Great Bridge to Norfolk
Moorglade's Voyage
Ted Wilson
Mon 21 May 2012 20:11
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Our position is 36:50.620N 076:17.525W
Monday morning was calm and warm and, as we had
only 12 miles to go to Norfolk, we were in no hurry to get going. Although we
had only a few miles to run we had to negotiate several bridges and a lock, many
of which only open at set times.
We cast off in good time to make the 11:00 opening
of Great Bridge, which was in sight of the Marina dock, and then straight after
that came the lock, so while waiting for the bridge I was busy rigging fenders
and warps. The lock just separates the tidal influence from Chesapeake Bay from
the non tidal waters behind the outer banks, so the height change is
never very much.
There were maybe a dozen boats in the lock, a mix
of power and sail but as we were all running the same schedule through the
opening bridges we stayed together as a group all the way.
The scenery soon changed from rural to industrial
as we approached Norfolk and the river traffic changed too with plenty of big
barges, tugs, ferries, freighters and pleasure craft to look out for. I
was pleased to see Chris, John's brother from New Zealand, taking lots of photos
from Another Adventure ahead of me, as I was too busy watching out for the
traffic to think much about pictures. 0.4 of a mile before mile zero we reached
the marina and after a light lunch, thanks to Travis, Chris and I headed
off to look at the town. The Naval museum was closed on Mondays so we walked the
Cannon Ball Trail, so named because Lord Dunmore fired a
cannon ball at the town in 1776 which buried itself in the church wall and it is
still there. There were buildings of interest in the town but it seemed to lack
a heart. There was nowhere where you wanted to sit down have a beer and feel
part of it.
 Traffic for the 10 am
opening
Will there be room in the lock for the others
 Great Bridge
11am
Another adventure in the lock
 Starting to get
industrial
New bridge under construction
 Barges and warfes
everywhere
then it got more naval
  Moorglade in Waterfront Marina
Norfolk
Freemason Street
  Lord Dunmores cannon
ball
You don't have to ride your bike, take it on the bus.
 USS Wisconsin. Now part of the museum, pity it's
closed on Mondays
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