A Little Loopy

Norfolk VA to Cape Charles VA: 8.2 mph; 37.0 miles; 4:29 hours Cape Charles is new to me. I have never really explored the Eastern Shore so this will be an adventure. The bonus is seeing Bubbie and catching up with her and the family.  Trip Across the Bay from Norfolk to Cape Charles All the weather people are liars! It was NOT 1-2 ft waves; it was 2-3 ft with a 4 ft wave tossed in for good measure! Man! That was a nose dipper! But ... the hatch was closed ... When you get to Cape Charles, you really only have one choice for a marina - Cape Charles Harbor Town Marina and it’s gonna cost you about $3/ft (plus electric) with water, shower/bathroom, and coin-operated laundry. It’s a nice marina and the The Shanty restaurant is right there. A higher caliber restaurant, Hook at Harvey A Cape Charles Bistro , is around the way. If you use the walkway, you can make your way to a little 'old town' area. The public beach access is here too and wow, just wow, it’s beautiful.  Cap...

The event this year is scheduled to take place in Norfolk, VA The Waterside River Ferry   A schedule is online and the ferry travels between Waterside, Norfolk & High Street, Portsmouth & North Landing, Portsmouth gohrt.com > Routes > Elizabeth River Ferry Waterside Marina   The 'right there' marina for the event - in the thick of it all. Nauticus Marina   Located at the end of the Waterside park at the museum is 'right there' too, it’s a little more quiet and smaller. Marinas near the Waterside River Ferry Ocean Yacht Marina Tidewater Yacht Marina Portsmouth Boating Center 36-hour Free Dock in Portsmouth (small); get there early Marinas, Portsmouth with an Uber/Lyft or Ferry :  Virginia Boat Yacht Service, Western Branch Diesel  Reciprocal Marinas, Norfolk with an Uber/Lyft :   Norfolk Yacht & Country Club (reciprocal with who?) Marinas before the Chesapeake Bay with and Uber/Lyft :  Willoughby Harbor Marina Rebel Marina  Mari...

Elizabeth City FREE Dock to Lamb’s Marina (Camden NC): 6.0 mph; 3.7 miles; 0:37 hours Lamb’s Marina to South Hill Lock: 7.3 mph; 14.9 miles; 2:02 hours South Hill Lock to Dismal Swamp Visitor Center Free Dock: 5.6 mph; 5 miles; 0:52 hours Dismal Swamp Visitors Center to Deep Creek Bridge/Lock: 6.6 mph; 16.5 miles; 2:31 hours Deep Creek Bridge/Lock to Portsmouth VA: 6.5 mph; 9.2 miles; 1:24 hours The mannequin is back ... MM 47.2 Lamb’s Marina (Camden) So we wouldn’t need to work around the Elizabeth City US 158 Bridge schedule, we left the EC FREE Dock late afternoon and headed to Lamb’s Marina . The marina is owned and operated by a close network of family and friends. They are delightful people and very helpful pulling us into place. We stayed on the fuel dock and paid $35/night (electric included) with water, shower/bathroom, coin-operated laundry, and wifi. The marina has a small convenient store and across the street is a restaurant, deli, and Family Dollar. MM 32.7 South Mills Lo...

Ocracoke to Manteo FREE Dock: 8.2 mph; 66 miles; 8:03 hours Manteo to the Bryskis Dock in Colington: 7.0 mph; 12.4 miles; 1:46 hours Colington to Elizabeth City: 8.3 mph; 34.7 miles; 4:11 hours Ocracoke to Manteo There is a big difference between 1-2 foot waves and 3-4 foot waves. The weather predicted one but gave us the other for 6 straight hours. The front berth has a hatch with a leak; with calmer waters, I leave the hatch unlocked to stop water from dripping onto the birth below. Well, dang nabbit! I should have checked that hatch. Two hours into this cowboy ride, I SAW the hatch lift when we tucked our nose into a wave. It was like someone throwing buckets of salt water into the boat. What could I do but clean it up? I’m the one who left the hatch unlocked … we were supposed to have 1-2 foot seas … I wanted 1-2 foot seas … Manteo FREE Dock This is a cool spot for Loopers. The free slip and bulkhead are located in downtown Manteo. You won’t have any amenities but there is a pump-o...

I am pretty good at planning but maybe I missed the information between Beaufort NC and Norfolk VA. So you don't trip your own panic button, I have added this blog about what I wish someone would have told me. Everything should be prepped in Beaufort NC. PUMP-OUT INFORMATION  Use ncdenr.maps.arcgis.com to find pump-outs in NC they're scarce after Oriental NC.  Use vdc.virginia.gov for the Marinas with public pump-outs in Virginia. ROUTE: Oriental/Ocracoke/Manteo to Elizabeth City/Dismal Swamp Route  There are pump-out stations at Oriental, Ocracoke/Anchor Inn, Hatteras/Hatteras Landing, Wanchese/Bayliss Boatworks, *Manteo/Shallowbag Bay Marina and Marshes Light Marina. After Manteo, the next pump-out station is in Virginia @ MM 8.3 Chesapeake Yachts.      *D on’t count on the Manteo Waterfront Marina/Free Dock because the dock master is absent. ROUTE: Oriental/Belhaven/Alligator River to the Primary Intracoastal/Virginia Cut Route There are pump-out sta...