Depart: Columbia Public Dock 8:00
Arrive: Chesapeake Free Dock 7:20
Distance: 78 nm
We woke to another foggy and wet day, but at least it was not raining today. We missed our opportunity to visit Edenten on this trip as we did not go yesterday, and today we needed to start traveling towards New Jersey again.
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| Foggy Day over Columbia, NC |
We traveled along the Scuppernong River back to the Albemarle Sound.
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| Fishing Nets on Scuppernong River |
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| View on the Scuppernong River |
When we entered the Albemarle Sound, we found rough seas and heavy winds. We drove from the flybridge, but with the chill in the air, we had the front panel of the full enclosure zipped closed. On occasion, a wave would break over the bow of the boat and throw a "bucket" of water onto the closed panel. Our ability to see was severely hampered by the accumulation of moisture.
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| Poor Visibility on Flybridge |
A few times, Clark unzipped a small section and stuck his arm out with a squeegee to wipe away some of the excess. Our ability to have a clear view lasted a very short time before we were blocked once more. On particularly rough sections, our bell, "Wilhelmina", would ring out her complaints about the rough treatment she was receiving.
We hoped that when we rejoined the Intracoastal Waterway, we would have more protection from the wind. The three-to-four-foot waves settled down to one footers. Unfortunately, we continued to have a chill wind in our face, so our hopes of opening the full enclosure panel were dashed.
Having left the waves and traps behind, we found new obstacles in the river to keep an eye on.
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| Items outside the channel on the river |
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| Downed trees all along the river banks |
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| Tree-lined river on final leg of the ICW |
We made reservations at the Midway Marina in Coinjock, North Carolina. As we traveled the river, Clark realized that we would arrive there early afternoon. We talked about it and decided to continue on to a point further along the route to Norfolk.
Multiple bridges that required openings presented a travel concern on the "Virginia Cut", but with plenty of daylight hours, we decided to go for it. Whoever made the decision that three bridges so close together should each only open on the hour is either crazy or evil. We made it to the first bridge at precisely 5:00 pm. The bridge tender opened the bridge for us directly since we had arrived on the hour.
The next bridge only four miles away would open at 6:00, so we traveled at as slow a speed as feasible to cover the distance. After we got there, we still had a long wait for the opening. The final bridge, only a couple of miles down the river, had the next scheduled opening at 7:00. Given that, we had a long wait here as well.
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| Waiting for a Centerville Turnpike bridge to open at 6:00 |
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| Looking down the tracks photo (fortunately the railroad bridge did not need to be opened) |
Between the Centerville Turnpike bridge and the Great Bridge bridge, we passed the Atlantic Yacht Basin marina where we saw some pretty wooden boats.
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| Enticer |
The Great Bridge bridge opened for us at 7:00. Fortunately, the dock we planned to tie to was only a few feet beyond the bridge. Although rough, it served its purpose. Had we needed supplies, we could even have walked to a local supermarket from our "dock" space. Since we needed nothing, we stayed put on board for the rest of the night. Given our late arrival, I was glad I had a fridge full of left overs to put together a hodge-podge dinner.
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| Late Day Sky on an Overcast Day |
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| Sunset in Chesapeake, Virginia |
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| Sunset in Chesapeake, Virginia |
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| Reflection of the Great Bridge bridge in Chesapeake, VA |
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