we got to a 2-pounder cannon on display and then showed all the ins and outs of that weapon as well. Clark was probably yawning in the background somewhere, but I was enthralled.

 Besides Revolutionary War items, the museum did have a nature display and the bridge opening control panel from the Great Bridge dating from 1943 to 2004 when the current bridge opened in its place.

Bridge Control Panel

By 4:00 we were back on board the boat and shortly afterwards, it started to rain. Now that was good timing!

 We had no sun this afternoon or evening, and thus saw no sunset!