We’re here!  We made it!  We’re all settled in for the final stages in the US before we leave for our big off-shore run.

 

Lost the race with the warship, so sitting tight & waiting

Coming into Norfolk was quite the experience.  As we headed south for the Elizabeth River, a Naval warship passed us coming out the York River.  Turns out they were doing a wide swing and then coming into the Navy base in Norfolk.  Though we had no problems crossing the channel before they came down, we didn’t have quite enough speed to get across the smaller channel to the Navy base.  So we dropped into neutral, and drifted while the warship passed us, spun (with the help of three tugs) and backed in/parallel parked to her spot at the base.

 

We had over 10 miles to go down river to get to our final destination and I couldn’t get over the size of the Navy base.   We later found out it’s the largest Naval base anywhere in the world.  Aircraft carrier after warship after supply ship after aircraft carrier, it just kept going.  And if it wasn’t related to the Navy, there were plenty of commercial ports as well, so there were lots of cargo ships passing through too.

Even the airspace was filled by the Navy on our way in

 

We made it down to one of the marinas where we were topping off fuel and water.  The fuel dock was not optimally positioned, but we thought we’d be fine.  Then the winds started blowing the boat off the dock before we could properly make the swing and line ourselves up.  I think we made the attempt 3 times, with all the liveaboards in the area watching us like a spectator sport (karma to me – stop making fun of people who can’t anchor).  We finally got tied off, but it was a tiring experience and reminder that we spend almost no time at docks.

 

Kalyra’s Norfolk home

 

 

We did what we needed and then headed over to our slip for our stay in Norfolk.  Having joined the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC), we were able to contact the Port Commanders in Norfolk.  It turns out they live in condos that come with slips, but most of the condo owners don’t have boats.  For the price of a nice bottle of wine, we were allowed to take a slip in downtown Norfolk!  The best part is that other boats from the OCC were there, and we’re all taking similar routes or have done so in the past, so it’s a great group of people to talk to.  Two boats were even ones that we had visited in Solomons Island, so it’s really nice to see familiar faces as well.

 

 

Can’t lose them if you tried in that yellow

One of our crew, Lyle, drove up from Savannah with his wife Christine.  They got a B&B on the Portsmouth side of the river, and popped over on the ferry to visit Friday night.  We explored a little bit of the waterside district – bars, restaurants, waterfront marinas – all the craziness.  They came back on Saturday with their car and we were off to do errands.  Christine and I dropped the boys off at a laundromat with 3 big loads (including Trip’s foulweather jacket, which looked grimy enough to stand on its own).  Christine and I headed off to the grocery store.  Having lived on a boat for a few years herself, she was great to have along for different recommendations.  I’ve gotten pretty good at provisioning, but I’m always willing to listen to suggestions from someone else who’s done it before.

 

After errands we headed back to the Portsmouth side to explore things on that side of the river, then we took the ferry back to Norfolk that night.

 

Mermaids everywhere in Norfolk

Sunday morning Christine dropped Lyle off and headed for home.  Unfortunately it was a day of solid wind and rain.  It didn’t stop us from wandering out again, though we were a bit waterlogged.  First job of the day was to get Trip’s phone fixed – the battery was losing a complete charge overnight with no apps running.  We were at the Apple store for over three hours while they did diagnostics, determined he needed a new phone (the old ones don’t like the new iOS update which is most likely what caused the drain).  He wasn’t due yet for an upgrade through Verizon so Apple offered to sell the phone directly to us.  But then we got denied because their payment plan comes through as a small loan and we had frozen our credit because of the Equifax breach.  We finally said screw it and bought the phone outright because at least that way it would be unlocked and we could use other SIM cards as we travel for cheaper rates.   But Trip’s phone hadn’t been backed up in months and it was to the desktop at home.  The Apple wireless network was overloaded and we hadn’t even finished the backup when the store closed.  UGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Norfolk home decorated for the holidays

 

I went back on my own early Monday morning, and stayed outside the Apple store on a couch in the mall.  Using their wifi with no one else on it, this time the backup ran in 15 minutes.  Rock and roll.  I got into the store when it opened and his new phone was ready to go in another 15 minutes.  Of course the techie handling our case that morning had also lived on a boat and was from New York, so I stayed an extra 45 minutes talking sailing and living aboard……thanks Theresa!

 

Mantus scuba setup

Trip and Lyle were across the river back in Portsmouth getting a mini scuba tank filled.  After the Annapolis adventure scraping the keel cooler and knowing that we will have to scrub the bottom of the boat at least once a month in the carribbean, we splurged and bought a unit from Mantus that will give us 30-40 minutes comfortably under the water.   There’s enough dive shops in the islands that we shouldn’t have a problem getting the tank refilled as necessary.

 

The weather was beautiful, so I meandered back to the boat, taking in Nauticus (Naval museum) and the USS Wisconsin, as well as the Pagoda, which is a modified watch tower that was a gift from the government of Taiwan.

Nauticus with a cruise ship in the background

Today we’re running errands, steadily ticking off the checklist, and waiting for Lawrence (of ‘chasing Lawrence’ in Maine this summer), our other crew member who’s arriving early evening.

Pagoda

 

Norfolk library atrium

 

 

Oh yeah, and we’re spending lots of time at the library – I’ve already blown through 6 GBs to update digital charts, apps, download podcasts, and update the blog.  The library here is gorgeous – completely modern and huge, but beautiful!