March 27, 2024: I travel from Coinjock, NC to the Great Bridge free dock in Chesapeake, VA, dealing with fog and somewhat rough water, passing boats, and waiting too long for a drawbridge that should have been open.
I left Coinjock a little late that Thursday, waiting for a fog to lift. I spent some time having a leisurely breakfast on the boat and doing laundry. All the other boats left, one by one, until it was just me and the very big boat parked behind me. Realizing that I the fog probably wasn’t going to lift anytime soon and the weather was forecasted to be windier in the afternoon, I finally prepped to leave.
I had to ask the dockhand for assistance because the current was pushing the boat backwards, toward the boat behind me, and away from the dock. It would have been a crazy scramble to cast off and get back behind the wheel before I drifted into that boat so I figured that I may as well use the staff I’d paid for with my slip fee to get off more safely with less stress.
Almost every channel marker has an osprey nest on it and many of them are occupied.
By 9 AM I was moving away from the dock and making a sweeping U-turn to point me north up the cut. I got out of the narrow channel and into Coinjock Bay, stowed the lines, and settled in for what would be about a 3 hour trip up to Great Bridge free dock in Chesapeake, VA.
The trip was relatively uneventful. I made a video of the highlights — I’m getting a little better at recording shorter clips with less rambling narration — and you can see it here or on YouTube.
The main highlights are the fog, rougher water in Currituck Sound, and passing some boats as I cruised up North Landing River. There were drawbridges that had to open for us and my timing was good. But we did have a problem with the Albemarle & Chesapeake Railroad Bridge. Normally, it’s kept in the open position, closing only when a train is expected. But when we came through the Centerville Turnpike Bridge about a mile away from it, it was in the closed position. No one answered our radio calls. I was one of four boats waiting and we waited more than 30 minutes. At one point, I passed the other boats, cruised right up to the bridge, and called out to the men I saw working on it to ask when they’d open. They told me 5 minutes but we all waited another 15 until it finally opened.
My destination was just past there: the Great Bridge free dock on the north side of the canal. Only one other boat was parked there — a Grand Banks — and the owner, Chris, came out to help me tie up. Later, we were joined by a sailboat and the folks in New Bearings, who I’d met on the Loop back in Columbus, MS in December 2022.
Although it was still cold out, many plants were starting to flower, including this tree near the dock.
The weather was cold and dreary. I took my pups for a walk over to the draw bridge, which opens on the hour, and took a photo of the boats I’d been cruising with which were waiting for that next opening. I had some lunch and then took my pups for a nice walk in the wooded park accessible from the dock. This is one of my favorite overnight stops because of that park. It’s usually empty and I can let my pups get some off-leash time running around. That day there were just enough other folks with dogs that we kept the leashes on most of the time.
I shot this photo from the drawbridge looking back down the canal. The dock I was parked at is on the left.
I also sent the drone up to shoot some footage of the drawbridge in operation. I put that on YouTube, too. (I’m really trying to build my channel and hope you check it out.)
Since one of my friends in New Bearings was a feeling a little under the weather, I visited Chris in his boat, bringing along a glass of wine while he had something more potent. We talked cruising and boats and various things we’d learned along the way. He was based in Maine and was heading back up there but had no schedule to keep. I, of course, was back on a schedule and needed to be at a marina off Chesapeake Bay for a haul out in less than a week.
It was still pretty miserable outside when I went back to my boat. I took my pups for another short walk and turned in for the night.
The rain would start in earnest after midnight.
