If we could make it to the Gilmerton Bridge
before it closed to boat traffic from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., then we could
make it to Tidewater Yacht Marina, our intended destination at mile marker zero
of the ICW and the doorway to the Chesapeake Bay! Of course that would mean another “0’dark
thirty” departure, but it would also mean seeing another beautiful sunrise. There
are eight opening bridges and one lock in the final 20 miles of the ICW as you
head north! Three of them are railroad bridges listed as “usually open” and the
others are all on a schedule: some every half hour, others every hour. Our friend, Fred Drummond, on the sailboat “Royal
Serf” has made this trip many times and he laid out the timetable for us the
day before as we waited an extra day in Coinjock, NC to catch favorable winds
from the south. We were on a mission to
maintain at least 6 knots for the 30 miles to the first bridge.
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| Sunrise over Currituck Sound |
As the sun rose, we were starting to cross
Currituck Sound, the last of those many wide, but shallow, sounds in the Carolinas
where the wind kicks up steep waves. The
wind strengthened, but it was behind us from the south, so the sailboats (there
were 3 of us now) all put up head sails and we had a beautiful swift crossing
of the sound. So far, so good. By
frequently trimming our sails to maintain our speed through the narrow, winding
rivers, we arrived at North Landing, the first of the opening bridges, one hour
ahead of schedule giving us some margin for the possibility of RR bridges being
closed. Fred’s timetable continued
working perfectly. We made it to the
lock for the noon opening, a full hour ahead of our “last chance” time.
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| Three boats under sail in Currituck Sound |
The Great Bridge Bridge (that’s not a typo)
is synchronized with the Great Bridge Lock. It was well coordinated. Northbound
boats go through the bridge on the hour and motor right into the open lock. There was more than enough room for the three
boats and the dock hands helped us all tie up. In 20 minutes the gates on the other end
opened and we motored out where southbound boats were waiting for their turn to
enter the lock. We made it to the Gilmerton Bridge and caught the next-to-last
opening before the 3-hour restricted period.
Any one of the railroad bridges could have thwarted our success, but
none did. We waited for only one train,
but it was after the Gilmerton Bridge, so we had the time. Whew! On the return
trip we plan to take an alternative to that section of the ICW. The Great
Dismal Swamp, despite its name, is said to be scenic and teeming with wildlife
and we will take the time to enjoy it.
We stayed on the “fast” route this time to take advantage of the
forecast for south winds and we were eager to get to the Chesapeake now that it
was so close. A sign in the lock told us we had come 732 miles from
Jacksonville, FL. By Peter’s log, we have actually traveled 789.6 miles since
departing our marina in Jacksonville.
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| In the canal lock, holding lines as the water drains out. |
The Norfolk/Portsmouth area is a jolting
change from the remoteness of the outer banks.
Towering naval and commercial ships line the river and noisy activity
abounds. We said goodbye to Royal Serf
on the radio. Fred continued on toward his home in Virginia Beach – although we
may cross paths in the bay this summer. We
motored into the Tidewater Yacht Marina and were greeted by a dockhand who had
a package of our forwarded mail with him. We were tied up by 3:00 pm. The next
day will be a day on shore exploring Norfolk.
We have arrived at the Chesapeake Bay! In celebration, we opened a nice bottle of
French wine for dinner and toasted our success.
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