Leaving the Norfolk area and getting into the Chesapeake has it's issues, mostly weather related and in particular the wind and the wind direction. After leaving here we will be transiting the Elizabeth River, crossing over the Hampton Roads Bay Bridge Tunnel and entering the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay. The bay is very wide at this point and it it is wide open to the Atlantic Ocean. The distance from Norfolk to the C & D Canal at the northern end of the Chesapeake is about 191 miles so numerous changes in conditions can be expected. Yesterday's wind and sea forecast for the mouth of the bay kept just about all of the traveling boats docked or anchored for the day. We stayed put here in the ferry slip opening next to the Renaissance Hotel in Portsmouth. We took the fifeteen minute ferry to Norfolk's waterfront where there is plenty of things to do. A major shopping center with a movie theater, plenty of restaurants and Navy exhibits. After walking around town Sue and I stopped by the large marina on the waterfront where we met the Canadian couple we have seen so many times during our excursion. We were invited for happy hour aboard a fairly new fifty five foot FLEMMING that makes our boat look like small (but we still love it!). We took the ferry back to Portsmouth where we met with owners of two other boat owners docked next to the hotel. It didn't take much comparison of today's weather forecast to decide that we would all be spending another day in port. The winds in the bay were expected to be out of the north and reach 25 kts with higher gusts. The interval between swells could be as low as 3 seconds in five foot seas. Yuk! This is a pleasure cruise, not a punishment exercise. Anyhow, today Sue and took another ferry ride to Norfolk to see a movie and have dinner at Chili's.
Tomorrow's weather may provide an opportunity for us to get underway again. I will look at it again early in the morning for a closer look and decide whether we will stay yet another day. I know one of the other boats crew (from Old Saybrook, CT) is really pushing to get home to get back to work. The Captain said they may be leaving at 5 AM. I hope they go quietly.... I'm not quite that anxious to press on but we are running low on water so we have to make some kind of a move. There is water available on the opposite side of the facility we are at but that would require us to move the boat over there for a fill up. Otherwise we can make it to the marina we plan to stay at tomorrow night. That's all part of the adventure.
Y'all stay vertical,
Capt John and First Mate Sue
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