A Little Bit Of Everything

Camden Point to Hampton  |  10.7 Hours  |  66 Miles  

The sun was nowhere to be seen as I went out to raise the anchor. Rain had fallen throughout the wee hours of the morning and there was still a heavy mist/light rain requiring me to put on the full compliment of foul weather gear. We moved out of the Broad Creek anchorage and back into the Intracoastal Waterway. Our destination by the end of the day was a return to Virginia. The muted light made for great swamp photography conditions. The first miles clicked on by and soon we were passing through Coinjock. Tied up to the dock was American Star. We surmised that they had stopped here waiting for water levels to return to normal in Currituck Sound.

We saw a few lower than expected readings, but had no unplanned contact with terra firma. Blue sky teased us, but only served to make the scenery at bit more eerie. Fog settled over us. The bright channel markers were a welcome splash of color for our eyes. A cormorant dried its wings atop a red, while a pair of osprey tended a small nest on a green. As we moved further up the ICW, the osprey houses were much grander in scale. 

We timed our arrival at the North Landing Bridge pretty well and passed through with minimal delay. A bald eagle watched our little parade of boats move along. Paradigm Shift was behind us. The challenge then became to get through the next bridge to set us up for an on-the-hour opening of our final bridge in Great Bridge. A series of factors conspired against us, including numerous no-wake zones, a group of paddle boarders, and a large barge moving scrap iron that delayed us at the Centerville Bridge.

Realizing we couldn't make the upcoming Great Bridge opening in 30 minutes, we slowed our speed to a crawl and tried to occupy the next hour and a half by looking at scenery. Sunning turtles and wading blue herons were willing, if unknowing, subjects. We arrived at Great Bridge 20 minutes early and were prepared to hold station and wait for the next opening. Then over the radio came the big announcement: Railroad Bridge #7 was stuck in the down position for the foreseeable future. We made the quick decision to claim a spot on the free dock and wait out the delay. Of course I was not prepared to dock and all the lines were stowed away. I pulled out the minimum essential lines to produce a good-enough-for-now effort. We then went back and properly tied up for an extended stay. Just as we began to exhale and enjoy a completed day, the new announcement came that the bridge was once again open to through traffic. A new plan went into effect calling for us to depart at the 3:00 bridge opening. With 40 minutes to wait, I gladly took the opportunity to go for a walk through the park. Paradigm Shift was more productive than us and used the delay to pick up fuel and water.  

Barry watched the boat traffic. Soon the wait was over and we all passed through the Great Bridge Bridge and into the lock chamber. We were on our way and the sun was out both literally and figuratively. No more bridges between here and home.

The Elizabeth River was scenic as always. Work continues on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The orange Welcome to Norfolk mural shone brightly at Waterside. Nauticus and Town Point park couldn't look much better from the water.

The USS Wisconsin commanded respect even though she hasn't moved in years. As we neared the carrier piers of Norfolk NOB, dark clouds had moved in to the east of the USS Gerald R. Ford. To the west, a large storm cell was approaching. We added a little extra throttle and headed toward The Chamberlin in Hampton. We would try our hardest to reach our destination, the Old Point Comfort anchorage, before the storm arrived. Mission accomplished. We dropped anchor and stayed dry as the storm passed to our south. 

It was a long day that had a little bit of everything sprinkled with several unplanned delays. We had a quick dinner and then watched the latest edition of Mother Nature's Light Show. A rainbow once again formed as the sun was setting. Greg took and shared the first photo of us from across the anchorage. An orange sky finished the evening. The boat pictured could be us, but is actually sister ship Duet. Twilight faded away with soft reflections of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel across the anchorage.