Crew Log for November 4th, 2022
Trip Summary:
Phoebus (Old Pt. Comfort) – Great Bridge Village (Chesapeake)
Trip Distance of 24.2 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 1,568.4 NM
Departed at 07h00 hours and arrived at 14h20 hours
Spoiler Alert! Judy's log entry for today starts with "HOLY F#$K !!!! what a day but we are good...."
When ever anyone asked about our route for this trip, we always said, “we were going down the Intra-Coastal Waterway” or the ICW for short. While technically the canals at Cape Cod, Cape May and at the Canal at top of the Chesapeake are all part of the east coast ICW, we have for the most part been travelling in open ocean waters. Our first real experience “in the ditch” started today.
We were excited.
Route planning would be easier, and while we would still have to plan around the weather, it was less of an issue in the ICW then it was in open water. The day started like any other. We went through our pre-departure checklist and hauled the anchor shortly after first light. We were travelling with Adanaco and Bleue Jazz.
The first part of the route took us across the bay and directly past the expansive US Naval Shipyards and into the port of Norfolk. We passed by massive aircraft carriers and other navy ships, as well as huge container ships coming out of Norfolk. It seemed appropriate that we were traveling down the Elizabeth River that separates Norfolk from Portsmouth on our boat, Elizabeth M.
There is no great fanfare or signage to indicate you have reached ICW Mile Marker 0 and in fact, it is easy to miss the occasion. After making the slight turn to starboard, we maintained our course down the Elizabeth River as the landscape slowly became less military and less urban, and we started to get a sense of what life on the ICW was going to be like.
There are a number of bridges on the ICW. Most of them on this section had been replaced with newer structures that are 65 feet high, plenty of room for us to get under with our 50 foot air draft. Most of the rail bridges were left open, unless of course a train was passing through. However shortly after entering the ICW we approached the first train bridge, and it was closed. When we radioed the bridge, they said they were making repairs and it would be opened shortly.
While we waited for the bridge to open, we got distracted trying to figure out how far back one of our buddy boats was. As we have noted before, someone always has to be watching for hazards, particularly on the ICW where it’s narrow and the currents can push you around.
Long story short, as we drifted in the area in front of the bridge, the boat slid up against a metal post, which also had a metal ladder attached to it.
We were sick and I was ready to pack it in. However, things would get worse before they got better.
We made our way under the bridge and down the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal towards the Great Bridge Lock. We agreed that we had to stop and assess whatever damage was done. Furthermore, we agreed that we had to get it fixed. The fact that we weren’t sinking and that structurally the boat was fine, caused a number of people to question why we would bother stopping to have it repaired.
Well, for us, this was a trip of a life time and we didn’t want damage to the boat to be a constant distraction and ruin the remainder of the trip. Sure, some people are OK driving around in their new car with a dent in the door, I am just not one of those people. The other factor was, we were expecting another hurricane later in the week and we would need to be somewhere to wait out weather. Why not do the repairs while we waited.
There was no question though I was rattled and starting to question whether I could do this. And then there was that damn lock.
We have been through dozens of locks and have never had an issue. The procedure has always been, you pass them your lines and they secure the boat.
However, as we slowly made our approach in to the Great Bridge Lock, carefully trying to avoid the million dollar yacht in front of us, the “lock master” was mumbling some incoherent instructions about lines. Judy passed him the bow line and he secured it. I passed him the stern line and again got some convoluted instruction followed by, “I ain’t pulling your boat in”.
He had the line in his hand. However, the stern of the boat was starting to drift sideways into the canal and towards the mega yacht in front of us. I quickly made my way back to the helm and realized the “lock master” had dropped our stern line in the water, cursed under his breath and walked away. The problem was, I wasn’t holding the other end, as apparently I was supposed to be doing. I was gobsmacked to say the least, but we were now drifting sideways in the canal, attached by the bow and about to bump into the boat in front of us.
We quickly dropped the bow line and I did a 360 turn into the canal much to the shock of the younger “lock master”, Joe, on the other side. We got the boat over on the opposite wall and thanks to Joe, we were safely secured. He was very impressed with our skill at maneuvering the boat in the canal. We were thankful for Joe's quick thinking to grab our lines. For the first time on this trip, we were grateful for having a little boat.
According to Joe, his partner had been working at the canal for over 30 years and developed a bad back, so “he ain’t pullin’ our boat in”. We now know what the process is for lines, which was not clear at all to first timers like us. I tried to tip Joe for showing us some kindness and helping us out of the mess his co-worker had a hand in, but he refused. We had a nice chat with him, and he wished us well as he helped us off the wall.
We needed all the best wishes we could get!
The Atlantic Yacht Basin is just past the Great Bridge Canal and Lift Bridge. I had called them earlier to ask about repairs, which they agreed to have a look at. It was a full service facility that received very positive reviews. We let our buddy boats know we were getting repairs done, but that we didn’t want to get into the details with them. We agreed to message them later and they should continue on. Adanaco tied up at the free dock at Great Bridge in the last remaining spot while Bleue Jazz continued on.
From the beginning the folks at the Atlantic Yacht Basin couldn’t have been more helpful. Tim, the Dockmaster guided us into the repair slips and caught our lines and a few minutes later the VP of the marina, James, came down to review the damage and drew up the work order. James is actually, James Taylor, but according to him, he has no musical talent. We also found out later that James' wife was very sick and likely didn't have much time left. Despite the massively more significant issues he was dealing with, James made us feel like we were the priority at the time.
A few minutes later a fellow boat owner dropped by to ask us if there was anything we needed and offered his car. We had even heard from sv Magali who were over on the Dismal Swamp, who had offered to come down and lend a hand if we needed it. Despite a very stressful and emotional day, we were already feeling better. I am amazed at people's kindness.
Since it was Friday, the repairs wouldn’t happen until Monday and would likely take a couple of days. However, the yard agreed to let us stay on the docks until the repairs were completed, which hopefully would be after the hurricane passed.
Since we were going to be here for awhile, we immediately started on our list of chores to help take our mind off of things. We changed the oil and filters, dealt with some minor electrical issues, showered and did the laundry. According to the crew log notes, by the end of the day, “it was all good”. So, we started planning what were going to do in Great Bridge Village given we had some time on our hands.
But more about that, next time.
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