DAY FOUR -- September 20, 2009

7:48 pm -- We leave Tidewater Yacht Basin in Portsmouth, VA -- with lots of help from some New York boaters who arrived late last night.   It is a beautiful -- sunshine and warm. We  go slow through the waterway -- a real treat.  Only from this angle can so many navy ships of all varieties be seen up close.

Bridges abound along this part of the Inland Waterway.  Some bridges are “open on demand” and others on the hour or the half-hour -- timing is the key so your wait is kept to a minimum. 

9:39 am -- We arrive at the “Steel Bridge” which has an open time of 10:00 am --- we wait with several other boats -- the bell rings and the bridge operator announces the bridge is opening.

We notice while we’re waiting that our New York friends are behind us -- two small boats and six guys (about our age) -- we wonder why since they indicated they were going down the Dismal Swamp, a canal also leading south.  The turn to the Dismal Swamp was a few miles back.  Oh -- well maybe they changed their minds.

We next come to the “The Great Lock”.  Boats can go to either the port or starboard side -- bumpers are provided but you need to use your own lines to hold the boat in place.  I had some difficulty getting my line around the cleat on the wall so I went up on the bow and took Mary’s lines and she came back to the stern to handle mine.   As you might have guessed from the photos of us in the Great Lock  -- the fashion police are not allowed on this boat.

Immediately after “The Great Lock” is “The Great Bridge”.  We were first out of the locks so first in line at the bridge.  As we waited -- over the radio comes this voice in a deep southern drawl  “I need all you southern bound boats up here close to the bridge”  We looked back at the collection of boats behind us still dawdling along.  Five minutes later, we hear in that deep southern drawl, “Come on all you southern bound vessels I said I need you down here close to the bridge.”  The boats (our New York friends included) still dawdled along.  Finally for a third time we hear “ I need all you south bound boats close to the bridge -- NOW.”  This guy was really impatient and perhaps on a power trip.  At any rate -- everyone got through the bridge -- nobody was left behind.

10:37 am -- we are through with most of the bridges and the locks when Captain Ed determines that the steering difficulty is getting worse.   Rather than chance getting stranded, he decides we should turn around and go back about three miles to the Atlantic Yacht Basin.  They are not open but will be tomorrow morning. We can dock there for the night and have the steering checked in the morning.

On our way back -- we pass our New York friends who have just realized they missed the turn-off to the Dismal Swamp which is at least six miles back.  It doesn’t seem to bother them a bit -- they are having a grand time tooling along.


1:01 pm -- After settling in and having lunch,  we decide to walk to the shopping center which is supposed to be ten minutes away.  Like any good Bostonians our first thought is to find a place to watch the Patriots Game.  We find a Chilli’s with a great bartender named Casey who doesn’t seem to mind if we hang out with her even though we’re only drinking ice tea, club soda and diet coke.

It has been a beautiful day here in Hampton Roads, VA -- sun shining -- not too hot.  We come back  to the boat-- Mary and I do a little window washing -- Mary starts dinner and then we retreat to the bridge to enjoy a glass of wine and the beautiful view over the Inland Waterway.

Even though we have been delayed -- we have nothing to complain about.--