Our last cruise in the Chesapeake Bay was once again, just beautiful! However, flat seas and easy riding came to a screeching halt as we entered Norfolk Harbor. Navigating through Norfolk Harbor requires dodging huge barges, making sense of all the ATON’s and staying out of the channel all while while enjoying the sights of Navy ship and submarines parked.
As we were navigating, we were aware of a recreational boater behind us, but steadily gaining on us No big deal, we are a slow boat. Thank goodness, we were watching him, because he saw no reason to slow down before passing. To add to the excitement, for some reason, he thought he needed to pass us at about 18 knots while squeezing in between us and a buoy. Squeezing is not being dramatic, it was closest we have ever been to a boat. The wake he threw set us rocking like we have never rocked before. The close proximity to him, the buoy panic and the rocking gave us a moment of panic. I hope where ever he was going was certainly important to get there 5 minute early.
Norfolk Harbor lead us to the Elizabeth River and the beginning of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW.) The ICW stretches 1,080 Nautical Miles ending in Key West, FL. We choose the Albemarle Chesapeake Canal aka “Virginia Cut” route for the first part of the ICW leading us to the Albemarle Sound. This route included one lock and multiple bridges. Thankfully the railroad bridges were open, but when approaching one road bridge we saw it was open but something looked weird. Using the binoculars, we saw many boats bunched and just floating in front of the bridge. Approaching slowly, we heard the bridge tender explaining a barge was moving north and needed all the room under the bridge, so south bound boats needed to stop and wait. We happily waited with the bunched up boats and watched the massive barge clear the bridge.
We stopped for the night in Chesapeake, VA docking just north of the Battlefield Bridge. After a quick google search, we found the Big Ugly Brewery about two miles away and we were ready for a long walk. The brewery was well worth the walk with a great sample of delicious beer, an Italian Food Truck, live music and an outdoor spot with fire pits and corn hole. The next morning, we toured the The Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park. This park is located directly on the Intracoastal Waterway and commemorates the historic importance of the Revolutionary War Battle of Great Bridge. Walking both the Marsh Overlook and The Waterway Trail we learned about the significance this area played in the Revolutionary War. In winning the battle of Great Bridge, the Patriots effectively denied to the British Norfolk, an important sea port between New York and Charleston.
Segment Stats
Yorktown, VA to Chesapeake, VA
- Saturday, November 7, 2023
- Route: South on the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk Harbor/Elizabeth River continued to enter the ICW/Alarmable Chesapeake Canal
- Cruising Time: 6 hours 54 minutes
- 45.3 Nautical Miles
- Stopped for 220 gallons of Diesel at Atlantic Yacht Basin
- Docked at Great Bridge Dock North Side
