Portsmouth to Back River Anchorage

The winds were gusty, but it was supposed to calm down enough by noon to make me comfortable enough to move on.  I revisited Portsmouth, and there was a sidewalk farmers market and an old car show in town.

I was hesitant, but eventually departed at 1 PM, single-handed (again), letting the winds blow me off the dock… like a pro.

The winds were from the south, and the channel was wide and deep.  I hugged the green side to let a container ship pass me.  Then I decided to pull out the sail and reached 7 knots, which allowed me to turn off the engine.

I studied the charts and decided I could reach Back River anchorage by 5:00, with plenty of daylight.  The alternative was to go to Hampton, which did not give me excellent protection from the south or west.  Back River also moved me closer to Annapolis.  

Before turning into the Back River inlet, I sailed behind a Catamaran, Serendipity.  The winds picked up, and the channel turned towards the wind, and I furled the sail and motored for another 45 minutes to anchor in a shallow area, which happened to be on the departure runways of Langley Air Force Base.

Winds were supposed to be calm tonight/tomorrow,

I decided to do an oil change.

Portsmouth

I departed the free dock at Chesapeake at 10:40, after deciding not to visit the Battle Bridge museum, which opened at 10.

The weather was supposed to be gusty on Saturday, and I figured I could anchor at Hospital Point, which seemed protected from the southwest.

An uneventful passage at the Great Bridge and the Great Bridge lock.  

There were many bridges, and the RR bridge 7 MM5.8 was under construction and had a limited scheduled opening.

I arrived early for the bridge and decided to gas up at Top Rack, which happened to have the cheapest diesel I had seen on this trip. $3.10 per gallon.

I got to the RR bridge 7 and waited about 15 minutes before passing.  The next bridge, Gimerton, was a lift bridge that was 89 feet, but I was not sure of it.  The radio operator said something .9 feet.  A tug boat was impatient and cut through from the north side while I was slowly approaching the bridge.  A sailboat with a 64-foot mast told me it was 89 feet, and I followed her.

As I approached Hospital Point, I noticed a free dock at High Street Landing on the chart, one mile before Hospital Point.  I took the dock and visited the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum and Light Ship Portsmouth.  

After walking through town, I return to Bellum.  I was not hungry, so I skipped supper, but it seemed that I had drunk a bit too much, as the next morning I had a hangover!

Chesapeake

I weighed anchor at 8:30’wanting to get a free dock at Great Bridge. It was only 15 miles, but I had to wait for three bridges.  I got a dock and docked BELLUM at 12:15. 

Went to explore Norfolk, very much a Navy town.  I hopped on a city bus for $2.25 for a daily pass (senior rate) and toured around.  Unfortunately, my phone battery was low, and the backup battery I brought along was dead.  Eventually, I got back to the boat and did some shopping for new USB cables, bought more Ramen, and some brandy and vermouth.

I decided to stay an extra day to visit the USS Wisconsin at the Nauticus Center. It was interesting. 

  

Towards Chasapeake

 I stared sailing up from Coinjoint Bay to North Landing.  Plenty of sailing at 6 to 8 knots, mind you the speed transducer seems uncalibrated. 

About 2pm, wind gusts were hitting 30, and the sail was furled as we were facing the winds.  The river was going to be curving a lot for 15 nm to the Chasapeake free dock.  With an abundance of caution, I decided to anchor at Blackwater 2.  

Took a nap, and then I decided to try to fix the leaky water pump.  I discovered the water pump drive belt had a scar, so I changed that too.  

The shaft packing seemed to be behaving well.  There was a fair bit of oil under the engine sump.  

Albemarle Sound to North River

Got up, and it was cold and rocky. The night was calm.  

I hesitated to depart until noon, when I carefully weighed anchor as Bellum was a bucking horse.  

I reported the hazards to the float plan, and the departure went well.  It was a south wind, as expected.  In fact, I had slowed my approach to the Albemarle Sound to avoid the north winds. 

I approached the Albemarle Sound, and it was rocky.  A sailboat passed me on her Genoa, and I was tempted to put mine on, but it was too rolly, and there were crab pods to avoid. I was chicken!  A little more than halfway, the winds lowered to 10 knots, and I pulled the genoa, but it was too rocky.  

As I approached the other side, I made a turn to port, and the water was calm. I was able to sail for a couple of hours in a beam reach or close haul, and sailed up until the North River became curvy.  A sailboat motor sailing passed me.

I sailed up the North River towards Coinjoint and went to Green Island Creek to anchor, but it was way too shallow, and I backed up to Cow Creek about one mile.

I considered staying at Coinjoint Marina for their famous Prime Rib, but at 2.90 per foot, never mind.

Dowry Creek up the Alligator canal and river

 I tightened the shaft packing again.

I weighed anchor at 8 and motored to Dowry Creek Marina to get a propane refill and replenish gas and diesel. The outboard was low, and I added .6 gallon of diesel.  

The propane was not available.  The person certified to refill tanks was away for at least 3-4 hours, and there was a question about whether their system was serviceable, as they had mentioned the tank was too close to the electrical panel.

I started heading towards the Alligator Canal, which was less than an hour away.  I sailed to the canal. The UV cover and leech lines on the genoa were deteriorating.  But still serviceable.

The canal is approximately 23 miles long, and a lovely open anchorage is available after the canal.  I made it through the canal at 14:45 and decided to continue on the Alligator River, as there were many nice anchorages along the Way. I eventually made it past the Alligator bridge and anchored at MM 83 at the north end of the Alligator River just before the Albemarle Sound at 18:20.

Tomorrow should be an easy crossing of the Sound as the winds are supposed to be light and from the South.