ICW

Bill and I had a very low key four days in Norfolk. It rained and was very windy (sustained wind of 25, gusts 30-35 knots) the whole time. We pretty much just stayed in; we watched a lot of movies, did laundry, and went food shopping. I am sorry to say that we did no exploring outside of the marina. It was just too miserable outside!

This morning we left Norfolk and entered the Intracoastal Waterway. Since the recent weather has delayed several other cruisers making their way south, Bill and I have found ourselves in a fleet of about 25 boats all heading south via the ICW. Sv Mary Elizabeth was in the middle of the pack waiting for the first bridge opening at 8:30. It has been interesting traveling with so many other boats on the same schedule.

So far today (and we are only at mile 18) we have gone under 12 bridges (most of which we have had to wait for, which has been interesting with so many boats trying to go through / wait at once). Two of the bridges were 65 foot fixed bridges, which we went under while holding our breath. ME's mast is 63 feet. We also went through one lock (see pic above) which was pretty much uneventful.

Our destination tonight is Coinjock, NC, which is at mile 50 on the ICW.

We should make it to Beufort, NC by Wednesday. Tommy Murdock, our friend from Quincy, is going to fly into New Bern, NC and help us take the boat on the outside from Beufort straight to Charleston, SC. We are very happy that Tommy is able to help us out, since the trip will require an overnight passage (it is about 30 hours) and I do not feel comfortable doing a watch by myself.

We have seen about a dozen F-18s fly overhead in the past few minutes. There must be some training ground or auxiliary field around here. It is strange; it is very desolate and quiet -- except for the roar of the fighters overhead.

The other "news" is that yesterday I threw my wallet away. Anyone who knows me knows that I lose my wallet about once a week. This time I really lost it. Yesterday after I went food shopping I put my wallet in one of the bags, which Bill unpacked and threw away. Thankfully I retraced my steps and realized what had happened. Bill called the marina and someone at Tidewater actually went out to the dock, found the trash bag, looked through the garbage and found my wallet. Talk about customer service. They are going to put it in the mail. I am so thankful that Bill called the dockmaster, the marina agreed to search our trash, and that they actually found it.

I have taken a ton of pictures today. To view the album, click here.

Norfolk, VA

Deltaville, and the folks at Doziers were very nice, and we enjoyed our stay last night. They feature floating cement docks, complimentary coffee in the morning, magazine and book swap, huge TV in the lounge where we watched football last night, etc. The owners happen to be affiliated with the Doziers Waterway Guides, which we have relied on these past few months -- and have a big yacht named m/v Waterway Guides to prove it.

So Bill and I shoved off the dock in Deltaville around 8:45 this morning. We put the sails out and cruised along at about 7 knots for three hours or so before the wind died to less than 10 knots. We took the jib in but left the main out to steady ourselves since we were in very beamy seas. After lunch it got cold again (there is a trend here....) and the foul weather gear came out.

We proceeded to motorsail out of the Chesapeake Bay and into the Elizabeth River into Norfolk Virginia. We went by a carrier and submarines and saw F-15s and the new F-22s flying overhead. Norfolk is home to the Norfolk Naval Base, which is the largest naval base in the world.

We have decided that we are going to stay here through Friday morning. There is weather coming, and we are going to wait a few days before we enter the ICW. We are Tidewater Marina on the Elizabeth River, which is at Mile Marker 0 of the ICW. In the next few days, we will enter the ICW and travel down the Eastern Coast. The main thing that we are concerned about is a fixed 64 foot bridge. Mary Elizabeth's mast is 63 and 1/2 feet height -- not counting the wind vane. So... we are contemplating the pros and cons of the various routes (well, as the captain, Bill is contemplating the pros and cons of the various routes). The expected strong winds and rain will create waves, which will shorten the distance between the top of the mast and the bottom of the fixed bridge -- the main reason why we are going to hole up in Norfolk for a few days.

The adventure has begun!



For more pictures of Norfolk, click here.

Deltaville, VA

sv Mary Elizabeth left the dock at Solomons around 9:00 this morning - even though it felt so much later because of the clock change. Funny how one hour can mess you up....

We had a beautiful sail most of the 45 miles to Deltaville and arrived at Doziers at 5:20 or so.

About five minutes after we put the sails out, Bill went below to check out the coupling - the part of the boat that attaches the prop shaft to the transmission, since he was hearing a strange noise. Good thing he has good ears.... When he opened the engine room compartment, Bill realized that the bolts had loosened and there was about a 1/3 of an inch gap between the two plates. We immediately took the sails in, Bill turned the boat so we were lying ahull, and he went to work. He manually tightened all of the bolts while I kept a watch out for boat traffic, crab pots, and water depth (although we were in plenty of water). After about 20 minutes, Bill had fixed the problem.

Despite the minor "issues" first thing, we had a perfect morning / early afternoon. It was warm, and we were sailing at an average of 7.5 knots (we saw 8.8 at one point) on a nice beam reach -- the kind of sailing I love (calm, flat, relaxing). Around 3:00 or so, it started to get dark and very cold. By the time we arrived in Deltaville both Bill and I had our foul weather gear on (something I rarely do since I feel so bulky when I wear it!) and we were still shivering.

Doziers is a great marina for anyone who plans on staying in Deltaville, VA. We have plans for a steak and asparagus dinner tonight. We might go up to the marina "lounge" to watch the Patriots game tonight (no cable on the dock).

Tomorrow's destination: Norfolk, VA

For more pictures of Deltaville, click here