“Sailors & Dogs, keep off the grass”

That’s what the yard signs said the first time I was in Norfolk, way back in 1968 (you know, back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth!).  But we came back anyway, arriving yesterday after a 4-day trip from the Potomac River.

I was in Norfolk in the summer of 1968 for 3 weeks as part of my summer training with the Navy ROTC college program.  I spent 3 weeks at Little Creek VA with the US Marines and Navy Seals.  What I really learned is that you want all these guys on YOUR side during a war!  Anyhow, it was serendipity that the Navy destroyer which my older brother was on, got back to Norfolk after a 6-month Med cruise during those 3 weeks, and we were able to meet up in Norfolk.  All I remember about Granby Street is being the place where all the sailors got caught up on all their drinking.  And where all the yard signs were.

Our last evening at Colonial Beach, the swans
came over for dinne

We left Colonial Beach on the Potomac River under beautiful calm conditions & had a good trip the 40-some miles to the mouth of the river.  As we turned south around Smith Point, the wind picked up to 20 mph & the seas increased to 2’ trying to go to 3’, right on our bow.  The weather forecast for the next couple days showed even more increasing winds & waves, so we ran a couple extra hours that first day to reduce the trip the next day.

Departing the anchorage at zero-dark-thirty & 47 degrees!

The next day gave us the same 20 mph winds with 2-3’ seas, which made for an uncomfortable ride (I thought this was “pleasure” boating, not “walking like a drunken sailor”).  We made lots of sea spray as we hit the waves & the weather decks were crusty with salt.  We hit a couple waves when the sea spray came all the way up into the open helm window.  We stayed at our protected anchorage for 2 nights while the cold front came through & made winds 25 mph gusting to 30, with 3-4’ seas out on the Bay. 

Entering Hampton Roads, different size ships going
in all different directions.

I’ve heard people ask, “How long in the fall can you go boating on the Chesapeake?”  I’ve found the answer is “Until the cold fronts start coming every 3 to 4 days, and the seas turn snotty.”  And the butter gets too hard.

Lots of traffic past our marina



We entered Hampton Roads (where the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia fought an ironclad battle), where vessel traffic was surprisingly heavy.  We passed 5 Navy destroyers heading outbound, plus commercial ships, tows with barges, and lots of smaller boats.  We knew that Greg & LizAnn, fellow boaters aboard “Lagniappe” from New Orleans, were in the area, and we actually talked to them on the VHF radio, but they were ahead of us & continuing south past Norfolk.

 

Big grey boats everywhere!


 

We made Waterside Marina where we found some easy dockside space to tie to in these 15 mph winds.  We’re at Mile Mark 0.0 (the official end of the Chesapeake Bay and the beginning of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway).  We’re surrounded by grey Navy ships.  There must be more grey paint sold in this town than in any other place in the world!  After a couple days acting like tourists, we’ll continue our southbound journey.





Harbor cruise boat which ties at our marina


 

 

Looking through the 3-masted schooner, the typical
clouds of a high pressure system, just prior to the
next low pressure, just prior to the next high pressure