Coinjock, NC to Norfolk, VA (Mile 0) Hospital Point Anchorage

Frank and Carol on Hakuna Matata departed Coinjock at about 0615 as they wanted to get to Hamption ASAP since they live in Hampton and wanted to finally get back to their house after 8 months aboard. Paul on Enough could not initially get his boat started.  So, Foreign Affair set out alone at 0930 hoping Enough would catch up later at the anchorage.  The day was one of the most complicated due to the number and timing of the bridges and the one lock we had to pass through.

Gilmerton Railroad and Highway Bridges

Foreign Affair made good time and caught all but two bridges without much delay. Enough eventually got underway and got within sight of Foreign Affair but failed to close the gap before the bridge closed.  As a result, Enough had to wait 30 minutes for the bridge to open again.

Locking Through

While waiting for the bridge, Enough was joined by Full Circle with Bill and Amy aboard.  They were also on the SAIL ICW Rally and coincidentally were heading north after spending their winter in the Bahamas. They passed through the bridge and motored down the ICW together until Full Circle stopped at the Top Rack Marina for the night.

Enough eventually caught up with Foreign Affair at the Gilmerton  Bridges since the rush hour restriction on bridge openings caused Foreign Affair to loiter for an hour and a half while waiting for the Gilmerton Highway Bridge to open.

Once again, Norfolk Navy Yard was more than amazing.  The number and size of the warships makes it easy to understand why the United States Navy is the preeminent global navy.  Several aircraft carriers were in port along with support ships.  The hospital ship, Comfort, was docked.  Daughter-in-law, Kelly, trained on this ship while she was in the Navy.

Aircraft Carrier

Hospital Ship Comfort

At the end of the day, Foreign Affair and Enough anchored together with several other boats at Mile 0 of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

For the first time since leaving Key West 44 days ago, we had rain which caused us to don our wet weather gear.  We had significant rainfall for nearly an hour and then a steady drizzle for an additional hour.  Of course, it was raining when we had to get out of the cockpit to go through our one lock of the entire journey north.  It was Carla's first experience with locking on the ICW and she did a marvelous job of keeping the bow off the lock walls.  It was a very smooth transit.

We have now completed one round trip of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.  The ICW from Mile 0 in Norfolk, Va to Key West, FL is about 1,090 statute miles.  We travel at a speed of about 6 miles per hour which gives one ample time to view the scenery.  Our open cockpit allows all our senses to experience our surroundings in a way impossible while traveling in an  air conditioned vehicle at 60 miles per hour.  Most of what we saw could not be observed from a wheeled vehicle.  We are very fortunate to be among the small percentage of people who have been able to travel and experience what we have on this journey.  We look forward to doing it again next fall and spring.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracoastal_Waterway

Our journey south on the ICW began with the SAIL ICW Rally on October 23, 2015 and ended on today, May 17, 2016. We have learned much about the geography and history of the waterways through which we traveled. We have made some wonderful friends.  We have gained valuable experience in boat handling, navigation and trip planning.  We learned much from our cruising friends.  All along the way, we had a wonderful time and time did fly.  Soon we will be back on the Chesapeake Bay to prepare for our journey north perhaps as far as Boston.