(Tom) For those of you who followed our track on the blog home page today – don’t panic! We did not really go over any land with the boat. The track looks that way because our AIS signal is only captured periodically by the land based receivers, and if we’ve done a lot of zig zags in between captures, it looks like we’ve gone over land. This will be a regular characteristic of our track from this point on, so don’t worry!

(Paula) Today we experienced the most unique 30 miles of boating in our current limited experience. We went through or under 13 bridges and traversed one lock. Left Norfolk at 8:15 under sunny conditions with winds 5-10kts. Passing the shipyards of Portsmouth was like boating through a construction site as work proceeded loudly and on a grand scale getting massive naval vessels back into tiptop shape.

Entering the lock was less intimidating than I expected, mostly due to the motherly lock tender and her crew. They were clear, polite, helpful, and the lock tender actually distributed Halloween treats to the boats on her side. We were crammed in like sardines, 11 boats in total. The smallest vessel was a sailboat of around 29 feet, and the largest was an 88′ foot pleasure yacht, the Lady Victory. Once out of the lock, there was an unexpected log jam, as the railroad bridge, which is barely a quarter of a mile from the lock exit and which normally times its openings to coincide with the lock, was closed. The power boats jockeyed to get ahead of the sailboats in a very narrow space, and the current continued to push us towards the bridge. Tom kept his powder dry, and with some patient boat handling, kept C Ghost straight and clear of other vessels.

We did miss the Centerville bridge opening by about 1 minute (!) and with a half hour to kill we tied up to the gas dock at Centerville Marina, and topped off our diesel tanks. We learned we had burned 46 gallons since we left the Magothy. That works out to about 1 gallon per hour.

Once out on the canal proper, it really felt very narrow especially when compared to the expanses of the bay. We used our Doyle’s guide and Tommy’s plotted course to guide us, slowing down when large power boats overtook us, so they could pass easily.
On either side was marshy growth of grass, shrubs and pine, very deep and mysterious. It looked as if we might catch a glimpse of Sasquatch at any moment.

There was a lot of small and large debris in the water. We spent a lot of time looking ahead with binoculars and had to avoid several floating logs and stumps, half-submerged. Once we saw them, we pointed them out to the sailboat behind us. They were easier for us to see and dodge than it would be for a power boat going at speed.

We were sad to see an acquaintance we met at Waterside, a beautiful 75+ foot yacht being attended by a Tow boat and diver, due to engine problems. We heard on the VHF that they did make it safely back to Atlantic Yacht Basin for definitive diagnosis and repair.

We learned a lot about what was going on in front of and behind us from the radio chatter on the VHF which we monitor continually. Very useful. We also had the unusual experience of hearing a prolonged, profane diatribe in a NY accent from a boater who was apparently passed at speed by a larger vessel. Profanity is not allowed on the VHF, which made this broadcast even more strange. One can understand the frustration that can occur when being buffeted by a large wake in a narrow channel, but I didn’t think this was cause to impugn the virtue of the speeding Captain’s wife!

Tommy did most of he piloting during the lock/bridges portion. Paula spelled him while he ate a quick lunch, also piloted into the narrow shallow channel that is the entrance to Blackwater Creek, our current anchorage, with a lot of a verbal assistance from Tommy (and once or twice a brief adjusting hand on the wheel) for which she was grateful. It took 2 tries to get the anchor to bite, but it is now set. Drag Queen and both humans are on guard and watching carefully.

We are surrounded by tall rustling wavy grass, and we can both see and hear the passing ICW traffic, but don’t feel the wakes. Paula used her leftover nervous energy to put the finishing touches on a sausage, meatball, zucchini and olive spaghetti sauce. As soon as this post is put to bed and the pasta is boiled, we will eat.