Virginia July 12 - July 17

Still limping our way north in search of both cooler weather and a cure (or at least a correct diagnosis) of our mystery engine problem. Our Virginia route will take us through the very busy port of Norfolk and then up the western shore of Chesapeake Bay towards our eventual destination of Deale, Maryland.

Our stops in VA (Red = marina; Blue = anchorage or free dock; Star = high rating) Click for Interactive Map  

We entered Virginia somewhere a bit north of Coinjock, our last stop in North Carolina. The scenery gradually went from near wilderness to more and more civilized as we approached Norfolk. We came upon a couple of bridges so low that even our 12 foot vertical clearance was too high, but they opened for us with just a slight delay. The only real slow-up was at the Great Bridge and Lock in Chesapeake City, Virginia. This US Army Corps of Engineers lock lifts and drops only a couple of feet, but it and its associated bridge open only on the hour. We tied up at a nice little courtesy dock to wait, and watched a 90+ foot sportfish and his 30 foot triple engine “dinghy” impatiently back and fill and circle right in front of the bridge, as if that would make them open up quicker. We got through the lock without incident (heck, we did something like 156 locks last year on our great loop, I should hope we would know how to do locks by now) and our destination for the night was just a couple of miles ahead, the Top Rack Marina. This place is a huge “rack and stack” operation catering to smaller boats, and it was busy on this Sunday afternoon. The two attractions of the Top Rack are: 1) cheap fuel, and 2) cheap dockage. We topped up the fuel tank for $1.71 a gallon, and for an extra $40 got a slip with electric for the night. It was busy and noisy with forklifts running left and right launching and retrieving boats, but after the place closed down for the night we had it all to ourselves.

Cypress trees in the Virginia Cut

Waiting for the swing bridge to open

We waited tied up to a public dock rather than station keeping and jockeying around like these guys

In we go! Plenty of room for BellaGatto

A perfectly still afternoon once all the Sunday boaters got off the water

Um. Uh oh. This is not good. Anchoring out tonight so we're OK for now

In the morning, it was time to brave the busy and intimidating waters of the ports of Norfolk and Hampton Roads to get to the Chesapeake. We got through the tangle of railroad and highway bridges and were picking our way through the cross traffic of a couple of oceangoing freighters, a guided missile frigate, and a helicopter assault carrier when we noticed the squall line coming in from the west. Not any real rain, but a north wind suddenly popped up to 30 knots and a special marine warning came up on the VHF warning of hazardous conditions on the bay and advising mariners to seek shelter until the squall passes. We did just that, pulling into the town of Hampton and poking around the harbor there for an hour or so until the wind went down. Then we poked our nose out into the bay and it wasn’t too bad, just a leftover sloppy-choppy sea on our beam as we headed north about 20 miles to Back Creek. We had anchored here last year, it is a small but reasonably deep little creek that is home to a fleet of scallop boats and one little marina. We decided to anchor out tonight….we have been staying at marinas way too much on this trip (mostly to have air conditioning) and even inexpensive marinas put a hole in the budget eventually. We dropped the hook right where we did last year. It was still just late afternoon, so we took Bella for a dinghy ride out to a beach that we had spotted on the way in. She had a fabulous time splashing and swimming and rolling in the sand, and we went for a swim also in the bathtub temperature water. We somehow luckily avoided getting stung by the abundant and pestiferous sea nettle jellyfish. Being the rookies we are, we didn’t know that virtually no one swims in the lower Chesapeake in the summer months because of these nasty little devils. With all the windows and ports open to catch the slight breeze and a nice cold shower right before bedtime, it was actually a quite comfortable night, and we felt more like real cruisers again.

Getting close to the belly of the beast

Norfolk is home to the largest naval base

Such a different scene from the May AGLCA Rendevous last year when this place was teaming with loopers

Cruise ships waiting out COVID

The might of our Navy

Surprised to see these guys again up in Hampton but happy to get the photo because it really shows off the yacht/dinghy package

Running close to shore to take in the sights of this beach front community

Bella is super happy when swimming is on the agenda

My heart 💙

Time to head back to BellaGatto

A waterman (love this term) collecting crabs in the morning

Our next stop was Deltaville, where we had spent a couple of weeks last year at the boatyard getting some shaft seal work done. We liked the ambiance there on our last stop, so decided to return to the same place. We were also looking forward to seeing a couple we had met online who were interested in an Endeavour 36 but had never been aboard one. They live nearby, and we made a date for cocktail hour and a boat tour. Before the visit, we needed to do some chores. Besides cleaning up the boat, we borrowed the marina’s courtesy car for a trip to the grocery store and the West Marine and did a load of laundry. I also did a jury-rig fix of our shore power system. We had burned up both the shore power inlet fixture on the boat and the end of the power cord somehow at Top Rack. West Marine did not have the parts we needed to do a proper fix so I just cut the end off our shore power cable, stripped the wire ends, and connected them directly to the wiring for the shore power receptacle. Crude, but effective.

Showing of BellaGatto to Carl & Joan

Sunset at Jackson Creek/Deltaville Marina

New saltwater swimming pool at Deltaville Marina

Deltaville marina expanded the vegetable garden considerably this year. Produce is free for the picking!

Temporary fix for our electirical cable

Our last stop in Virginia was right on the Virginia/Maryland border and just south of where the Potomac River meets the bay at Smith Point. This was a tricky little place to get into – the sailboat ahead of us ran aground at the channel entrance, helpfully showing us where the deeper water wasn’t. Once we got in, we found a little clear spot in the dense minefield of crab traps and anchored up in about 8 feet of water. Not too far behind us was a looper boat we hadn’t seen since way back on the Tennessee River, the Sea n Stars. When we last met them, they were just three days into their great loop and very intimidated by the prospect of handling their big heavy 49 foot trawler. Now they were running that boat like a couple of confident old salts! We went over for cocktail hour after taking Bella for a nice long shore excursion to the nearby beach and got caught up with each other’s adventures. Even though we have finished the loop, we are still part of the looper community. It’s nice.

Sunset at Ellyson Creek anchorage, Smith Point

We had a beautiful but difficult beach walk on this beach at Smith Point. Sand was not hard packed

Heading out Smith Point cut in the morning

Beautiful conditions on the Chesapeake

Now we are just two days away from our boatyard appointment in Deale, Maryland. We had allowed ourselves two weeks to get there from way down in Southport, and it looks like we make it with a couple of days to spare….stay tuned!