Poquoson River

Saturday June 23, 2012
37 09.165 N
76 24.875 W

The marina manager ("Brian") sought us out yesterday (as we were headed to the super market) to tell us they had just reduced their diesel price 30 cents to $3.359 gallon. They had been really good to us - we had slap up dinners for two nights at the marina restaurant but paid no marina fees - and this was a good price for fuel, so we decided to "fill 'er up". This would be the second time we had filled the tanks, so it would also give me an opportunity to calculate our "fuel economy". We took on 290.256 gallons and I calculated our fuel consumption per hour at 4.38 gph (including generator use). This was a bit disappointing, I had hoped to be somewhere in the "3's".  

First Bridge for the day

We were on our way at 10 AM, targeting the 10:30 AM opening at the next bridge. Talk about a change in scenery - from swamp to commerce, industry and war. The 10 mile cruise through Norfolk and Hampton Roads was busy and very interesting.  This was where many of the convoys assembled during WW 2, and it easy to see why. It is still a huge navel base. 

"Pods" of Destroyers

My goodness we must spend a fortune on the military. The number of ships and facilities in the area is enormous. Talk about the "military-industrial complex". We passed a series of wharves with 4 destroyers per wharf - I counted 16 destroyers in a row. We also saw a large aircraft carrier, a nuclear sub, a whole fleet of "roll-on roll-off" ships from the cold war era, floating docks etc etc. There is not room to put in all the photos. 

Three Roll-on Roll-off ships ready for WW 3

We had to dodge a few ships and barges as we headed through "The Roads" and out towards Chesapeake Bay. There was a fair in a downtown waterfront park and that added a bit of color to all the "Navy gray". It was a sunny day with a bit of a breeze, so the whole experience was pleasant. Once we cleared the main channels we headed North up the East shore of Chesapeake towards the Poquoson River. It was about 15-20 miles and a pleasant ride. We were tucked into a corner in 10-12 feet by 4pm.

The breeze died. It was hot and our feet were itchy. We tried the aft deck for relief in the shade, but it was just too hot. So we closed up the boat and turned on the AC and stayed like that all night.

Aircraft Carrier

Navy floating dock