Hampton VA to Buck Island

—Blogpost written by Bob

Stay Over Day in Hampton

Today, Friday, October 25, 2019, was a planned stay over day, giving us the advantage of traveling through Norfolk on weekend days.  This means that the few bridges that must open for us are not on a schedule.  In other words, they open upon request and our trip goes much smoother and without delays.  In addition, Hampton is a nice place to take a break.  (Our next planned breaks will be in Beaufort NC, Southport NC, Beaufort SC, St. Augustine FL, and Vero Beach FL.)

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This morning we started to closely examine (and intended to fix) the leak we suspected somewhere behind the rudder post.  We removed the wheel and our helm seat and the clamp on the propane tank's drain.  Then we merely rotated the propane locker out of the immediate area.  I, then, removed the plastic panel behind the propane locker for access to the suspect area.

Getting access to the area required removing
the wheel, the helm seat, the propane 
locker, and the plastic panel behind 
the propane locker.

After cleaning up the area around the through
hulls in the stern, we found no leaks of
any kind after running the engine.

There was a stream-like accumulation of thick gunk (maybe a mixture of moisture, oil, dust, and cat hair) around the two through hull connections in the center of this image prior to cleaning.  After we cleaned the internal surfaces, we ran the engine and watched for leaks from the exhaust hose which exits the hull (at the center of this image) and found no leaks.  I tightened all the hose clamps anyway.  The hose clamps on the hose from the propane locker's drain (lower right) were somewhat loose but I doubt that this was the source of a leak.  (I should have added a second hose clamp on this line but I didn't notice it only had one until after everything was back together!)

There is an area behind the rudder support structure that collects (seems like fresh?) water--maybe 2 gallons.  Maggie cleaned all this water out (since her hands and arms are smaller than mine).  I have thought about filling this cavity with expanding foam next summer so that water can no longer accumulate there.  (The water that I previously noticed in the engine room coming from beneath the primary fuel tank could have come from this area, spilling over the top of the structure during the rocking motion of the boat.)

The only other possible leak is from the outside raw water leaking into the hull at the through hull attachments--this would be the worst possible leak scenario but it seems unlikely after closely examining the connections.  (While under power, the stern moves lower in the water and this area is below the surface of the water.  While the boat is still, these connections are well above the water line.)  We completed this task and put everything back together before 10 AM!  (I thought that this would take most of the day and it would have if we had to go out to West Marine to get anything.)

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Some images taken today in Hampton follow:

The main drag in Hampton,
East Queen's Way.

Colorful fenders between two shrimp
boats in Hampton's harbor.

Looking out Hampton River
toward Norfolk

s/v Rainy Days in Slip #13 at
Hampton Public Piers

Hampton to North Landing River

Today’s journey started at 8:15 AM.  We felt dwarfed by the huge aircraft carriers and other warships docked at Norfolk’s Navy Base as we worked our way to the official beginning of the ICW at Hospital Point in Norfolk, 14 miles from our slip in Hampton.

A couple of the many warships
at the Norfolk Naval Base.

Two container ships unloading
their cargo in Norfolk.

Near the end of today’s journey we reached the Great Bridge Lock which accommodates a very small difference in water level but a large difference in water quality. On the south side of the lock, freshwater flows from the Currituck Sound in North Carolina. On the north side, salty water flows from the Elizabeth River fed by the Chesapeake Bay. 

Boats jockeying for position heading
into the Great Bridge Lock.

In the lock, we hold our boat along
the wall as the water rises.

We got the green light to enter the Great Bridge Lock at 12:20 PM. We entered the lock through the two northern gates that were opened for us and 10 other boats. Once all the boats were in the lock and suitably fastened to the walls, the large pumps adjusted the water level. After the water level was fully adjusted, the south gates opened and we were instructed on the VHF radio to proceed out of the lock on the south end.  The draw bridge immediately south of the lock opened within minutes so that all the boats could proceed down the ICW.

As soon as we got through the draw bridge, we noticed that the free slips directly across the ICW from Atlantic Yacht Basin were already taken.  So, we proceeded down the ICW 15 miles further and found a place by ICW marker R-32 where we could anchor for the night. The water was pretty skinny as we went in far enough to avoid the motor boat wakes. We called Coinjock Marina for a slip tomorrow but they didn't know of availability--so, they will call us back in the morning.

We watched the Penn State - Michigan State football game on TV at our anchorage. (Penn State won by a score of 28 - 7!)

North Landing River to Buck Island

We awoke somewhat leisurely and had breakfast before departing our anchorage.  At 8:45 AM we were rocked by the wake of a motor boat going down the ICW and decided it was soon time to leave our little anchorage.  We departed at 9:15 AM. (One other sailboat had joined us for the night in our little anchorage.)

Lola slept on the port cockpit coaming
as we motored into Coinjock.

The weather was very windy and rainy in the morning as we motored toward Coinjock.  We stopped at Coinjock Marina and topped off our primary diesel tank (16.7 gallons) and our fresh water tanks.  We visited the on-site restaurant and had a great lunch!

We couldn't get a slip at Coinjock Marina because they were full for the night, so we kept motoring further south and anchored just south of Buck Island at MM 57 at 4 PM.  We are still on the North Landing River, just much further south.

I called the Alligator River Swing Bridge today (Sunday, October 27, 2019) to find out about their opening situation and found out that they are back in full operation and will open upon request--this was great news!

We shared our anchorage just south of
Buck Island with two other boats.

Tomorrow, we tackle the Abermarle Sound and the Alligator River,  Stay tuned...



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