Creature from the black lagoon...

Norfolk has bridges, one after another, so, since we are heading south and there are restrictions on the Gilmerton Bridge, we based our departure on those. Gilmerton is about an hour away and doesn't open until 9:30 in the morning, so we planned on an 8:15 departure. What we didn't plan on was the creature from the black lagoon!

After a leisurely breakfast, we started the engine and Tom proceeded to weigh anchor. Well, something grabbed hold of it and just wouldn't let go! We edged forward and back gaining inches  at a time. Finally he got enough chain up to see that we had snagged a 3" cable, and it was pulling hard on the anchor. He couldn't get it to shake loose and couldn't get a trip line attached to the anchor. After struggling for half an hour, he was able to get a line around the cable, tie it off and shake the anchor down enough to let go. We felt lucky...next step would have involved a swim!

Okay, we can still make it for the 9:30 opening...just rev her up a little. Hah! One of the railroad bridges (almost always open, we've rarely seen them closed) was down, stayed down, the train (3 cars) came and went, we sat, for 30 minutes we sat. Missed the 9:30 Gilmerton opening...next one, 10:30. A bit of good luck...a tug was coming through Gilmerton at 10:00 and they held for us to get through too! Yay! What we weren't thinking was that the bridges are pretty much synchronized, so we didn't have to wait for Gilmerton, but then had to wait 45 minutes for the next one, ugh!

Too close for comfort!

Thru the bridges, thru the lock, now we're on our way! Down the Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal...very pretty...cypress knees, stumps and logs along either side, but room for two boats to pass, almost. When one of those boats is a tug with a huge barge, that canal can be very narrow! We had to turn around because there was not enough room for both of us, then snugged right up to the stumps and hoped for the best! Pictures can't really show how close and how big this guy was. But, he waved when he went by, and we didn't hit anything. We didn't make that bridge opening either, putting us a bit further behind.

But friendly!

Plan was to bypass Coinjock and anchor a little south. Ah well, the best laid plans...  So, a nice peaceful night at Midway Marina in Coinjock and a good meal at Crabby's, not all bad. Maybe next time we'll check out one of those anchorages.

Hey, if we have an easy uneventful day tomorrow, I may not have anything to write about. Let's hope you don't hear from us for a few days!

Thanks for checking in!