Traveling the ICW requires crossing many sounds and bays which, being larger
bodies of water, they can have tougher weather conditions. People have shared
stories of very tough crossings and that seems to be the common theme. On our
trip thus far we've been very fortunate to not have any truly scary days crossing
any of these areas. We've watched the weather forecasts and stayed put sometimes
to avoid nasty weather. Currituck Sound north of Coinjock, however gave us a
bit of consternation, with high winds and constant salt spray obscuring our vision
as we maneuvered across trying to stay within the very narrow shallow channel.
The winds were above 34 mph so they closed the Alligator River Swing Bridge.
Fortunately we were past it and didn't face any opening bridges until we were
within the protected waters of a canal.
Great Bridge, VA has a very nice free dock before the lock and bridge, with
shopping and many restaurants close by. It adjoins a historical park that was
interesting to walk through and we stocked up on a few groceries. There is a
24 hour limit of stay at the dock but some of the boats had been there for a week
or two.
We decided to stay at Hampton Public Pier coming north and enjoyed the town.
It is a small town with lots of historical buildings with many pubs and restaurants
within walking distance. Wendell, Jeannie, Nathan and Klara came to visit us
there and brightened an otherwise cold rainy day. From there we went to Deltaville
and stayed an extra day to wait out heavy winds and it was close enough that
Wendell, Jeannie and Klara came for another visit.
Wendell, Jeannie and Klara
Practicing my Grandpa skills.
While at Deltaville we were close enough to a West Marine that we checked out
their chartplotters and finally purchased a dedicated chartplotter/sonar that would
have been very helpful had we had it for the whole trip. Oh well, better late than
never. The thing Carol likes best about it is her iPhone is now freed up for her use
during the day. We really like the chartplotter.
Installing the new Garmin 740s chartplotter.
It's so much nicer than using Carol's iPhone.
After anchoring at Solomons Island and enjoying the Tiki Bar we continued on to
Annapolis where we were looking forward to reconnecting with friends we met at
The Jib Room in Marsh Harbour. Pete and Sharon ("Kankita") have a townhouse
on Back Creek and invited us to use their guest dock, We enjoyed our time with
them and stayed for three days waiting for decent weather to continue. We got to
visit the new clubhouse of Eastport Yacht Club, home of many great people we
got to know at the Jib Room in Marsh Harbour.
The great tiki bar at Solomons with
statues and lots of tropical plants.
Pete and Sharon from "Kankita".
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