Monday brought us back through the busy area of
Hampton Roads. Between the US Navy, Tugs with Barges, Container ships and
pleasure boats, all three of us were needed as active lookouts. It is a
fascinating area to travel through with more warships than you will so most anywhere
on the planet. We were a little to close to a docked warship while staying out
of the way of multiple tugs and barges. and a naval patrol boat zoomed over to
divert us. Traffic cleared and we turned away before they arrived, but it was
clear they didn’t want anyone too close. Passing between Norfolk and
Portsmouth on the Elizabeth River we met a huge freighter from Singapore going
north with an escort of four tugs and were surprised by a group of passengers
taking pictures of us. After clearing the shipyards, there are several railroad
and highway lift bridges that can be challenging. We waited half and hour for
one bridge which required motoring backwards to stay in position. A delay at
another bridge was due to a “train” of dredge boats that were headed north.
These are vital to keeping the waterway open, but not something you want to
meet in close quarters. Took lots of photos to illustrate different boats and
ship markings for the DSPS boating safety classes.
Hampton Roads. Between the US Navy, Tugs with Barges, Container ships and
pleasure boats, all three of us were needed as active lookouts. It is a
fascinating area to travel through with more warships than you will so most anywhere
on the planet. We were a little to close to a docked warship while staying out
of the way of multiple tugs and barges. and a naval patrol boat zoomed over to
divert us. Traffic cleared and we turned away before they arrived, but it was
clear they didn’t want anyone too close. Passing between Norfolk and
Portsmouth on the Elizabeth River we met a huge freighter from Singapore going
north with an escort of four tugs and were surprised by a group of passengers
taking pictures of us. After clearing the shipyards, there are several railroad
and highway lift bridges that can be challenging. We waited half and hour for
one bridge which required motoring backwards to stay in position. A delay at
another bridge was due to a “train” of dredge boats that were headed north.
These are vital to keeping the waterway open, but not something you want to
meet in close quarters. Took lots of photos to illustrate different boats and
ship markings for the DSPS boating safety classes.
We exited the parade of motor vessels headed South to
take the calmer Dismal Swamp route as we did in July. We were the only boat
locking through at Deep Creek and were treated to the same friendly lockmaster
we had before. If you are traveling this route, note that there is a new 300’
city face dock between the deep creek lock and bridge where you can tie up for
free next to a city park and playground. We elected to raft-up with Fancy Free and Freedom, two boats we had met in Elizabeth City last summer, at the
dock just South of the bridge. Noah was excited about visiting Ike, the cat on Fancy Free. We all did provisioning runs
to Food Lion and had dinner together at the Mexican Restaurant that abuts the
dock. The dock only holds two boats, but seven of us rafted-up and shared the
space. We were the biggest boat this time, so we invited folks over for an
ice-cream dessert.
take the calmer Dismal Swamp route as we did in July. We were the only boat
locking through at Deep Creek and were treated to the same friendly lockmaster
we had before. If you are traveling this route, note that there is a new 300’
city face dock between the deep creek lock and bridge where you can tie up for
free next to a city park and playground. We elected to raft-up with Fancy Free and Freedom, two boats we had met in Elizabeth City last summer, at the
dock just South of the bridge. Noah was excited about visiting Ike, the cat on Fancy Free. We all did provisioning runs
to Food Lion and had dinner together at the Mexican Restaurant that abuts the
dock. The dock only holds two boats, but seven of us rafted-up and shared the
space. We were the biggest boat this time, so we invited folks over for an
ice-cream dessert.
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| Army Corp of Engineers Building |
