Day 111 - Birds, Bridges, and Bottom

Most of the sailboats and slow trawlers were gone by the time we left at 8:15am.  Luckily the boat behind us was one of them so we could back out.  The sun was bright and the air was dry and cool, with the wind from the north.  We had heard that a north wind blows water out of the Currituck Sound, where we were headed, creating shoaling and shallow depths.  Very true as we discovered 3.5 miles into the journey when we hit bottom and the port engine died!  Luckily, it was a gentle touch and there was no damage.  Later, we saw a sailboat do the same thing.  Between watching depths and the crab pots, we had to pay close attention.  At mile marker 34 we said good-bye to North Carolina and hello to Virginia.

Things got a little better by the time we entered the North Landing River.  This is a sparsely populated area and the shores were rustic with lots of ospreys and a few eagles.  The ospreys liked to make their nests on top of the flat markers and were busy feeding the babies.  The Pungo Ferry Bridge at mile marker 28.3 was the first bridge we encountered, but it is fixed so we cruised right under.  On the north side of the bridge the remains of the dilapidated Pungo Ferry Marina sit on the east shore.  We noted a jet fuel storage facility just before the North Landing Swing Bridge, which opens on the hour and half hour.  We arrived at 10:20 am so it was only a 10 minute wait. 

 

 

 

The river narrowed and got more winding and Captain Randy had to slow down often for small fishing and pleasure boats.  It was 11:15 am when we got to the Great Bascule Bridge which opens only on the hour.  There was a dock on the east shore that we could tie up to, so we waited there until noon.  Right after the bridge is the Great Lock and the lockmaster had the door open for those of us that had waited for the noon bridge opening.  In the lock, Captain Randy noticed a small monument to the battle of Great Bridge during the revolutionary war.  The Battle of Great Bridge, on December 9, 1775, ended with what is claimed to be the first patriot victory over the British in the Revolutionary War.  The victory over the British lead them to leave Virginia and give up Norfolk, the best sea port between Charleston and New York.

 

It was 12:23 am when we left the lock and 12:43 am when we hit the Steel Bridge (Dominion Boulevard Bridge).  This bridge also opens on the hour and half hour, so it was 1:00 pm when we got through.  We were happy with our progress through the bridges and locks.  Our contingency plan was to stay at the Atlantic Yacht Basin Marina near the Great Bridge if we had been delayed too long to make it to Norfolk.  We were now on the Elizabeth River, which is very industrial all the way to Portsmouth/Norfolk. The last bridge was just ahead, the Glimerton Bridge, and it had enough clearance (35 feet) so that we did not have to wait. 

 

The Navy has a huge presence in the Norfolk/Portsmouth/ Newport News area.  We passed a huge Naval Shipyard before arriving at Tidewater Yacht Basin in Portsmouth at 2:20 pm.  Our neighbors are a live-aboard couple with a black standard poodle named Buffet (for Jimmy Buffet) and a sailboat named Kokomo.  How appropriate for Captain Randy!  Buffet wasn’t so sure about us though, and barked every time we walked by.  About an hour later, Dollinger came in and docked on the other side of Kokomo.

 

We were all invited to “docktails” at 5:00 pm and met several more boaters in the harbor.  There seem to be a lot of live-aboards in this marina.  We had dinner at the marina restaurant, 757 Crave on the Harbor, and enjoyed a singer/guitarist named Amy.  The Captain had soft shell crab and I had a stir fry with fresh shrimp, scallops, and vegetables.  We started doing laundry and turned the Hawks game on, hoping for a win.  Although we were ultimately disappointed, the team sure made it an exciting Game 7.