Heading South Fall 09 IV
Friday, October 23, 2009 - 10 AM
Hospital Point, Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA - ICW Mile Zero
Water temperature 61 F
Yesterday was a "just enjoy shore leave" day. You can tie up your dingy in downtown Norfolk at Waterside Marina for $3.15 for the day - come and go as often as you like. A FREE bus stops one block away that makes a loop thru downtown. A very large indoor mall is three blocks away. I ate lunch in a deli, visited the Douglas MacArthur Memorial Museum and went for a bus ride. Then it was time to dinghy across the harbor to the FREE dinghy dock/ferry landing on the Portsmouth side. My first stop was at the Portsmouth Visitor Center where the very nice ladies there told me about their new FREE loop bus and told me where I could get a haircut. After a much needed shearing, I went to Biergarten to sample their wares. When I got back to the boat, Kalko gave me a "Just where have you been all day???" look. Shore leave was over.
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10/22/2009, Hospital Point, Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA - ICW Mile Zero
Heading South Fall 09 III
Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 10 AM Hospital Point, Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA - ICW Mile Zero Water temperature 61 F
I'm anchored back at one of our favorite stops, Hospital Point. I got in early yesterday arriving at 2:30 PM after a short 30 mile run and there was only two other boats already anchored there. By 6 PM there were 20 boats anchored at Hospital Point. The Fall Migration is definitely underway. At 8 AM this morning there was a flurry of boats pulling anchor and heading south. Now there are just a few boats sharing the anchorage but we'll be getting more company this evening.
As I came into Hampton Roads yesterday a Navy warship was coming in behind me. As she got closer, I could see she was all dressed up with flags and banners flying and her decks were lined with sailors in their dress uniforms. There was a tugboat off to the side with her water cannons blasting a salute into the air. It was quite an impressive sight. When the warship reached her dock, there were hundreds of family members waiting for her. I don't where she had been or how long she had been gone; but she received a joyous welcome.
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10/21/2009, Between the York River and Hampton Roads in the Lower Chesapeake Bay
Heading South Fall 09 II
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - 11 AM Between the York River and Hampton Roads in the Lower Chesapeake Bay Water temperature 60 F
The cat and I spent a quiet night at anchor on the flats just off of Crab Neck near Back Creek which is just off the York River. It was just about dead calm but we had some rolling action at times from ships going up and down the Chesapeake Bay. When it's dead calm, ship wakes go a very long distance before they die completely away. It was no big deal it just seems strange when everything is so quiet and then the boat starts rolling. You pop your head out of the companionway and look around and see nothing but the wake going by. The ship that caused it is not even in sight.
This morning was the start of another beautiful Fall day. I had the jenny out for awhile but then the little bit of breeze that there was moved too far forward so I had to roll it up. I'll be coming into Hampton Roads in a couple hours and going by the Navy Yards. That's always an interesting trip. This is a very busy piece of water and channel 16 on the VHF is never quiet. You have to pay close attention to listen if any of the announcements are of concern to you. I won't be going below to make lunch and while transiting Hampton Roads.
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