Southern Chesapeake to Elizabeth City, NC October 8, 2019

 Tangier Island continued to make us smile and wish for more.  Two watermen often struck up conversations with us.  Eventually, they invited Dietrich to motor out to their oyster farm, where they filled an order for 600.  Back at the company fish house they dumped each oyster filled frame on to a stainless steel counter, counted, bagged, and stored the crop in an industrial refrigerator.  Within the hour, the Buy Boat zoomed the bags to a Chesapeake area restaurant.  Later, a bag of thirteen oysters was delivered to our cockpit.  Dietrich pried them open with a screwdriver and a paring knife, doused them with lemon and hot sauce, then shared the slippery slurping with a boater across the dock.  A good time was had by all.   A few days later, we stayed at the Fishing Bay Yacht Club near Deltaville, Virginia.  They generously let us have a slip and access to beautiful facilities.  Their Cruisers Group met that evening and they asked us to join them.  It was such an enjoyable event, complete with meeting a couple who were friends with our Tangier Island dock neighbors and whose daughter spent several summers at Interlochen Music Camp.  Those Small World incidents happen all the time!

Fishing Bay Yacht Club

 After a quick stop at Fort Monroe, we traveled thirty miles up the James River to tour Jamestown.  The ferry wakes were wicked, so we had to anchor several miles away.  Once again, our dinghy proved its worth.  The day we spent at Jamestown was quite interesting, certainly worth the effort. However, weather was humid and 96 degrees.  The following day, the heat index was over 100 degrees.  We ordered our first Uber and went to a Theater Tavern, wonderfully air conditioned, to see Downton Abby.  It was a good decision!

The Largest Gun from Fort Monroe, the Lincoln

In the crosshairs

Jamestown Demo Glassblowers

James River Sunset

James River Sunset

James River Sunset

James River Sunset

The Ghost Fleet, in Reserve for the Next big Conflict

The anchorage in Norfolk was just off a spiffy, contemporary downtown area, surrounded by Naval yards.  At a fuel dock, we met Chad Ross whose son had just finished an advanced degree at the University of Michigan.  He had high praise for Ann Arbor and his many trips up Michigan's west coast to Traverse City.  Later that evening, he motored out to our anchorage, rafted off for a while, just to chat.  It made our day.

Norfolk Drydock

New Carrier Under Construction at Newport News Shipbuilding

Norfolk Crane

Norfolk Navy Base Carrier Fleet

 We visited the Battleship USS Wisconsin.  After the basic tour, Dietrich took a long tour below decks and to the engine rooms.  He was with a group of only five and the docent was excellent.

Ready for Fore Deck Work

Just Another Chain Link

USS Wisconsin, the Engine Room Tour

USS Wisconsin, Targeting Computer

USS Wisconsin, Broadway

USS Wisconsin Machine Shop

 The trip through the Dismal Swamp Canal (28 mi. from Deep Creek Lock to the Pasquotank River) was not so much fun.  Duck Weed covered much of the water's surface and it sucked into our raw water cooling system.  We had to turn the engine off five times while Dietrich cleared the system of densely packed debris from the through hull to the strainer.  Additionally, traveling in about six feet of dark water, we rumbled over deadheads thirty-four times.

Robert Peake, Lock Master, conch horn master

Dismal Duck Weed

Duck Weed Cocktail

As we arrived in Elizabeth City we were beckoned to a free dock.  The Mid Atlantic Christian College offers these docks to cruisers who need them, graciously puts up with our questions, provides transportation for laundry and groceries, and shower facilities.  The college also makes us  welcome at an economical breakfast each morning, complete with cheesy grits. We are here with cruisers we met at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center, all Canadians.  The company is top notch.
We have been here nearly four days.  Past Elizabeth City, down Albemarle Sound to the Alligator River, the swing bridge is broken!  While there are many theories and internet speculation, there is no reliable information about when it will be fixed.  We are considering our options.   Each evening, we gather in someone's cockpit and Marc Ouimet offers this toast:  A l'amitie' des peuples (to the friendship of all nations).