Finally Heading South

We departed Hampton Public Piers at 0815 taking the main channel out of the harbor and the shortcut north of Hampton Bank across the shipping channel and on to the Norfolk Navy Yards.  Janet was at the helm most of the day and did a superb job. 

The Navy was busy today.  One submarine was coming into port, naval gunnery practice was taking place on the Potomac and Navy patrol craft were busy protecting the Navy ships in the yard.  We saw 4 aircraft carriers and dozens of other ships as we moved down the Elizabeth River.

We entered Deep Creek and the Deep Creek Canal system shortly after noon.  Traffic was busy at the Deep Creek Lock and it took a couple of hours to get all of our SAIL fleet through the lock.  No one location was capable of allowing all of our boats to stay in one place.  So, the fleet was docked at several sites along the Dismal Swamp Canal.  We tied up with 3 other boats at the Chesapeake, VA dock.

Link to SAIL Blog:  http://icw.sailmagazine.com/blog/

We had a great start south with the sun shining all day.  Temperatures reached the high 60s.  No major breakdowns or incidents marred the day.  Tomorrow we head to the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center for a reception and orientation on the Dismal Swamp and the canal.