Day 5 - C&D Canal to Norfolk, VA

Another high mileage day down the Chesapeake Bay.  I had no idea how big it was! 

We left the marina at 7:00 and headed down the canal and then South into the Chesapeake.  Off to the north of us was the Susquanna River, were two of our boating friends are hard at work...we waved Bob to you and Less!

About 20 miles down the bay it was time for fuel again.   Bob wanted to make sure I didn't get stressed out again about running low.  We stopped at the Tolchester Marina and took on 250 gallons at $3.10/gallon.  Bob was not all that happy with the price, but it was not out of our way and every place we were calling that was further south was $3.50 + per gallon.  We took on some water and as the guys were taking care of this I chatted with the owner and asked how long it would take to get to Norfolk.  He causally said ah about 7-8 hours.  That is when I realized how big the bay was.  It is 178 miles from the tip of the canal to the inlet leading into Norfolk.  For our friends back in Rochester, the Chesapeake is about 2/3 the size of Lake Ontario.

Mike took over the helm at 10:00, it was time for the race in Singapore.  The wave and wind progressively got worse as the morning went on.  We went from 1-2 footers to 3 -4.  Our speed went from 30 to 20 to 10.  It was going to be a long day getting to Norfolk.

After the race and a nap, Bob came back to the helm.  He was not impressed with the mileage we were getting, .5 mpg.  But as we rounded Smith Point it started to calm down and we were able to get back to 25 mph and better gas mileage.  Soon we were heading into Norfolk a little more timely.

As we came into Norfolk we entered the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) and passed by the Naval ship yard.  I was amazed how close the channel was to the ships, but it was great for pictures.  Bob also got out his video camera and narrated.  The crew decided that Bob missed his calling, what a enthusiastic theatrical voice.

Not to far down the ICW it was time to stop for the night.  In the spring Bob stayed at the Top Rack Marina and wanted to dock there again.  We called ahead and the manager Brian was waiting for us.  The marina was not anything you would see back home.  We pulled into the fuel dock and fueled up again, twice in one day, ouch! We took 263 gallons at $2.49/gallon and could stay right on the gas dock for the night.  Once we were all hooked up and had the daily cocktails flowing, Mike decided it was time to wash the boat, salt water was all over and it was driving him crazy.  He did tell Bob though that there was not going to be a 24 hour guaranty, it is suppose to rain tomorrow!

There were only about 10 slips at the Top Rack Marina, but there was a huge building and a very large fork lift.  At this marina, once you are done using your boat, the fork lift comes over and lifts it out of the water and places it on a stand.  This allows you time to rinse it off and give it a bubble bath and then the fork lift comes back and puts it in the building.  The racks in the building I believe were 5 high and they stacked the boats in there for the night.  It was awesome and we even saw a 30' Martinque in there, so they can handle some good size boats.

As we were watching all the activity, we met Frank, wife Sue and sister Sue.  They also have a SeaRay and were admiring the Roadrunner.  We got chatting and Bob invited them onboard for a tour.  After their boat was placed in it's rack, they come over and got the tour.  We ended up chatting with them for awhile and when I asked if there was a store in walking distance, Frank said no, but he could give me a ride.  How nice, because we were running low on water and beer, and we can't have that, Frank drove me to the store for the provisions we needed.  I am always amazed how nice the boating community is, no matter were you go.  Thanks again Frank, Sue and Sue.  It was great meeting you.

There was a nice restaurant at the marina that came highly recommended.  So after showers we went up for dinner.  Not only was the food great, but if we ate there, the overnight dockage was free! Bob really liked that.  We all enjoyed some seafood and a few drinks and then Bob and Rick surprised Mike and I and picked up the tab.  It was our 6th anniversary, what a nice way to spend it!

We went a total of 224 miles for the day, averaged 17 mph and because of the rough ride our average mpg dropped to .8.