Friday, June 3rd (not the 13th, but should have been) we leave Coinjack Marina and head to Hampton, VA. The journey will be about 60 miles, involving 4 bridge openings and a lock. It is a beautiful day as we leave Coinjock via the North Carolina Cut.
We leave bright and early, as do all the boats tied snugly on the Coinjock dock. Things are going well, cruising at 26 MPH, when Prime 11 decides to cut out to neutral, decelerating rapidly. Luckily, both of us were sitting down and no one got hurt by the jolt. Our initial thought, “What did we hit?”. We were in the middle of the channel, but there could always be a stump, a dead head or a crab pot causing this kind of shut down. We see nothing though. Our primary concern, at this point, is getting out of the channel and throwing the anchor. Prime 11 can still go in reverse, but that is all. Unfortunately, as we try to navigate out of the channel backwards, the water gets very shallow. Anchoring, in this location, is not an option. We see M/V Carrie Ann barreling down toward us and the captain radios Carrie Ann. They respond with concern and slow down. We are in the middle of nowhere with our one and only engine working only in reverse. Ugh.
Somehow, by the grace of God and the Hail Marys of the first mate, the captain gets the engine running again. We take it slow and continue. At this point, we are in the rear of several larger yachts (all who left from Coinjock). They all heard our conversation with Carrrie Ann, and I have no doubt that one of them would render assistance, if needed in the future. Boaters are like that!
Our final opening is at the Great Bridge. Once passed through this bridge, you are immediately at the lock. We have a bottleneck awaiting the opening. We wait about a 1/2 hour for the bridge to open, idling in the Albemarie & Chesapeake Canal, holding our breath, as this is not the time or place for Prime 11 to cut out again.
There are 14 boats locking together. Usually, boats tie up to cleats on the port side of the lock, but given the volume, we are assigned a starboard tie. The lockmaster loop our lines around a pole located a foot or so from the lock itself.
The Great Bridge Lock can hold up to 20 boats. We have 14 passing through with us. What makes this lock special, is that it is a guard lock, protecting water quality. On the one side of the lock, freshwater flows in from the Currituck sound in North Carolina. On the other side, the salty water flows from the Elizabeth River fed by the Chesapeake Bay. Most animals and plant like one or the other, not both. Hence the guard lock was installed, completed in 1932, to allow transportation to thrive while at the same time protecting the fragile environment.
Once past the Great Bridge and Lock, the commercial side of transportation is quickly seen.
Once we enter into the Portsmouth, VA area, we are at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) is the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the US Navy. Here, they will remodel and repair Navy ships. It is amazing to see these huge ships from the water, and so many!
We leave the Portsmouth area and cross the Newport News Channel, passing by Norfolk, and head into the Hampton River. The water is rough through this channel, but Prime 11 hangs in there and we make it, without further incident, to the Bluewater Yachting Center.
We enjoy a few days in Hampton, attending the pirate festival, which we find is not equal to our hometown festivals…
We plan to leave the boat here for at least 6 weeks. A marine mechanic has been called that will see to Prime 11’s oil change and, Captain Tom, after some thought and research, believes a bad solenoid valve is causing intermittent hydraulic issues. This problem will also be addressed in our absence.
This leg of our journey is over. We made lots of miles but will head home to Cincinnati to attend family events. Prime 11 is in great secure hands at the marina. However, with the amazing technology of today, Captain Tom has the capability to monitor every system from a distance personally, which provides a strong level of comfort. She will be ready to cruise again, upon our return, as we head to the Big Apple and onto the Great Lakes. My primary objective now is to give my little grandson, Liam, a big hug!!
Prime 11 signing off for now!
Nice you can monitor it all remotely. Hope the solenoid valve repair is easy and final.