We walked into Great Bridge for dinner... found this great Italian place called Vino Italian + Bistro... the food was awesome.

Weather forecast for the next few days is horrible... Northerly winds 20-30 knots on the Chesapeake Bay… seas 4 to 5 feet. Destination for today is Salt Ponds, Hampton, VA... we left Great Bridge early in hopes of getting to the Salt Ponds before it got too bad... we would have to run about an hour up the Chesapeake Bay to the inlet channel to Salt Ponds.

We left the bulkhead at 0645 and headed toward the Great Bridge Lock for it’s 0700 lockage following the sailboat WILD OATS into the lock... great couple on board that we met at Alligator Marina. Took about 30 minutes to lock through and we were off toward the Norfolk/Portsmouth area.

Seas were fine within the protected ICW... once past the Navy Boatyard and heading out into the lower Chesapeake Bay the seas picked up quickly... we soon had 3 footers with spray flying over the top of the pilothouse... and the area is filled with crab pots. It was tough seeing them with the waves... thank goodness this lasted for only an hour and we were back in calm water at the Salt Ponds.

We were securely docked at Wayne McPhail’s Home Dock at 1115... Our position until the winds subside is N37°03.553', W076°17.049'. We traveled today for 4.5 hours covering 25.7 nautical miles averaging 5.7 knots.

We had a fun evening at Alligator Marina... about 8 others stopped for the night that were all heading to north... several were great loopers. One of them came around and organized a little get together for everyone up at the grill in the marina office... so, at 1730 we all gathered and had a great time telling all our boat stories... only lasted about an hour and a half but t was fun... made some new friends that I am sure our wakes will cross again in the future.

We left the docks at 0645... There was a great forecast for winds today... we were only going to go to Coinjock but with the forecast we decided to continue on to Great Bridge, VA… the Albemarle Sound and Currituck Sound were nearly flat calm… was a nice crossing... only thing that would of made it better would of been some sunshine... was very overcast all day.

So, for the third or fourth day we have been part of a parade of boats heading north... believe there were 12 of us today all in line... a few split off and went the Dismal Swamp route... the rest stayed further east taking the Virginia Cut… that is the way we went... every time we do the Dismal Swamp we end up having to change the props on SAILS… just too shallow and too many deadhead logs.

One thing out of the ordinary toady was the North Landing Bridge was half down for maintenance. Only the north span of the swing bridge was functioning... this left 38 feet clear between the bridge fenders and the south bridge span... more than enough but it sure seemed tight...

Our plans were to dock at the free docks across the ICW from Atlantic Yacht Basin... upon arriving they were full... no room for SAILS... So, we requested an opening at the Great Bridge Bridge... we had arrived right at 1600 which was perfect timing for on the hour opening schedule. There is another free dock or bulkhead just after the bridge... it was wide open and plenty of room to dock. We did go through the bridge with another boat we had been dock neighbors with at Alligator River Marina... TREASURE ISLAND... a 42 ft Island Packet sailboat... they also went to the bulkhead and docked just ahead of us. We have been traveling with them around us for days now.

We were securely docked at the Great Bridge Bulkhead at 1615... no power or water but a nice place to stop. Our position for the night is N36°43.281', W076°14.503'. We traveled today for 9.5 hours covering 63.2 nautical miles averaging 6.7 knots.

We never really got the storm during the night that was forecast... Susan said it rained but I did not hear it raining... we were up early to attempt to beat the forecast winds today... we left at 0730 and the winds were around 10 knots out of the north... a bit chilly out... felt nice. The winds soon picked up to over 20 knots steady and gust well over 30 knots... this was not the forecast... why should I be surprised.

Even with the high winds the A&P Canal was not bad... narrow canal and very well protected with trees... however when we exited the canal and started north on the Alligator River... the north winds really kicked up the waves. The river is not deep enough to get really large waves, but we had short choppy 2 to 3 footers that send spray over the pilothouse... a nasty ride but not uncomfortable.

We were in the middle of a parade of boats again today... had 4 ahead of us as we left the marina, and I could see 6 behind us on AIS... plus there were numerous other boats that passed us that did not have AIS. I don’t remember there being this many boats heading north last year...

With the high winds I was a bit worried abut the Alligator River Swing Bridge opening... they will not open when the winds are over 30 knots and we were seeing gusts to 35 knots. But as the first of the parade of boats reached the bridge, I could hear them on VHF and the bridge was opening for them and when we reached it they opened for us… YAY!

We arrived at Alligator River Marina at approximately 1415. We were secured with power at 1430… Our position for the night is N35°54.324', W076°01.689'. We traveled today for 7.0 hours covering 43.0 nautical miles averaging 6.2 knots.