2022: Great Bridge VA to Morehead City NC

26 October 2022

Depart: Great Bridge Wall 7:50

Arrive:  Sandy Point anchorage (off Alligator River) 4:30

Distance: 60 nm

Great Bridge bridge only opens on the hour, so just before 8:00, we untied our lines and positioned ourselves for the next opening. Unfortunately, we had a very foggy start to our day.

View of bridge as we got ready to leave the wall

Looking towards the stern of our boat

Shortly after we pulled away from the wall, another boat, "Straight from the Heart", pulled out to follow us through the bridge.

Even though we had a heavy fog, Clark wanted to try for a railroad track picture. I had no interest so I told him, "Knock yourself out!" 

We wanted to make the 8:30 opening of the Centerville Bridge. A long stream of sail and power boats traveling south had the same plan. Looking ahead and behind us through the fog and on AIS, we estimated there to be about 11 boats altogether that went through that 8:30 opening.

Waiting for the bridge that we cannot see through the fog

Centerville bridge open to boat traffic

Looking down the road, we could
see a number of cars waiting for the bridge to close.

After we got through the Centerville Bridge, we found the boats in front of us to be moving so slowly that Clark had to keep taking the boat out of gear so as not to run over them. Despite the fog we decided we had to pass these slower boats. The power boat directly in front of us wanted to travel at 5 knots to make the North Landing Bridge at 9:30. The lead sailboat was making only 3 knots of headway. We wanted to go about 7 knots. 

As we puttered along at a ridiculously slow pace, one boat decided that despite the fog, he was going to make the 9:00 opening of the North Landing Bridge. He took off as soon as he got through Centerville Bridge and was not seen again. We did hear on the radio that he made the NL Bridge opening at 9:00!

The boat we followed, wishing for 5 knots of speed, indicated he planned to pass, but shortly after he said that, the sailboats sped up from 3 knots to just over 5 knots. We waited for him to make his move to pass but nothing happened. Finally, Clark haled him on the VHF to ask his intentions and was told that, since he was now at 5 knots, he was happy and would not be passing. (Gee thanks for letting us know that!) Clark then decided to pass him as well as the 3 or 4 sailboats in front of him. 

Once we pulled out to pass, other power boats pulled around to pass along with us. As I looked back to see the boats two abreast on the narrow waterway, I hoped nothing was coming towards us from the south. Clark said that due to the bridges, he did not expect to see any northbound traffic, and he was correct on that. We had no opposing traffic.

Passing the four boats out front put Clark in the lead. The second sailboat in line decided that he wanted to go faster and pulled out behind us. He looked like he wanted to move, so Clark asked if he wanted to pass. "No,no! I'm happy to follow you."  I bet he was! Clearly, he figured he was safe with us in front to encounter whatever might be lurking in the fog ahead of us. I think Clark was the only boat sounding fog signals on the horn.

As we approached the North Landing Bridge around 9:15, we had the whole caravan of boats following us. We had to hang out and "station keep" until 9:30 to get through the bridge.

Eventually, as we exited the North Landing Bridge, the heavy fog lifted.

Sun trying to break through the clouds - Fail!

Our caravan!

We stopped just beyond the Coinjock Marina for the night at the Sandy Point anchorage at the entrance to the  Alligator River. The Coinjock Marina is an interesting place. Depending on the time of day, the marina is either bow-to-stern boats along the dock, or it is empty of all boats. Since we passed by early enough in the day, today was a "no boats" day.

Sunset at Sandy Point Anchorage

27 October 2022

Depart: Sandy Point anchorage 7:40

Arrive: Big Creek anchorage off South River off Neuse River 6:00

Distance:  86 nm

Clark warned me that, with the calm weather, he wanted to do a "long" day today. High winds are predicted for tomorrow, and he wanted to cross Albemarle Sound before the winds picked up. 

Sunrise at Sandy Point / Alligator River

We had winds gusting to 25 knots this morning. The Alligator River swing bridge will not open in winds higher that 35 mph - not an issue today luckily. They opened for us as soon as we appeared. Clark had a tough time steering through the open bridge as the following seas pushed him to and fro. He had hand surgery this fall, and he only has one good hand to steer with making steering more challenging than usual.

We traveled the Alligator River and the Alligator River Pungo River Canal. At least we had clearer skies today. The trees along the river showed some modest amount of color.

There are always a large number of stumps along the 
edge of the waterway

We are traveling on the IntraCoastal Waterway (ICW). Along the canal, we saw mile marker signs every 5 miles. 

115 statute miles from Norfolk, VA

The side of the waterway opposite from the trees looked a bit more barren and bleak.

We enjoyed some sun today for a change. In fact it was downright hot on the upper helm with the sun shining on us. Clark remarked on the fact that we were down to t-shirts for a change!

125 miles from Norfolk

We crossed Albemarle Sound as planned, and to our delight, found the waters as flat as glass. Because winds are expected, we made our way across Pamlico Sound as well and tucked ourselves into an anchorage off the Neuse River - up South River to Big Creek.

Sun reflecting on trees at Big Creek anchorage

Sunset at Big Creek anchorage ...

28 October 2022

Depart: Big Creek anchorage 9:10

Arrive: Morehead City anchorage 1:10

Distance: 28 nm

Having put up with an extra long day yesterday (almost 11 hours on the water), Clark promised me a short day today. This benefited me but was not because of my preferences. The truth of the matter is that going further than Morehead City made no sense unless we wanted to stay in a marina as there are no good anchorages along the next stretch of miles. 

When the ocean permits, we travel on the "outside" to get away from slow boats, fast boats with big wakes, skinny water, etc.  Reports on the weather radio yesterday predicted seas of 9 to 15 feet on the ocean. Uhhh - no thank you! It will be 2 days on the ICW instead of 1 day on the ocean!

We chose a well-protected anchorage for last night. During the night we could hear the wind had started to pick up, but we were fine. As we pulled out of the anchorage and into the Neuse River, we had plenty of wave action. 

As we made our way towards Adams Creek, Clark noticed a 35 mph speed-limit [road] sign posted on a dauphin in the Neuse River.  

Once we entered Adams Creek, we were once again well protected from wind and seas. Clark as been unable to find any tide charts for Adams Creek. He takes his chances. Today we had the current against us as we made our way to Morehead City. When it was too late to do us any good and Morehead City was already in sight, then Clark said we had the current with us. 

Although we dropped anchor at 1:00 in the afternoon, the anchorage Clark selected was full of sailboats. We managed to find a spot where we could put out the required length of line for good holding and swing room.

It is another bleak and dreary day. We could use some bright sun to charge the solar panels. That looks unlikely. I decided to update the blog before pulling out my sewing machine.

2022: Heading South NJ to Chesapeake VA

 21 October 2022

Depart: Cape May anchorage 8:10

Arrive: Cohansey River anchorage 1:30

Distance: 35 nm

View at the Cape May anchorage

Cape May Fishing Fleet

We opted for a short day today, relatively speaking. We stopped at the Cohansey River to stage ourselves for early departure to catch a favorable current first thing in the morning tomorrow. Fortunately, we had calm waters on the Delaware Bay and had a pleasant trip.

Because we dropped anchor early, I pulled out my sewing machine. Recently, I have been making clothes for my American Girl doll that I bought over the summer. When we were in Maine, I worked with my older granddaughters to sew some doll clothes for their dolls. It made me want to sew more of them.

Decked out for autumn with
matching shoes

Some time in the evening the wind picked up unexpectedly, and we found ourselves on a rocking and  rolling boat. Current held us with our beam to the wind causing us to roll. Normally, when at anchor, the bow is into the wind eliminating the roll for the most part. As I was tossed back and forth in bed, I asked Clark if we could install seat belts to hold us in place, so I could try to relax. In the middle of the night the rolling ceased to be severe, and we were able to get some sleep.

22 October 2022

Depart: Cohansey River anchorage 7:30

Arrive: Dobbins Island anchorage 4:45

Distance: 78 nm

We are not morning people, so for me the only benefit of getting up before the sun is getting to see the sun rise. 

I had the helm, as per usual, as Clark brought up the anchor. He had given me directions on how to exit the anchorage. When he gave me the instructions, all was clear, but by the time the anchor was up, the fog had rolled in to obscure the view.  Besides having thick fog, I had forgotten to put on my glasses (for distance). I felt too vulnerable to proceed and waited for Clark to come up and take the helm. I ran for my glasses! With the fog, I could not see the island he said was ahead of me.

The rising sun tried to break through the fog. 

We stopped at the Summit North Marina for a pump out of the waste holding tank as we passed by.

Clark said we were anchoring behind Dobbins Island tonight. I got excited / confused because that made me think of Harry Potter novels. Then I remembered it was Dobby not Dobbin. Oh well!

Sunset at Dobbins Island anchorage

House on island with its own lighthouse. Cool!

23 October 2022

Depart: Dobbins Island Anchorage 7:55

Arrive: Mill Creek / Wicomico River anchorage 5:50

Distance: 86 nm

Dobbins Island is just big enough for us to hide behind to get out of the wind. 

Looking back at anchorage as we depart in the morning ...

As we entered Chesapeake Bay, we found fog and choppy waters. We had cloud cover, fog, and rain throughout the day.

We were surprised to see a pelican on the bay. As I looked from the upper helm, I said to Clark, "Is that a pelican or a tall trap?" As we watched, it flew away. I thought it would be too cold for a pelican to be here and thought s/he must have forgotten to head south. Later in the day, we saw two more pelicans. Surprising!

24 October 2022

Depart: Mill Creek anchorage 8:15

Arrive: Fort Monroe anchorage 3:15

Distance: 55 nm

Today's ride was extremely gloomy. All we saw  today were clouds and waves.  The sun tried to break through the cloud cover but quickly lost the battle and disappeared for the rest of the day.

 

We passed by the tall ship "Godspeed" on our travels. That gave me some research to do. This "Godspeed" is a replica of the original that set sail from London England in 1606 and arrived in Virginia in 1607. The trip was expected to take 2 months. Due to a lack of wind, it took 6! I can only wonder what they ate and drank for the last 4 months of the journey.

After evaluating the anchorage choices, we opted to stop "early" because our second choice put us in after dark. As soon as we had the anchor down, I pulled out my sewing machine to sew more doll clothes.

Sun Dress:
Getting ready for the warmer weather

As the sun got lower in the sky, we watched the cloud cover lifting away from the water. The sun set was partially obscured as it dropped directly behind the bridge, but at least tonight we got to see a sun set!

Setting sun shining on sailboats in the anchorage

Watching the sun set behind the bridge

My granddaughter Lillian named her Rosabella!

Here she is in the raincoat I made for her.

25 October 2022

Depart: Fort Monroe anchorage 8:35

Arrive: Great Bridge Wall 2:00

Distance: 21 nm

Since we left home, we have had weather mostly in the 50s. Waking up in a stateroom where the temperature reads 56 makes getting out of bed a struggle. With temperatures now in the low 60s, it is still difficult but not brutal to get out of a warm bed.

Besides lot of sailboats, we found huge pieces of wood floating in the anchorage this morning.

The debris surrounded us. 

The interesting thing about boating in the lower Chesapeake and on to Norfolk is the variety of vessels encountered - by type and size.

This freighter dwarfs the sailboat nearby.

As we left Hampton, we passed by the Old Point Comfort Yacht Club facility where we are members.

Clark said the yacht club building
will be torn down and rebuilt.

Heading into Norfolk, we traveled alongside "Warship 95" for a while. As we watched, a tugboat brought a pilot / docking guide out to climb on board the warship and help bring the boat into a slip. The tug told the warship to slow to 7 knots, so the pilot could climb up the ladder on the side of the warship from the tug. 

"Warship 95" and Coast Guard boat nearby

Tug carrying "docking guide"

Tug alongside warship

Tug captain said they would drop the pilot off 
on the port side. We could not see much from
out point of view.

The cloud cover / fog continues to be with us as we travel. The fog obscured the tops of these cranes used to load / offload ships.

As we traveled the Elizabeth River, we had to keep our eyes wide open to avoid large debris we saw floating in the river.

We passed another pretty sailboat today. This one, the "Virginia" is a replica of one that completed construction in 1916. The boat was reported "stranded" in 1947. It was built as a training vessel and although steam power had been invented by the time it was built, no power other than sails was incorporated into the original sailing vessel.

Welcome to Norfolk ... 

"American Constitution"

"Victory Rover" - Naval Base Cruises

Besides all the naval vessels and work sites, Norfolk has a lot of industrial sites. The first picture below shows train cars being unloaded as each car moves forward into a building to have the cargo transferred to the plant.

It is amazing what one can learn by researching boat names. We passed one from Monrovia today -- shown below. First, I did not know where Monrovia was located, so I used Google Maps to locate it in Liberia on the west coast of Africa. Then I wondered about the name and Googled that. I found the following:  We pray to Saint Fanourious  to help recover things that have been lost.  I wish I had known that there was a saint for things lost that I could have been praying to all these years to help me find things!

"Agios Fanourios" at dock in Norfolk; 
next stop Foynes, Ireland

Just after we passed the Waterside Marina, we saw this boat towing what closely resembled a very long snake as he set up a barrier at a planned work site.

We had the typical waits as we traveled through Norfolk. The no-wake zone goes on for miles. Then we had to wait for a train at the Norfolk Southern #7 bridge by Gilmerton Bridge.  After that we stopped at Top Rack for fuel @ $5.029 per gallon diesel. While there we also did a pump out of the waste holding tank and filled up our water tanks. The whole process took about an hour. 

By the time we left there, we were too late for the 1:00 bridge opening, so we had to float around for 30 minutes before we could enter the lock. We were finally tied up at the Great Bridge free wall just before 2:00. 

In the lock with us were four sailboats and a power catamaran. We could see boats at the Great Bridge wall and wondered if there would be space for us. We found 3 boats there before us and room between a couple of them for us to pull in. We pulled up as close to the boat in front of us as possible, and the power cat that locked through with us, tied up behind us on the wall. The sailboats continued on through the bridge. 

Listening to the bridge tender talk to the sailboat captains was entertaining. The bridge tender asked if any of them wanted to go through the bridge. The one in front replied that he was ready to go. The bridge tender said "Not back there you're not. Move up so I can open." 

As the captain of that boat crept past us, he called over to me, "Are you going through?" I replied no as I mentally shook my head wondering how he could think a boat tied to the wall would be going for that particular opening. Polite but bizarre!

The sailboats continued to dilly dally. Finally, the bridge tender called with a pleading voice, "Please move up so I can open this bridge!" Too funny. 

One of the sailboats was captained by a man from Montreal. (Clark had a long chat with his wife as they were behind us in the lock.) The boat behind the Canadian boat made a comment about them not moving up whereby the bridge tender said, "I don't know what they were thinking because I don't speak their language." The wife spoke perfect English, but she spoke French to her husband, and he was the one on the radio!

The whole lock / bridge event was, overall, rather entertaining. When the crowd had passed and Great Bridge was back in the down position, Clark said, "What do we do first?" and I replied, "Eat Lunch!!" "Oh yeah", he said, "I forgot about that."

I put in my request to stop at Great Bridge a few days ago as I had a list of chores for a stop there. The first thing I did, after lunch, was get all the garbage of the past few days off the boat. While we were waiting for the lock to allow us entrance, I collected all the laundry and had that ready to go. Besides laundry, I needed to stop at the drug store and the grocery store. 

Because the fuel at Top Rack with a cetane level of 40 did not meet our boat's specs of 45, Clark needed to go to an auto store for an additive. We grabbed our backpacks and the laundry cart and headed out.

While I got the laundry going, Clark hit the auto parts store and took his additive back to the boat. Then while he tended the laundry, I ran over to Walgreens. When I got back, the dryers had stopped and it was time to fold. Clark took the folded laundry back to the boat while I went to the grocery store. By the time he got back, I was at the checkout. 

Before we went back to the boat, we stopped into a pizza place and picked up a pie to take back to the boat. All our chores including dinner were completed in time for the 6:00 news! Team work is the best!

While I was in ordering the pizza, Clark saw this mural completed in 2017 by Myke Irving. Pretty cool!