Birthday dinner in Coinjock

After we left Belhaven we continued north on the Pungo River to the canal that connects the Pungo to the Alligator River. We continued north in the Alligator until we reached the Alligator Swing Bridge which is just south of the Albemarle Sound.

It was near the end of the day so we found a nice bay to anchor in for the night. The bugs were out again in full force and we had to fill all the cracks with towels or tape. We were also spraying bug spray in the cracks, hoping that would help.

The next morning we awoke to dead calm wind, which is good because the Albemarle is a large open area of water that’s known for getting rough quickly. When we crossed, it was so smooth it looked like a sheet of glass.

The Albemarle is also where you decide to take the Dismal Swamp route or the Virginia Cut. Since we’ve already been through the Dismal Swamp and the bugs were already unbearable, we decided to take the Virginia Cut.

One of the well known stops along this route is the Coinjock Marina in the town of Coinjock. Their restaurant is known for their Prime Rib and it was my birthday, so we decided to stop for the night, have a nice meal, top off our diesel tank, enjoy our air conditioning, and have a nice shower with unlimited hot water.

The next morning we continued down the Virginia Cut to a town called Great Bridge. Great Bridge has two free town docks that you’re allowed to use for up to 24 hours. We were hoping there would be room for us since free dock space fills up quickly and there is nowhere to anchor. As a backup, there were 2 marinas in the area where we could have gotten a slip, but who wants to pass up a free dock?

We got lucky and both town docks were empty. We had our pick of spots. I was suspect because I couldn’t believe the dock was empty. I didn’t want to leave the boat in case there was an issue. So, Sue walked to Kroger to pick up some groceries while I stayed on the boat waiting for someone to tell us we had to go. But, that never happened and a couple of hours later another sailboat showed up and parked at the dock too.

The town of Great Bridge has a swing bridge that we needed opened for us to get through the next morning. When you hail someone on the radio, you’re supposed to state their name 3 times and then your name. Try saying “Great Bridge Bridge” 3 times without messing up. I would chuckle every time I heard someone try. You couldn’t cut it short either because just past the Great Bridge Bridge is the Great Bridge Lock. I managed the tongue twister good enough that both the bridge and lock operators answered. I’m sure they’ve heard just about everything.

We did have some problems in the lock. I drive the boat while Sue manages the lines. Inside the lock, you’re supposed to tie off to cleats or bollards to keep your boat from drifting while the water levels drop. The bollards were on top of the lock and too far to reach. The cleats were inside the locks within easy reach, but had cockroaches crawling all over them. Sue played cowgirl and eventually was able to lasso the bollards, because the cleats weren’t going to happen.

Once we made it through the locks we were in the Elizabeth River just a few miles from Norfolk. More about that in the next post.

Sorry, I don’t know why, but we didn’t take any photos on this leg.