Hope Springs Eternal

Coinjock to Great Bridge  |  5.3 Hours  |  32 Miles  

With the adage "Hope Springs Eternal" lodged in my head, I settled in last night to watch the ACC Men's Basketball Championship game between Virginia and Duke. Maybe one day. It took a while to fall asleep after 37 minutes of good basketball and another disappointing ending. This morning's alarm came quickly, but we eased off the dock and were underway at 7:30. Before we exited the canal we met up with the tug Robert T. on his morning run south to the Alligator River Bridge construction site. It was nice to see the landmark stump still standing strong. I had wondered if the winter storms might have chipped away at its branches. We were surprised to see a boat full of fishermen inbound from Currituck Sound.

Once we entered further into the Sound, we realized why they were rushing to get into protected waters. To put in bluntly, the conditions on the Sound stunk. Thirty knot winds hit us with a choppy sea on the stern quarter. The stabilizers did their job of keeping from us heeling side to side. They could do nothing about the fish-tailing or wagging motion. The only saving grace was we didn't take much spray on the windshield. The trip was not dangerous, just uncomfortable. We kept searching for a silver lining, but settled for a rainbow that appeared on the helm bench. Thankfully we eventually entered narrower and more protected waters where the trees blocked the wind. We crossed over the NC-VA state line and entered the North Landing River. The only other vessel we saw was a tug/barge combo heading south. There was plenty of room for us to pass each other.

Time and distance calculations began for the 11:30 opening of the North Landing Bridge. We arrived with perfect timing, but ... we had to hold station in the stiff crosswind for an additional stressful five minutes. We finally got the opening and were once again on our way through the quiet and protected waters. An impressive bald eagle nest was easy to spot in the highest branches of the tallest tree. Zooming in revealed it was an active nest. Osprey occupied a majority of day markers.  The Centerville Bridge tender had the span open for us and we passed through without even slowing down. 

We arrived at Chesapeake's free dock and deployed every fender in preparation for tomorrow's severe weather. Extra dock lines were also used to double up for added security. We took an afternoon walk through the adjoining park where the trees blocked the wind and spring blossoms lined the paths. By nightfall, stray showers (not related to THE Front arriving tomorrow) were giving us a good boat wash. Once again, we're hoping that conditions will not be as bad as forecast.