Coinjock to Norfolk Virginia and The Waterside Marina

May 16, 2002 - Coinjock to Norfolk Virginia and The Waterside Marina

We got up early for the trip to Norfolk where we will stay a few days, which will be real nice as this going every day does get a bit tiring. While we were getting ready to depart, the trawler docked behind us on the wall nearly hit our stern as he tried to pull out, but he didn't, thank goodness. There was a strong current to battle. It was cool and pretty again, but it is supposed to get real hot again today. Amy and James slept in a bit. Lady J passed us and gave us some "insider information" about the Great Bridge Lock coming up. They said that it only opens on the hour, so all we can do is hope that we can make it in time. The Coinjock Bay is very shallow again, and there are crab pots and debris all around us to dodge. At 9:45 we left North Carolina and crossed into Virginia. It is beginning to look much more northern like. It is narrow again with marshes on both sides of us, and it is very curvy. We kept looking at our watches to try and figure out if we can get to the lock for its noon opening. It will be a bummer if we have to wait for an hour. We see lots of osprey nests on almost every marker.

At 11:00 there were about 8 boats rushing to get through the swing bridge ahead of us. Whew, we made that one. It only had a 6-foot clearance, so obviously we couldn't get under it. Then we rushed forward towards the lock. We will barely make it if we can go at top speed, and don't have to slow down at all. After the bridge, the boats lined up and jockeyed for position with the fastest leading. There were several trawlers, a houseboat, and a number of sailboats. The river is narrow here so passing one another was tricky.

Long story short, we did get to the lock by noon, and locked through with a dozen boats. Weird though, we only dropped about 2 feet or so it seemed. Much ado about nothing.

After the lock we all lined up again and headed for Norfolk. I can't believe it but I didn't realize that we had so many bridges to get through before we reached Norfolk, but we were lucky and reached them all when they were opening, so we weren't delayed. LUCKY.

After all that, we reached Norfolk at about 2:00. The Waterside Marina is right down town in the middle of everything, so we should have a good time here.