Mile 8.8 to mile 49.9
We left Top Rack at first light and headed down the waterway. It was cold and we had frost on our solar panels. There was a mist rising from the warmer water. We left the industrial section of the Elizabeth River and entered the beautiful marsh with cypress, pine and grass. The sun rose directly ahead of us and that, combined with the mist, made it a little difficult to see.
There was one boat in front of us and we slowed when he got close to the Great Bridge lock. The Great Bridge lock is very close to the Great Bridge bridge which is having some issues. It was overheating during the summer months and had to be sprayed down for cooling. For a stretch it was only opening 4 times a day. Now it is opening only on even hours. We wanted to be there for the earliest opening at 8 am as we were worried about congestion there. The lock opens about 20 minutes before the bridge. We were second in line behind a catamaran from Corpus Christi. There was a rather impatient power boat behind us who felt we were waiting too far back but he likely could not see the boat in front of us. We held our ground when he asked to pass us in a line leading to a closed lock. A parade of boats soon joined the line.
We entered the lock and got the starboard side which has bumper posts all along the edge. The lock tender takes the back edge of cleated line with a boat hook. He then loops that on a cleat on the bulkhead. You keep the other end and tighten or loosen as the boat moves up or down in the lock. We didn’t notice much change in water level at the lock this time.
After the lock, we headed for the bridge which managed to open without issue. A large barge was waiting on the other side but we paraded through first. After a while the channel widened a bit and the motor boats passed the sailboats as the parade continued South.
There were two more signal bridges opening on the hour and half hour. The Centerville bridge was 30 minutes after Great Bridge Bridge and then the North Landing Bridge 5 miles after that. We had a fixed bridge at mile 28 that I got to pilot through. After that, we had only one more fixed bridge on the route to Coinjock. Coinjock is at mile 49.9.
The marina called, confirmed our reservation and ordered our beef. We arrived there around 230 and spent the next few hours on boat chores. David transferred fuel from our jugs to our tank and refilled the jugs. We topped off the water tanks (no issues). We showered, went for a short walk and headed to dinner. Delicious, but we might not need the beef next time.
