Day 18- Coinjock, NC to Norfolk, VA

Not quite as foggy as last night. More duck blinds in the shallow water.  The first part of the day is across the Currituck Sound.  On the map, there is a lot of water, but it is spread really thin, about 6 feet deep over most of it, except in the dredged channel we follow.

About 30 miles along, we come to the first of two swing bridges.  Who do we find?  The tug pulling the dredging equipment we saw two days ago.  He has not stopped, pulling along for all he's worth at 3 knots.

And what else do we find?  A second tug pushing a fuel barge!  Sneaking around him I managed to find a shallow spot and bumped my way over.  Oops!

The captain had some very colorful expletives, as did I, as the boat hit something. Fortunately it was soft mud in the shallows, but it did mess with the steering long enough that I saw Paul turn the wheel, and turn the wheel and turn the wheel until he worked the mud out of it and the steering functioned normally again. Definitely got our attention and not in a good way. But all ended well.

Traffic jam forming at the bridge.

This is the North Landing Bridge.  Note a swinging bridge section to the left, and one to the right.  The one on the left has been ill and they can only manage to open it a couple times a day.  Lucky us, that is the 10AM opening and the reason the two tugs were waiting there,  You can also see a third tug/barge waiting to come the other way.  It was a tad crowded!

There is a second swing bridge four miles away.  Can a boat going 8 knots, get to the bridge four miles away in a half an hour?  Nope! The Goose had a chance fly at about 9.5 knots to get there.

All that high speed running makes for a thirsty boat.  The last time we got fuel was in South Carolina.

I love these boat sheds at Atlantic Yacht Basin, Chesapeake, VA.

I think I need this!

On second thought, I need this!

The Bridge at Great Bridge, VA is called the Great Bridge Bridge, a hundred yards further on is the Great Bridge Lock and their timings are coordinated.

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Bridge Tender Chic.

The Great Bridge Lock.  Our first lock of the Great Loop.  Here, have a bunch of pictures.  You are going to get awfully tired of lock pictures.  Over a hundred to go!

The gate at each end of the gate were closed after the 3 boats entered.

The water was then pumped out until the water in the lock was at the same height as the water outside the lock.

The far gate then opened and we all motored on our way.

This is the empty lock waiting for the boats to enter and reverse the process until they can leave the lock at the higher water level.

We did not go the Dismal Swamp route.  It may have been surveyed by George Washington, but there's no prime rib.

Perhaps this prank has gotten out of hand.

Yes, that is a porta-potty.

Norfolk, where the surface navy fixes itself.

Our home for the next 5 nights. We will be attending the America's Great Loop Cruiser's Association Spring Rendezvous to learn more about the loop. 

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