March 28, 2024: I set off from the free Great Bridge dock in Chesapeake VA, deal with drawbridges and a lock, buy cheap fuel, get bounced around in foul weather, and return to a safe harbor at Norfolk Yacht Club.
Lily and Rosie heard the rain and made no move to get out of bed in the morning.
It was raining pretty hard on Thursday, March 28, when I started my boat at the free dock south of the Great Bridge drawbridge. I’d used ride share services to get to a supermarket I would have walked to on a nice day and back. I was fully provisioned for the rest of a leg that would eventually get me to Colton Point on the Potomac River.
I’d booked three nights at the
Docks at Downtown Hampton and their Dockwa cancellation policy said they needed 24 hours notice for cancellation to avoid being charged for the night. The place isn’t exactly expensive but I don’t like throwing money away. So although the forecast called for rain and wind all day, I was pretty confident that I could make it there, even though I’d rather stay put for the day at the free dock where existing friends — Bruce and Lea on New Bearings — and a new friend — Chris on Brown Eyed Girl — would be spending another day snuggled up in their cozy boats.
A Dock, a Bridge, and a Lock
Here’s a nautical chart for the area I had to traverse.
So I started up and left. Chris came out and helped me cast off. I waited for the Great Bridge bridge opening, then locked up in the Great Bridge lock. You can see and hear me talk about these things in the video below.
The short version is that I had to wait until the noon bridge opening before I followed another boat into the lock. I got into position, took the line the lockmaster wrapped around a cleat for me, and locked up about 4 feet. The gates opened and I glided out behind the folks who were in front of me. In all, it took about 30-40 minutes to get through the bridge and lock and get on my way.
Fueling
I’d also been doing my best to run down my fuel as low as possible before passing and fueling up at the area’s cheapest fuel stop, Top Rack Marina, so that’s where I stopped next. It was pouring rain by that time and I almost drove by the place. I’d stopped there in autumn on my way south and it had been packed with boats. Every slip full, every fueling slip full, and at least two boats waiting. It took me 45 minutes just to get to the pumps. Most of the boats were large twin engine yachts being moved by experienced transport captains to Florida for the winter. They took on hundreds of gallons. I took on a whopping 129.8 gallons — my tank only holds 145.
On that rainy March day, the docks were completely empty. No one answered on the radio. For a moment, I nearly panicked. I only had 15 gallons of fuel on board and I had no idea where I could get fuel within 20 miles of there. But there was an Open sign on the marina entrance, so I went in.
I had no assistance docking. I took advantage of the current to push me into one side of the slip. My fenders were out and I arrived with a gentle bump. Then I jumped out to secure two lines. I was about to go into the building when a dock hand appeared. He got me the hose and got the pump working. I invited him to stand on my aft deck, which was mostly out of the rain. We chatted about him moving to Virginia from Australia (of all places) because he’d married an American woman.
The boat took 130 gallons. When I went in to pay, I found a very good deal on a pair of long dock lines. One of my lines had been severely chafed while I was docked at my dad’s house with my boat tied to rough cement pillars. This was too good a deal to pass up so I bought them. Better to have too many lines than not enough.
I didn’t have any assistance leaving the dock. I backed out, let the current help spin me around, and continued north.
The Norfolk Area
The ICW technically ends in Norfolk. That’s where you’ll find mile marker 0 on a buoy. (If you stop in Portsmouth and go into the visitor center in town, you can buy a MM 0 t-shirt. I happen to be wearing mine today.) But when you get past that MM and make your way past numerous bridges, you’ll get to where the Navy repairs its ships. There are tons of them in dry dock there.
The bridges don’t usually need to open for me. Usually. Today one of the train bridges was down and I had to wait for it. It was the second time in two days that I had to wait for a train bridge that’s usually open.
One of the highlights of this part of the trip was seeing an aircraft carrier in drydock. Whoa.
Then, with the rain pelting down on my boat, I continued down the Elizabeth River past all those naval ships and the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth. I’d spent time on both sides of the river on my way south. In Norfolk, I’d spent a night at Waterside, a relatively posh marina near a complex with restaurants and shops and walking distance from more restaurants and shops and a handful of museums. In Portsmouth, I’d spent a total of four nights at the High Street Landing free dock, which can attract some funky characters, but is conveniently located close to downtown.
This is the same ship in drydock. It was so close I had to use the wide angle feature on my phone’s camera to fit the whole ship in.
There’s a no wake zone through most of that area, but I was pretty much the only idiot out on the water. The river was choppy, but certainly not a problem or even uncomfortable. I kept going. Then I was out of the No Wake Area and heading out toward Chesapeake Bay.
Rough Water
The water kept getting rougher and rougher. First 2 foot waves. Then 3 foot waves. Pretty soon, about half the waves I was encountering were 4 feet or more. They were right on my bow, being blown in from the Chesapeake. The bow would go down into the water and the water would come up, completely covering the boat. My windshield wipers were swinging wildly but I could only see out the front windows immediately after one of their passes.
And, of course, the interior of the boat was getting tossed around, too. My dogs were not looking happy. I wasn’t happy either.
But I only had six miles to go! Surely, I could take another 6 miles!
In the end, I decided that I couldn’t. Sure, the boat could handle it, but the boat wasn’t going anywhere without me and I didn’t want to handle it. So I made a 180° turn and headed back in.
Now the question was, where would I stay without having to go all the way back to downtown Norfolk or Portsmouth?
Safe Harbor
The answer was ahead of me on my port side: Norfolk Yacht and Country Club.
I’d stayed there the previous spring, when I arranged to meet with Ted at Waterway Guide. Back then, it looked as if I’d be doing some writing for them, and we met to discuss it. Ted is a member at the club and arranged for me to get a slip. Maybe I could get a slip by mentioning I’d been there before?
So I called them. I told them my name and my boat’s name and mentioned that I’d been there the year before as a guest of one of the members. I told them I was trying to get to Hampton but the conditions were too rough. I told them I just needed a slip for the night. Did they have something for me?
How fun! Check out the tank on this scuba diver painted on the wall on the Marina Office.
They found me a slip. I set my course and went in.
I tried twice to come in to one of the T-heads where another boat was already parked ahead of the spot where they wanted me. In both cases, wind and current pushed me way out. Then the dockhands offered another slip that was more inside. I maneuvered into position, arriving just as they came to get my lines. It was a real pleasure to be securely tied to a dock again.
I put my pups on leashed and walked them to the marina office where I paid for my slip. I also got a pass to use the fitness facility, which included an indoor pool hot tub, and the restaurant.
Here’s my Nebo log for March 28,2024. Download a PDF log file with more info. Track Do It Now on Nebo.
Settling in for the Night
There’s nothing nicer than ending the day in a hot tub.
After walking my pups, I braved the wind and rain and went back to the boat. I made myself some dinner and tried to relax.
Sometime near sunset, the rain finally let up. On a whim, I put on my swimsuit, put clothes on over it, and went to the fitness facility.
A half hour later, I was soaking in hot water with a view out to the marina.
Sunset from the dock near my boat. Yes, there’s a huge container ship facility near the yacht club; it operates all night but I couldn’t hear it.
