Salt Pond, VA to Atlantic Yacht Basin, Great Bridge, VA

Today:          30 miles           5.6 hours           ICW ST Mile: 12.6
Total:          172 miles        28.35 hours

     When Pete returned after walking Bailey, he told me not to rush this morning. The fog is “as thick as pea soup!” So, we continued with our morning prep and for a change, ate breakfast before departing around 7:25.
     He checked the engine and once again, there was no drop in the antifreeze level. He feels that the leak is coming from the hot water heater. He will continue to check and leave the valves that isolate the water heater shut and let it heat once the boat is plugged in.

     The extra half hour enabled the fog to lessen, still requiring extra caution and extra eyes while exiting Salt Pond. Fog might be a bit unnerving, but it sure can create beautiful images.

  

                   Spider Webs

 

 

 

  

 

     The current was against us so our speed remained in the high 4’s to mid 5’s as we crossed the James River. Traffic on the water suddenly increased as we continued on the Elizabeth River. I was down below when things got rocky. While passing a huge working dredge, a ferry passed close by then turned behind us, a container ship was coming up behind us and a crazy power boater was totally blissful as he passed off our starboard, in between the 2 floats marking the submerged dredge piping! Somehow, Fate generally looks kindly on children and fools!

  

 

     Further up the river, a Naval ship was being moved. Crew was on the decks while 4 tugs moved the ship. We also saw 2 new tugs, one of which had a number of guests on board. It was also surprising to see 3 aircraft carriers undergoing restoration at one time. The tanks used for some of various jobs aboard the ships is amazing. We even saw a smaller sub # 635 - According to Wikipedia:

USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN-635) was a James Madison-class fleet ballistic missile submarine named for Sam Rayburn (1882–1961), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Sam Rayburn was in commission 2 December 1964 to 31 July 1989 carrying the Polaris missile and later the Poseidon missile. Following decommissioning, ex-Sam Rayburn was converted into a moored training ship for use at the Naval Nuclear Prototype Training Unit at Goose Creek, South Carolina.

 

     After a short wait, the Glimerton Bridge opened without announcement, RR bridge was only opened enough sailboats to pass on the very Eastern side.
     Great Lock schedules is on the hour for south bound and the half hour for northbound. However, the lock was already loaded at 12:20 when the tender hailed us. “If you wish to make this opening you need to speed up!” We did, and we made it. The lock closed and was equalizing by 12:40. I think that there might not have been any north bound traffic for the 12:30 opening so, since there was a commercial tug and barge, he opened early. The power boat, who arrived at 12:40 for the 1 PM opening, had to wait over an hour for the next southbound opening.
     It was early enough that we could have snagged dockage just south of Great Bridge Bridge, at the free dock. Instead, Amy, SV ROWAN is here at Atlantic Yacht Basin for repairs and joined us for dinner.

 
Amy's SV ROWAN

      I also was able to watch a high school rowing club launch their sculls.

  

 

     Pete and George worked until around 6. Somewhere around 4:30, I went below and Pete commented that the corn beef dinner in the crock pot wasn’t being very aromatic. When I checked, the meat, potatoes and carrots were all firm. Panicky, I checked our good friend, Google, and found that I could microwave it. Unfortunately, I don’t own a microwaveable bowl that big. So . . .I microwaved the meat first, then the veggies. Miraculously, dinner was ready when Amy arrived. The food was good, and the desserts Amy brought from Hummingbird Bakery in Downtown Norfolk were decadent. Three different, but equally delicious tarts: Lemon Meringue, Apple Crumb and Mocha Banana Mousse. It was such a great visit! We look forward to doing it again.
     Before bed, we checked the weather for the next few days. Once again the winds are expected to kick up to 15- 25 mph on the Albemarle and Alligator River from the SSW, which will be right on our nose Saturday / Sunday and from the West on Monday. We will have to modify our reservations in the morning.
     We’ll, we started this cruise about 10 days earlier than previous years in the hopes of taking a more leisurely cruise. Didn’t plan on using most of that in the first 2 weeks!

~ ~ ~  /)  ~  ~   K & P