As we left the Norfolk Yacht Club on November 1, we continued to cruise past the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. At this point most of the ships were in various stages of repair or had been completely 'mothballed'.
We made a stop for fuel in Portsmouth and were back on the water in under an hour. This was to be one of many non-moving times of the day.
We really had no idea what travelling the Virginia Cut was going to be like. As we noted yesterday, our desired route of the Dismal Swamp Canal had closed on October 30th due to the drought. So, all boats going south have to take the VA Cut. Combine that with many boat insurance policies restricting travel south of the Chesapeake until November 1, and the result was a traffic jam. Think I-75 at rush hour - what we were supposed to be getting away from!! At some points, we had to wait for an hourly-opening bridge or the lock and everyone had to hold their position - sometimes up to 55 minutes of "treading water". Some skippers were better at this than others.
There is one lock on the VA Cut and it only allows southbound locking on the hour. With current traffic volume, this resulted in many boats being in the lock at one time. In our travels on the Erie Canal, we never had more than four boats in any lock at one time.
Great Bridge Lock is a big lock, measuring 600 feet long. Even so, to be in there with almost 20 boats - some of those in the 80 foot range - made it very interesting.
When we were all released from the lock we had only a tenth of a mile to the bridge that would not open for 10 minutes. Again, everyone had to be on their toes to not run into anyone. Sailboats, which have limited maneuverability, were particularly challenged, and usually drew the ire of large powerboats with bow thrusters!
At this bridge we had the rare opportunity to make a train wait for us! We were about at the mid-point of the group and the train kept inching forward, obviously ready to get back rolling.
Once we cleared this bridge, all of the faster powerboats "poured on the coal" and took off. From the radio complaints we heard, some of them did not watch their wakes and slow down when they passed other boats or docks.
We had planned to stay at a small oxbow on the river to anchor for the evening. It was located in the marshy, grass lands along the river. When a late-day weather report predicted winds of 25-30 knots with gust to 40, we realized this area would not give us much protection. A quick look at the chart and various cruising guides showed a better alternative at Broad Creek, just north of Albemarle Sound. That required another 30 miles of travel down the Intercoastal Waterway. Now we were the ones "pouring on the coal". We made it into the anchorage right at dusk. The weather was perfect with no hint of the winds to come. About 11 pm last night the winds switched to the north and began to blow. We are in a well-protected area with good holding for the anchor. Based on the weather forecasts, we had already decided not to travel today. The winds are gusting to 45 knots, and the weather reports 5 foot seas on Albemarle Sound - and 14 foot seas on the Atlantic! There are a couple of sailboats in the anchorage with us and they also stayed put today. The current weather forecast makes it sound like we will be staying in this anchorage again tomorrow. We are busy with the usual boat chores and cribbage (Martha won!).
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