Cape Lookout to Norfolk to Hampton, Virginia
May 25 Tuesday
Along with Krissy and John, we left Cape Lookout about 8:00 in clear weather with a 7 knot breeze.
We sailed around Cape Lookout and then began motor sailing until evening when the wind all but died. The seas were flat, so we decided to motor with two engines to pass Hatteras in the daylight. We rounded Hatteras around 6:30 in calm winds and flat seas. From our understanding these are the best conditions when rounding Cape Hatteras. The rest of the night was uneventful. John and Krissy took the first watch and Ben and I came on about 2:00.
May 26 Wednesday
I would have said that our passage to Norfolk was about as mundane as you could get, which is a good thing when rounding Hattaras, except wait for it….
The FLYMAGEDDON began! We noticed a few flies when we were having dinner as were rounding Hattaras. When I awoke after my shift, I started trying to kill flies in the saloon, I had been using a towel but it only seemed to stun them, so I started using a magazine. I killed numerous flies before Krissy pointed out that they were everywhere, hanging on the lifelines, the mainsheets, everywhere. I hung bags with water in them but was unable to get a good perimeter around the saloon.
The flies then started biting us. So Krissy and I put on bug spray, but they seemed to love the bug spray and bit us more. I sprayed the bug spray in a corner of the cockpit and they swarmed to that corner. So at least I could kill several at a time, but it was a loosing battle. Then the closer we got to Virginia Beach, little no seeum like bugs swarmed into the cockpit. Finally, Krissy, John and I moved up on the bimini and sat on the beanbags in the shade to get away from the bugs!
Wow this many flies and no seeums was amazing, the table in the cockpit was covered—yuck!
We passed Virginia Beach, Fort Monroe and rounded Cape Henry to entered the bay about 12:30.
The bay was immense. The bridge on either side terminated into an underground tunnel. So we did not have to worry about the height of a bridge. It was weird seeing the cars disappear from sight as they cross the bridge on each side of the bay. As Norfolk was a big naval base, we passed lots of ships and there were several patrol boats in front of them to make sure we did not drift out of the channel.
The current was against us, so it took hours to get to the Elizabeth River and Waterside Marina. We did not arrive 18:30.
We were extremely disappointed in our assigned dock as it was located outside the marina on a stationary dock and not inside on a floating dock. We were told it was a very busy weekend and this location was our only choice. The staff helped tie fenders to dock pylons so that we would be secure with the tide changes and impending storms.
We hooked up to shore power, turned on the air and everyone headed for the showers. Then we met for dinner at Stripers, one of several eateries at Waterside. After dinner we walked along the waterfront back the boat and climbed into bed. I was sad as Krissy and John were leaving in the morning, but I have treasured the time we had together this last two weeks. They were a great help on these last two legs of the journey to Norfolk! And we made it by June 1, 2021 as insurance required!
On another note, the flies and bugs seem to have left now that the ac was on in the boat. I guess they love the heat….
May 27 Thursday
Krissy and John left at 5:00 to catch their flight home. After seeing them off we went back to bed for a while.
Since it was supposed to rain later in the week, we took an Uber to a laundromat. A super nice lady helped save us money by showing us which machines to use and how to transpose our nickels and dimes into quarters using the coke machine. She was a hoot! We ate lunch from sandwich shop next door who kindly delivered the food to us a the laundry mat. We have found people to be extremely friendly here.
Once back on the boat, we put the clothes away and relaxed a bit before dinner. We ate leftover spaghetti for dinner and watched some TV since we had WIFI at the marina.
May 28 Friday
I ubered to retina specialist this morning who gave me a good report. Then, Ben and I cleaned the boat inside and out as it was filthy and salty! We also defrosted both the ice box and indoor freezer. Since they were located close to the external door, I had learned that defrosting will be a regular monthly chore.
May 29 Saturday
We slept in and relaxed until Cousin Stacie and hubby, Rob arrived. After unloading packages that had been shipped to their house, they kindly took us to West Marine and the grocery store.
Once we put the groceries away, we all went to Stripers for lunch where we continued catching up. It was hard to believe that, their daughter, Elise graduated from college a couple of weeks ago. It seemed like she just started college yesterday.
Back on the boat, Stacie and Rob were given the two-cent tour as Ben discussed all the changes we had made over the last year. Later, we decided to order pizza for dinner. The guys walked to a pizza place, and we ate it on the boat.
May 30 Sunday
For breakfast I shared a new biscuit recipe with Stacie which was made from only cream and self-rising flour. They were so simple to make and tasty. We wolfed them down along with the eggs and sausage.
It was rainy and messy, so we debated about what to do for the day. We finally decided to drive to Virginia Beach and find some seafood for lunch. We ate at Big Sam’s Inlet. Since it was Memorial Day weekend, all the places were packed. We waited for 30 minutes in the car until we could be seated. I found Virginia Beach to be too commercialize. It reminded me of driving down the road at Destin Beach, FL. It didn’t seem beachy at all.
Stacie and Rob made their way back home after dropping us off at the boat. I sure hope we get to see more of them while we are in this part of the world.
May 31, Monday: Memorial Day
Today was Ben and my first day on the boat with just the two of us in a long time. It was a gorgeous sunny day. We had some difficulty getting off the dock as the current was pushing us towards the dock, but with the dockhands assistance we finally sprung off the bow and backed out into the Elizabeth River.
We motored across the bay to the Hampton River dodging a container ship that wanted to turn in front of us.
We enjoyed viewing the navy ships that were lined up down the bay. It was quite the sight for Memorial Day.
We arrived at Bluewater Yachting Center where we got diesel and dinghy gas. The dockhands were immensely helpful. This area was extremely busy on this holiday with lots of fishing boats, sailboats, kids sailing on small boats and kayaks.
We anchored across from the Docks @ Downtown Hampton in a cove next to the University. The cove was conveniently situated across from dinghy dock into town. We ate a quick stir-fry dinner and relaxed in the cockpit as the weather was beautiful and the breezes were pleasant. The boats in the cove swung gently with the wind and current.
June 1 Tuesday
We dinghied to shore and walked through town looking for a notary to complete some paperwork. Downtown was incredibly quiet, but we finally found a lawyers’ office that had a notary. Afterwards we walked around the waterfront and had lunch at Bull Island Brewing Company. The sandwiches were superb as well as inexpensive.
We love this little town and the Docks @ Downtown Hampton are so welcoming. They have a free dinghy dock, free wifi, showers and coin laundry even for those anchored out. This is quite the find!
We dinghied around the Hampton River looking for a place to pull the dinghy out as it was still leaking under the subfloor which was disconcerting. We took note of some places for Ben to call.
For dinner we had grilled steaks, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. Yum!
Each evening we have a parade of geese, honking their goodnights as they pass us by!
June 2 Wednesday
As this might be our last sunny day for a few days it became boat project day. Ben worked on winches.
Kitra cleaned the very corroded stainless, lifelines etc with a used new product that was easy to apply and worked quite well.
We have decided to stay in this protected cove over the next few days until the rain subsides. Then we will make our way up north.
June 3 Thursday
Since the weather had turned rainy and cloudy, we spent the morning taking care of business back home. Our lake house was beat up by hail a month or so ago. Now we need to find workers to handle the repairs. We hired a management company, but so far, we find communication with them to be somewhat lacking. So we are taking matters into our own hands.
Then we decided that it was a perfect day to read and take a nap. We had a few chores to do inside but I think we might wait until tomorrow to tackle those. We watched the rain fall and the birds as they perched outside our back door.
For dinner we had porkchops for two, rice and steamed cauliflower. It was a nice warm meal for a rainy evening. I am truly loving our new rechargeable fan since it is raining and we can’t open the windows. Thanks for Jeff and Jill Eschman for suggesting we get one! It is a life saver!
June 6 Friday
It was raining when I awoke this morning, so I decided it was a good morning to turn over and go back to sleep for a while. After Ben called different marinas regarding a future haul out and not getting much of a response, we decided to go into shore and take showers. I realized today that this was the first land shower I had had since we were in Charleston. Wow how time flies!
I also noticed that the office had a washer and dryer available. So I gathered up the laundry and Ben dinghied me to shore. Finding this washer/dryer by the waterfront was wonderful because I had looked at other anchorages we planned to visit, and most laundry mats were nowhere near the shore. So today was a win—shower and laundry done!
We are planning to leave Hampton behind tomorrow. So we finished a few last minute chores and cleaned up a bit to get things ready for our next hop of 40 miles or so.
The sun had finally come out this afternoon and we hoped that tomorrow would be a good day for a sail.
Onward up the Chesapeake Bay!
But now…..WAIT FOR IT!
Then just when we were about to get complacent, a Severe Weather Warning popped up at 18:45. We had about 8 minutes to clean up and get ready for rain, wind and possibly hail. We started the engines in case we dragged, donned our raincoats and postponed cooking dinner. We were on high alert.
Luckily, the severest part of the storm skirted us and while we got wind and rain, we did not get hail or a lot of lightening. Whew. The storm blew over in about 45 min. and I began dinner while nature put on a display of a full rainbow and amazing skies. Its never dull on a boat!
