Norfolk, VA ICW Mile 0 to Coinjock, NC

The wind continued to blow in the 10 - 15 mph range all night long. We could hear an occasional gust blowing through the rigging. We laid out a lot of chain to make sure we held. We anchored here last spring on our way north and were confident we'd stay put as the bottom was good mud and the Fortress anchor hasn't failed us yet. We slept in as we were expecting a short run of only 25 miles to our anchorage. However, we had numerous bridges and one lock to negotiate before getting there.

Great Bridge Lock - Evie II and Foreign Affair

When we surveyed the anchorage in the morning we discovered 3 other boats had joined us after dark or in the very early morning. We saw one boat head out at 0800 so as to make the 0930 opening of the Gilmerton Bridge. We decided to have a big breakfast and make the 1030 opening. Carla served up pancakes, eggs, sausage and coffee. After breakfast we pulled out our fender board and prepared it for the use at the Great Bridge Lock. We finally raised our anchor just before 0900 and we were on our way south on the ICW. It was sunny but windy which caused us to add some layers and bundle up. The windchill made it feel like it was in the 40s rather than the 50s.

We made it through all the bridges and the lock in good time. A catamaran, Evie II, traveled with us from the Gilmerton Bridge all the way to Coinjock. She ran ahead of us and warned us of snags in the channel. These mostly submerged logs embedded in the channel's muddy bottom may only show a few inches above the water's surface and can cause significant damage such as holing a boat or tearing up a propeller. We came across 3 dangerous snags within a mile just south of the Great Bridge Lock. We gave them all a wide berth thanks to warnings from Evie II.

We arrived at our planned anchorage just before 1500. It was at a junction between the main ICW channel and a creek. We made two passes through the anchorage to check depth and decide on where to drop the anchor. Carla then took the wheel while Dwayne went forward to drop the anchor. On the approach to the drop point we ran aground. Dwayne was able to get the boat off the shoal which we failed to locate during our survey of the anchorage. The charts showed 11 feet of water; however, we found the bottom very irregular with depths ranging from less than 5 to 11 feet. We decided to abandon this anchorage and go into another further south. This was a real disappointment as we were looking forward to having a few extra hours at rest before the sun went down.

Our alternate anchorage also proved to be too shallow. It too was at the junction of the ICW main channel and a creek. It appears as if the water is lower now than what it was when we were passing through here last spring or there has been significant shoaling at the mouths of the creeks. There was nothing we could do about it but continue to move on until we came across a suitable site to anchor. Unfortunately, there were none for the next 20 or so miles.

Our only reasonable alternative to anchoring was to press on to Coinjock which has two marinas. This meant we would have to travel some of the ICW in the dark (which is a big no, no - don't do it if you can in any way avoid it). The chances of going aground are high in the daylight and many of the channel markers are not lit at night. Additionally, barges and tows travel the ICW at night and take up nearly the entire channel. Smaller vessels like us have to move to the edge of the channel which is very narrow and depths outside the channel are often 2 to 4 feet which results in our going aground. We nearly ran aground avoiding one barge in the daylight. You'd hate to meet one in the dark. Still, we had no choice other than press on to Coinjock. We couldn't anchor in the ICW channel and it was too shallow on the channel's edges.

Dwayne consulted Active Captain for information on hazards and shoaling on our route. The most treacherous spot was just 4 miles from Coinjock. It was a well known trouble spot caused by shifting shoals. The most recent advice was to follow the magenta line which appears on charts as the route of the ICW (the magenta line is does not accurately reflect the center of the channel as many people suspect). In this instance, several captains posting reported the magenta line was accurately showing the deep water through the trouble spot. It was dark by the time we reached the problem area. We were navigating by our instruments which is what we would have done here even in the daytime.

Dwayne reduced speed and both he and Carla monitored the boat's path on different electronic charts to make sure we stayed on the magenta line. We were nearly half way through the problem area when we ran aground. The wind and waves worked against us and made it unlikely we'd be able to free ourselves on our own. Dwayne called Tow BoatUS for assistance. We were advised the boat from Coinjock would be there within an hour. Carla made dinner and we ate while we waited.

The tow boat showed up about 45 minutes later. He pulled us back into the channel. We cast off the tow line and followed him into Coinjock. On the way we did encounter a barge heading north and were able to get out of her way without going aground. We ended up at the Midway Marina for the night. No damage done, thank God. Just another adventure.

Wayne, the tow boat captain, helped us dock and we invited him aboard to fill out the paperwork. Wayne is 78 years old and loves his work. People are always glad to see him pull up in his tow boat when they need help. He's got experience on all sorts of vessels in all kinds of waters. He's been on ocean going tankers, ferries.tugs and barges and now the tow boat. Dwayne helped him fill out the paperwork since Wayne couldn't find his glasses. The billable amount came to $994 ($200 per hour operating time x 2.5 hours and $495 for the ungrounding) which as Wayne said is worth getting out of the house for a few hours after supper.

Dwayne sure is happy he has the BoatUS unlimted towing plan. A fine time was had by all. As an acquaintance of ours says, "Attitude is the difference between ordeal and adventure." The adventure continues for Dwayne and Carla. Stay tuned. (Oh, we did see an American Bald Eagle today. Ain't that great!).

No pictures of the towboat this time, It was too dark.