Chesapeake, VA

This morning we arrived at Great Bridge bascule bridge just before the 9:00 a.m. opening. We tied up at Atlantic Yacht Basin thinking it might be the free dock. It wasn't. The free dock was on the other side of the canal and it was full. We decided to stay tied to Atlantic Yacht Basin dock since no one was around to kick us off. We waited there for the 10:00 a.m. opening of the bridge. The bridge opens in conjunction with a lock that is just beyond it. When we went through the 10:00 a.m. opening of the bridge, there were only 2 boats going through. The 9:00 opening had about 15 boats. As luck would have it, there was another free dock after the bridge which had one spot available just for us :). Our timing was impeccable. Just after we settled in at the dock, the rain came. We were so happy to get this spot (and it's FREE). If we hadn't stopped here, we would have been traveling in the pouring rain and anchoring at Hospital Point in Norfolk, VA - which isn't that great of an anchorage. The holding is supposed to be poor, and we are expecting 20 knot winds throughout the night. We plan to hang here until we get a decent weather window to head offshore to Cape May, NJ - skipping Chesapeake Bay altogether.


Just to backtrack for a minute . . . we left Oriental, NC on Thursday and we sailed and then motor sailed all day crossing Pamlico Sound and heading up Pamlico River. It was awesome to pass by Belhaven and not stop - especially after spending 10 days for boat repairs there in November. We anchored just before the Pungo River Alligator River Canal. It was a small anchorage up a little creek with just enough depth. Just before leaving in the morning, we saw a spectacular rainbow.

On Friday, we were up and out early (8:00 A.M) and put a very long day. We motored sailed most of the day as the winds were light behind us. We put in close to 60 miles until we crossed the Albermale Sound. Since leaving Hilton Head, we've traveled over 500 miles with about 600 or so more to go! We're trucking along and at this rate maybe we'll be back by Memorial Day!