From the Dismal Swamp we moved on in convoy to Norfolk City on the Elizabeth River. The river is wide, and lined with aircraft carriers and naval vessels and is spanned by huge industrial-looking bridges, that had to open for us.
We motored out of Norfolk at 6am hoping to have a look at the Chesapeake Bay and carry on if it wasn’t too wild. The forecast sounded okay but it had been rough enough to turn boats back the day before. It didn’t seem bad as we left the Elizabeth River and was fine on the run up to Horn Harbour which was 30 miles away and our first possible port but the water was calm and we were having a good run so we pushed on. And on, for 13 hours, until we reached the Potomac River 90 miles from Norfolk. In the afternoon, the water calmed to a millpond. The scene was surreal. The satin-finish water appeared to be level with the gunwhales and there was no dividing line between the sea and the sky. A fleet of fishing vessels swept across our bow in the late afternoon heading for the Cockrell Creek Fish Processing plant on the Great Wicomico River.
The Chesapeake offers beautiful boating and safe harbours. This a place that we could happily come back to in the future.
Bow Waves from America
- Cruising the Great Loop
- Boating, travel and family fun are our motivation for trying something new. We heard about the Great Loop five years ago and this sounded just like the right adventure for us. We are a family of four from New Zealand. We have taken leave from school, rented the house and packed our bags. Bow waves is the blog that will follow us as we endeavour to buy a boat and cruise the Great Loop (America's Great Circle Route). We have membership of the AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association) and will begin our journey on the Intracoastal Waterway in the Fort Lauderdale area.