10/29/2015, 10/30/2015 Hospital Pt and Great Bridge

10/29/15    To 36 50.716N,  76 17.983W    Hospital Point, Norfolk    47.6NM    MILE '0'

Thursday morning the wind was from the W and the skies clear, so after breakfast, we headed on our way.  As we departed, it appeared 3 of us had taken refuge from the weather in the Severn, another sailboat had anchored in the SW branch.  It also had been a decent spot to wait for the the weather to change.

After running out the jib, we decided a bit more sail was necessary and we raised the main.  It was going to be one of those days - 30 minutes after it was up, we were reefing in 18kts of  building wind.  Then it was 10kts, so we shook out the reefs, at least we were sailing and headed in the right direction.  The wind played tricks all day.  By noon, we were reefed again and a bit later rolled in some jib as the wind built into the 20's.  A long time ago, on another boat, we learned it's best to reef when you first think it might be a good idea.  So we do, and have generally found we sail faster with less canvas up and with less stress to vessel and crew.  The wind also shifted directions, usually not in our favor, blowing harder more on the bow.  When the wind and our intended course became one and the same a bit S of Salt Pond, we turned on the engine and furled the jib rather than spend a long time getting nowhere, we'd be able to sail again once we made the turn on the Elizabeth River past the Navy vessels.

We knew the current would be an issue, and it was, flowing against us from the start, and slowly building as we headed S.  With our impeccable timing, we managed to carry a counter current all the way to Hampton Roads, where it was flowing out as we entered the Elizabeth River - at 3+kts, and continued, slowly lessening until we reached Hospital Point in Norfolk. We never got any 'good' current! Checking our 'track', the actual distance sailed over the ground, against the knot meter log reading, we'd traveled an additional 10NM, thanks to the current.  No wonder it had been a long day, that's an additional 2 hours!

Old Point Comfort Light House at Hampton

Tugs assisting Warship 189 as she heads to sea

As always,  Hampton Roads had plenty of ship traffic - inbound and outbound ships,  military vessels, tugs and tows, pleasure craft and a number of  big inflatables carrying armed assault troops.  It helps to monitor channel 13 to hear the traffic chatter to help keep abreast of things.  At 1630, a series of big tugs called it a day and tied up at one of the wharves on the E side of the channel while the pilot boat was still busy getting pilots on and off the big ships.  Our track also seemed to be the approach path of a large number of helicopters.  The traffic doesn't stop at sundown either, with tugs and tows plying the various branches of the river all night.

The USS Cole in port - we last saw her off Yorktown a couple of years ago

We were surprised to find the Hospital Point anchorage virtually empty  when we arrived - 2 sail boats anchored off one of the marinas.  Usually it's packed, and it can be interesting to find a spot between the shoals, bobbers and other boats. A new addition was a NOAA weather buoy that records vital statics that are included in the hourly weather reports.  In the morning we'll be able see and hear the weather simultaneously.

By 1700 we were settled for the night - a bit late in the day to launch the dinghy to go ashore, but time for a hot shower before dinner since we had plenty of hot water and it was warm (upper 70's).  A number of rental day sailors from Nauticus (a new addition) were out enjoying the pleasant afternoon on the water as we anchored.  Some looked to be taking youngsters out, like the Sailing Center in Burlington. The anchorage gradually filled, with a few boats feeling their way in after dark, giving us plenty of entertainment while we enjoyed dinner in the cockpit. 

We've seen several of these tugs - they appear to have a very low free board, and we wonder if they're used only to push barges. The battleship in the background is the USS Wisconsin from WWII, an Exhibit at Nauticus.

Norfolk at night

This was docked there in the morning!

10/30/2015  To 36 43.289N,76 14.526W   Great Bridge Park   Chesapeake, VA   9.9NM

Hearing a strange noise Leonard crawled out of our bunk at 0615.  He came back to bed and stated a big cruise ship was moving slowly into the Norfolk cruise ship dock across the river from us.  It was both close and noisy enough to prevent us from falling back to sleep - think really big bow thrusters. Since we knew it would be a short day, we weren't in a big rush to get up.  Note sunrise at Norfolk was about 0720.

Sun rise over the E Branch of the Elizabeth River - the ICW uses the S Branch

We watched as everyone else pulled anchor around 0730 and headed S.  We planned to spend the night at one of the free docks at Great Bridge between the lock and the bridge, about 10NM, where we could walk to the laundromat and get more provisions.  The advantage of waiting an hour was less traffic on  the ICW and fewer boats getting settled in the lock at Great Bridge.  In any case, we'd be clear of any bridge restrictions, including the RR bridge which would only open a few times between 1100 and 1900 while workers replaced ties.  

The lock master at Great Bridge, a cheery woman, opened the gates early, and assisted getting our lines on the cleats for the 18" drop.  The lock and bridge coordinate together on an hourly schedule - getting in early doesn't mean locking through any faster - we'd be locked through at 1045.  When another sailboat tied up behind us, the lock master commented how few we were compared to the earlier group, while passing out Halloween candy - nice touch!  A large motor yacht arrived just before the gates were to close, so we waited a few minutes while he secured lines ashore.   By 1100 we'd cleared the lock and were tied up at the end of the free dock space.  Plenty of time to do the chores and relax, and a beautiful, warm (mid 60's), sunny day to spend on shore.

Leonard reminded me we had another interesting CG incident to relate.  We heard a 'security' call on the VHF the other day and listened as the CG announced they'd lost a mannikin used in a man over board drill, 'requesting boaters to assist if possible, keep a sharp look out while transiting the area, and report any sightings'. Whoops! I wonder if it was wearing a PFD.  Perhaps it had been a practice drill at the Coastie training station on the York River, but still...

We can also report having seen the dirigible that broke loose from its mooring off the Aberdeen Proving Grounds the other day.  Two dirigibles had been visible when we entered the Chesapeake and we'd speculated about their purpose, perhaps for some special event, or a northern version of Fat Albert, who has been monitoring vessels in the Florida Straits off the Keys for decades (the 50 years of the Cuba embargo?).  It can be amazing what our tax dollars buy.

One of the 2 dirigibles tethered over the Aberdeen Proving Grounds