13 November 2013 Irvington - Great Bridge, VA

Let me begin on a positive note.  Our month (minus a day) in Rappahannock Yachts, was time and money well spent.  Kindred Spirit ran like a charm which was a great confidence booster and appreciation to those folks for many jobs well done.

We are so desperately trying to get to Charleston!!!  14 hours after departing Irvington, VA, Monday morning, we arrived at the Atlantic Yacht Basin in Great Bridge (AKA Chesapeake, VA).  We were keeping an eye on the weather generating constantly changing "intentions" as we passed Hampton where we had reservations, then Norfolk, where we also had reservations.  Our rationale was that our window of opportunity to get through the broken Great Bridge Lock was THEN.  It has a broken valve so it's opening only at low tide and not in high winds--which were forecast.  

Others had the same idea so 7 of us danced around in a very tight spot after dark for a nerve-wracking 2.5 hours as we impatiently waited for the lock to open. We knew when low tide would be but didn't know when the planned opening was and they were playing it close to their chest.  

We, as well as the other 6, were exhausted, starving, and causing tempers to flare.  I think alcohol also played a part in those ugly scenes.  A bit after 8 PM we were in our slip, having dinner, and warming up. The bay was magnificent but after about 8 hours, we were toast and ready to call it quits.  It was a very long day, folks!

It's now Wednesday and we've been here since Monday night.  Not a soul as left nor arrived from either direction.  Our locking on Monday night has been the last one so we did the right thing by persevering.  This is a great place to be--many restaurants, a very nice supermarket, and numerous other retail opportunities within a short walk.  Tomorrow we're going to put in another long day, needing to look ahead, because the Albemarle Sound and Neuse River can be monsters to cross if you don't plan it right.

No photos this time!

Practicing the gift of Patience as we wait for weather at
Atlantic Yacht Basin
Bill and Laura