The Gateway to the Chesapeake
- Jimmy Lee
- 21 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Great Bridge, VA to Deltaville, VA
(June 13-June 18)
83 Statue Miles (73 Nautical Miles)
In our previous update, we were at Great Bridge, which is close to the end of our Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) trek. We started early on Friday, June 13, aiming to set the anchor at our next location before 10 a.m. due to Sondra's meeting. The distance was approximately 10 nautical miles, yet it was notable because we had to enter a lock to lower us to sea level.
Great Bridge Lock
In the past few days of navigating, we traversed numerous man-made channels and cuts. Due to the lack of direct connections to the Atlantic Ocean, the tides reduced significantly. Additionally, there is a lock along the ICW at Great Bridge that lowers the ICW back down to sea level by approximately 2 feet. The primary purpose of the Great Bridge Lock is to separate saltwater from freshwater, thereby protecting water quality in the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. This lock also facilitates the passage of vessels between the canal and the Elizabeth River, which connects to Chesapeake Bay. The lock is operated and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE). We entered the lock, where a USACOE employee assisted us in securing our vessel to the wall of the lock. After approximately five minutes and a drop of two feet, the opposite side of the lock opened, allowing us to navigate into what can be officially considered the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
A change of scenery into Norfolk
Once we left the lock, we had about 10 miles to motor to our next anchorage. The scenery immediately changed to industry along the Elizabeth River and then an awesome view of the Naval Shipyards where we saw the USS Eisenhower (Nimitz Class Nuclear Aircraft Carrier) and many other ships in various levels of maintenance or refit.
As planned, we had the anchor down before 10 a.m. with a splendid view of downtown Norfolk. Our plan is to stay here a few days, pick up some mail, and get our bearings before we venture into the Chesapeake.
Norfolk, VA
After Sondra’s meeting we dropped the dinghy into the water and took a five-minute dinghy ride into Norfolk where we tied up right next to the USS Wisconsin adjacent to the Nauticus maritime museum. We had lunch and wandered around downtown for a few hours before heading back to the boat for dinner.
On Saturday we did more exploring and took a bus to a farmers market a few miles away. We also had a nice lunch at an Irish pub and ended up wandering to the General Douglas Macarthur memorial which had a nice museum and was a good stop. Then back to the boat to avoid rain which has been pretty plentiful as of late.
We ended up walking to Aldi on Sunday to do some grocery shopping before the rain started after lunch and then on Monday went to the Nauticus, a maritime museum. The USS Wisconsin was part of the museum and was the highlight of the tour. The USS Wisconsin was built during WWII and the last official Battleship constructed by the US Navy. You can find more information on the Nauticus museum and the USS Wisconsin here.
Visiting the USS Wisconsin at the Nauticus Maritime Museum
Tuesday, we moved the boat two hours north to an anchorage at Phoebus, VA right at the entrance of the Chesapeake Bay to stage for a longer sail to Deltaville, VA on Wednesday. It was amazing going by the Navy ships, submarines, and container ships in this very busy harbor. Downtown Phoebus was a sleepy little area, but it was nice to get off the boat and get some steps in.
To Deltaville
We got up with the sun and were underway by 6:30 a.m. and were gifted with a glorious downwind sail all the way to the Deltaville, VA area. The winds were 15-20 knots for the entire trip and we sailed the entire except leaving and entering our anchorages. It was a great introduction to sailing the Chesapeake Bay and we saw multiple sailboats going in the same general direction. We ended up anchoring in a small bay close to Deltaville.
Tomorrow we will head into a marina in Deltaville to tackle an issue we have with our holding tank. But more on that next week.
We created a photo album to share some pictures from our cruise in Virginia:
Post 25-25 | Read the prior post by clicking the link in the Related Post section below.
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