September 2017 - Boat Life Larks

Sep 5&6, 2017

Continuing our mission to haul out before hurricane Irma, we left our free dock at Great Bridge Bridge and began the final, busy stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).

First, we got diesel at Atlantic Yacht Basin and then pulled up to the Great Bridge Bridge for the 10AM opening. Immediately after the bridge, we entered the Great Bridge Lock and prepared to lock through. Supposedly, we dropped an entire 6 inches, but it seemed like absolutely nothing.

Our VHF radio is constantly alive with military and commercial vessels negotiating passes and warning other boaters.

Railroad Bridge and Gilmerton Bridge

Railroad Bridge, Norfolk area

So many bridges!

Aircraft Carrier at the Naval Shipyard

We made it to Mile Marker 0 - the official beginning (or end) of the Intracoastal Waterway. A cold front was threatening so we anchored for the night. We have heard tales of cruisers being caught on abandoned refrigerators here so we set a trip line on the anchor.

Soon enough, the winds shifted and increased......and our anchor groaned and was pulling at a right angle. Great, we are anchored on a fridge! What a nightmare. All my fears are coming true! We just sat there in the rain listening to the anchor grind against the Un-identified Sunken Object (USO). Suddenly we were moving! Our GPS registered 1 knot, which felt really fast! Luckily, we weren't dragging but had freed ourselves from the USO and were properly aligned again. Yay!

Stormy weather

The next morning, we arose with the sun to head 52 miles across Chesapeake Bay. The cold front meant it was actually really cold and everyone had to find sweaters.

Dawn in Hampton Roads area

Cold snap!

Military Hovercraft

Sailing Chesapeake Bay

It was a perfect day to sail the bay. Sadly, nothing lasts forever! We removed the jib completely, arrived at the boat yard dock, and hauled out the next day.

Hauled Out - Time to get to work!

Have you ever encountered a UFO or a USO?

We got up, excited about the trip north today. We'd be crossing the state line into Virginia! Then I realized there were timed bridges on our route, and I'd have to think about them. I'd even have to go some math. Bridge #2 opens on the hour and half hour, except it doesn't open at all during rush hour, which apparently is rush 3 hour from 4PM-7PM. We'd have to get to Bridge #2 by 3:30. Bridge #1 is annoyingly 4nm from Bridge #2, which means we'll have to take 1 hour to get to it. We could get there in 34 minutes at our top speed, which would be 4 minutes too late. So, we needed to get to Bridge #1 by 2:30. Anyways, you can see how all this thinking can really get a person down.

At some point, we crossed into Virginia, but we missed the sign.

Traffic on the ICW!

Bridge #2. Victory!

Hastings enjoying a day on the water

We were contemplating continuing on and going through the Great Bridge Bridge, the Great Bridge Lock, and the Gilmerton Bridge to get to MM 0 in Portsmouth, but it started absolutely pouring so we pulled over to the free dock by Great Bridge Bridge. I was just happy about not doing any more bridge math!

Of course, being stopped didn't stop the thinking. Irma was still considering North Carolina as a destination. We could totally stay at the paid dock at Atlantic Yacht Basin for a hurricane - it's really far inland and before the lock.

However, being before the lock and between bridges means you could get trapped there while paying $50 a day, so we decided to press on. (Case in point, today, Sep 19, the lock is closed due to flooding due to winds and rain from Jose, which is at least 300 miles away. After Hurricane Matthew last year, bridges and locks were a bit tricky for a while. So, our hurricane plans have to include safety during the storm and an escape plan after the storm. It's a lot of thinking!)