I approached the crossing of the Norfolk Naval Shipyards and Hampton Roads with a great deal of trepidation. Norfolk is the fifth busiest port in the USA. And, of course there is all the naval ship movement going on.
As it turns out, my fears were all for naught. The hardest time I had was getting through the railroad bridges. Some of them sit down as close as 5 feet above the water. They swing out of the way, rise straight up on enormous structures, or rise to an angle using counterweights (Bascule Bridges). I wound up navigating through 2 bascule bridges, 1 vertical lift bridge, and one lock. That all cost me more than 2 hours of travel time.
I passed a lot of big commercial ships as well. I got a kick out of two of them, they were registered in Majuro. I've been there. I'm pretty sure that the ships are nearly as big as the atoll and probably more heavily populated.
Surprisingly, there was virtually no Navy traffic. I passed one destroyer that looked like it was coming back from sea trials. I did pass by a lot big navy ships, several aircraft car
riers. It was an interesting day. Best of all, the water was relatively calm.
I had a nice cruise and got to Salt Ponds Marina. I got fuel and tied up for the night. Nothing too exciting. The restaurant that was advertised had closed about 2 years ago. Fortunately, I had supplies in the fridge from the trip to Walmart. They did give me a free beer cozy, however.
I got up after a good night's sleep and headed out. I am now officially in the Chesapeake Bay. I'm anchored out for the night in a lovely little inlet. I've already been approached by two local boats. The folks were admiring my boat and asked about where I came from and where I'm heading. Everybody likes my "cute", "little" boat.
It looks like tomorrow will be my last day in Virginia. I'm going to try to get to St. Mary's College on Saturday. I was hoping to anchor in the St. Mary's River, but as my dinghy is still non-functioning, I'll try for a marina... again.
As it turns out, my fears were all for naught. The hardest time I had was getting through the railroad bridges. Some of them sit down as close as 5 feet above the water. They swing out of the way, rise straight up on enormous structures, or rise to an angle using counterweights (Bascule Bridges). I wound up navigating through 2 bascule bridges, 1 vertical lift bridge, and one lock. That all cost me more than 2 hours of travel time.
I passed a lot of big commercial ships as well. I got a kick out of two of them, they were registered in Majuro. I've been there. I'm pretty sure that the ships are nearly as big as the atoll and probably more heavily populated.
Surprisingly, there was virtually no Navy traffic. I passed one destroyer that looked like it was coming back from sea trials. I did pass by a lot big navy ships, several aircraft car
riers. It was an interesting day. Best of all, the water was relatively calm.I had a nice cruise and got to Salt Ponds Marina. I got fuel and tied up for the night. Nothing too exciting. The restaurant that was advertised had closed about 2 years ago. Fortunately, I had supplies in the fridge from the trip to Walmart. They did give me a free beer cozy, however.
I got up after a good night's sleep and headed out. I am now officially in the Chesapeake Bay. I'm anchored out for the night in a lovely little inlet. I've already been approached by two local boats. The folks were admiring my boat and asked about where I came from and where I'm heading. Everybody likes my "cute", "little" boat.
It looks like tomorrow will be my last day in Virginia. I'm going to try to get to St. Mary's College on Saturday. I was hoping to anchor in the St. Mary's River, but as my dinghy is still non-functioning, I'll try for a marina... again.
No comments:
Post a Comment