STAY CLEAR of SUBMARINES _ Sailing Norfolk

It's day 70 of our trek all the way from Florida to Rhode Island, and we are now working our way back down the east coast. Currently, we are here tucked into Reanville, Virginia, after taking quite the beating last week on the Chesapeake Bay. We always try to make the best calls when it comes to the 3Ws, wind, weather, waves, but if you've ever been in a position to use predictions rather than facts, you know it's not always that easy. Every time we raise anchor, we set sail into the unknown, as no two paths in the ocean are ever the same. The water shifts, the clouds take new shapes, and the wind blows us in another direction. So, here we go. Looking at the weather, it doesn't look like we're gonna get any sort of window in the next at least week, because we really can't look that far out. And the weather in the next couple of days does not look great. We can only see so many days out, however, most of those days are south wind. We've got a little slight wind today that can kind of get us out of this bay, so we're going to take advantage. But in the next coming days, it's going to turn very strong north, gusting over 30, and we do not want to put the pressure on our rigging. So we've decided to take the very, very slow route of the ICW. This was not the plan. We've always planned to go on the outside. It's a lot quicker for us. But again, we do not want to have to worry about putting so much stress on the rigging, and we definitely saw that the other day when we sailed to here. All right, let's get this main up and the anchor up so we can take advantage of this. It seems like our west way. Yeah. Whoa. Like most times when we set off on a sail, we have no idea what's going to happen. So today we are trying to make the 54 nautical mile trip down to Norfolk from where we're at now, and that'll be a perfect way to stage up for us getting into the ICW. It is kind of the beginning, and we'll see kind of what the wind does from there because we could always pop out of Norfolk and then go into the outside. Go out into the outside. So our plans of going into the ICW are not concrete. It's just depending upon what the weather is going to do henceforth. But we're free, so I probably should pay attention to pointing the boat the right direction. Blowing. Sunny side up, sauerkraut and sailing. We're gonna be dead into it. Yeah. Surprisingly, we actually have a little bit of wind. So Brandi and I decided that we're gonna throw a headsail up and tack, tack, tackity tack. Into the wind. Until the wind stops. Yeah, it's supposed to die a little bit later, so we'll get as far as we can and then throw on the motor. Yes, we are still hanging on our sails. If you've been following along, recently we were gifted a roller fuller for our sailboat. But we have to wait to have the sails made for it. So until then, we get to switch out our sails as we've done for the past five years. It's quite the process, but it sure is going to make us appreciate the furler when we finally have it installed. I don't have any buoys in front up there, do I hun? Do I have buoys up there? I'm really surprised we haven't had to tack yet. We've been pointing into the wind. And what that means is basically the wind is coming from our nose. And we're trying to point the boat as close to it as we can. But we're actually not like dead into it. We're off a little bit, so it's really helping. We're doing about four knots and it's blowing about an average of six. So we're doing really well. I'm super surprised. But I think the wind just keeps dying a little bit as we go on. So I've had to work the sheets a lot. I've been adjusting the whole time just to try to irk out as much speed as we can, because this wind is not going to last. Actually, it's now starting to die a bit. Now we're only going about three knots. And it's just going to get worse as the day goes on. So we're going to have to fire up the electric motor in a hot second here. But I don't know. Hopefully we can hold this out as long as possible. All right, tacking. Well, we're finally tack, tack, tacking. The wind shifted and at least we're going five knots. But it's probably going to take us all night to get down to Norfolk. So kind of just digging in and ready for the long haul. Hopefully the wind doesn't die. Looking at windy, it looks like it's actually going to pick up a little bit. So that should help our speed. Hopefully we can get there by the morning. But it is a gorgeous sunset. Weather's been perfect. It's been kind of warm, starting to cool off a little bit now that the sun is going down. But pretty decent skies, a little cloudy, but no weather. After a long day of tacking, we were so excited to finally be making it into the Hamptons Road Inlet. Watching this superb full moon slowly set behind Fort Monroe as we passed was absolutely magical, making night watches even sweeter. As we make our way into the calm waters of Hampton River, we enjoy the golden glow of the morning sun as it reflects off the landscape of our new backyard. It's a cute little area. What's it called? Hampton? Hampton, Virginia. Like fish? 2.5. Have the center where we can just stick it in. Anchor is down. Snubber is in place. Brandi is adjusting the panels. We made it. We're in... Nice little... What's that? It's a nice little setup here. Yeah. Nice and protected. People are riding their bikes on the... Highway, the bridge. If we could turn our solar panels to face this building, if the reflection would give us solar, would it? Probably. Same with this other building, right? When the sun is the other way, this is just all glass. I'm hungry. Hungry. I'm hungry. Hungry. We spent the next week and a half here getting work done, doing some shopping, and as usual, waiting for the next window of wind to blow us in the right direction. It is super chilly, but we are on the move again because this north wind came in, and with that came the cold, but it allows us to get down the Norfolk waterway. Here's the issue. This is not what we wanted to do. We've been waiting for weeks now for our weather window to go to the outside into the ocean and sail down to Florida and maybe a little stopover in North Carolina. However... It hasn't happened, and it's been two weeks. Three? We made some promises that we would like to keep, so we need to be down there sooner than later, basically. The next two days, it's gusting up to three something knots out in the ocean side, actually even inside, so we have chosen to go down the ICW, but not just the ICW. We're doing the Dismal Swamp. But first, you need to get the anchor up. So we can get out of here. Anchor... What do they call that? Anchor away? Anchors away. Currently, we are in Hampton. This is actually a Pearson 1968, 35 foot, same exact boat as Saoirse. Met them last night. After cleaning up the nasty muck off the anchor, we were underway. We were forecasted to have some very strong gusty winds, so we put up our smallest headsail. I wonder if we should put up the big guy. Putting up a bigger sail than the 100% jib is a bad idea in these conditions. To get to the ICW, we have to pass Sewells Point, which is four miles of waterfront for the U.S. Navy's Fleet Force Command. Basically, a whole lot of massive warships. This is so cool. Look at all these warships. So I just heard on the radio that I think that there's a sub coming in. I think it's coming into here. And it says, don't cut in front of it. I'm like, how am I supposed to know it's a submarine? But I guess it's going to be above water. I don't know. I hope it comes in. That'd be cool to see it. Oh, it must be where all the blue lights are. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Then we noticed another sailboat getting a little too close and heard this. Okay, Captain, we're just going to need you to stay 500 yards away from the submarine transiting on the right side, please. Copy. Thank you, Captain. Patrol boat 1809 out. Lovey, I told you to stay out of the war zone. Brandi's beelining it for the restricted area zone. I'm like, no, don't. Oopsies. So when you're coming in here, don't go into the channel or is it because we were too close to the submarine, you think? I think that channel is restricted. That port part of it. But I don't know because what are the cargo ships going to do? They got to go through the channel, you think? I think it was because the sub was coming in. They're like bees outside their hive. Stay away. Look, I'm doing things I shouldn't be doing, like filming these warships. Well, that was cool. I mean, we've seen a submarine when we get to Newport, but that was super close. That was really close. We were kind of like in the zone of not being where we were supposed to be, I guess. Well, we were fine. They just wanted to make sure we didn't like get into the restricted area zone, which you were pushing the limits. That's why they rolled up on us. Mill Creek Beach. I don't know. We gotta look it up. First, a submarine. First, we're going to get fired upon because we're in the wrong area. Now, we're going into fire zone. What is this place? Why are sailors allowed in here? I don't get it. Naval Station Norfolk. Security, security, security. All stations, this is warship 57 getting underway. Heading outbound to sea from Naval Station Norfolk. For all concerned, traffic warship 57 standing by channel 1513. There's a warship leaving and he stinks. Oh, yeah, it's that one pulling out. You look cool. Very. No, thanks. Give me south. Hurry. Full steam ahead. How fast are we going? Four and a half. With a 100 out? Yep. Is there current in here? Yeah, just a little bit. It's slowing down, though. It feels surreal to be sailing through such an iconic city that has so much nautical history and continues to be a vital location for the U.S. 5th Naval District Headquarters. This is the funniest. It says, why wait? And then worth the wait is right next door to it. We've got cupcakes. No, he did. He said we have cupcakes. You guys did a good job. I'm on cupcakes. There's some cupcakes. That came from the U.S. Naval base over there. That was hilarious. Wind kind of died. So we're going to put up the 150. I don't think the wind died. I just think it's all stuff is blocking things. Either way, we have less wind. So let's get this guy up. Of course, the train sounds are happening as we're coming up to the bridge. The train bridge? Yeah, but it's up still. Maybe it's going the other way. Maybe it already went through. Yeah, who knows? Maybe I should wait to switch out the headsail so we can get through it. The wind's kind of picked up. Yeah, we can wait, I guess. So we are coming up onto the Beltline Railroad Bridge, which is a lift bridge. We did just hear a train in the distance, but it must have been leaving because it's wide open. So hopefully it stays that way and we can just keep trucking. And just after that, we have the South Norfolk-Jordan Bridge, which is fixed and plenty of room to fit under. Go, go, go, go, go, go. We know we're getting close to the swamp since our wind keeps dying out. Being landlocked really isn't helping our sailing situation. I'll just go this way. Okay. So in order to catch a little bit more wind, I'm dropping the little lady and putting up our big boy. Our big boy is our 150% Genoa. I can see the bridge. Plymerton Highway Bridge, this is sailing vessel Saoirse. Hey there, we're a sailing vessel traveling southbound, just requesting the next opening. I guess he'll open. Might have to drop sails immediately and throw the motor on, but we'll see. We had to drop the sail because it's really gusty and he hasn't lifted it yet. And I'm seeing how far it goes up, so... And then the railroad bridge behind it kind of looks like it's closed? Or is it open? Bridge master told me that there's some maintenance guys on the bridge, so we got to wait till they get clear for us to get the bridge opened. And I think he controls the railroad bridge as well, but I asked him, he didn't give me a response, so we'll see what happens. Fingers crossed. Just tried to get an estimate of how long the maintenance was going to be and the bridge master could not give me an answer. We're thinking about dropping anchor, but it's 30 feet here, which we could do, just... I don't know, maybe we'll just hover. It sucks because we're getting gusts of wind, so it's kind of throwing us off course, but Brandi's doing a good job of just keeping our nose into the wind. I'm going to take advantage of our lollygag and I guess our forced hovering and make us a taco salad. And just like that, without any warning, the bridge opened. They burned some ears bringing that up. Shoo-wee! Clemerton, thank you for the opening. Have a great day. Here's your salad. Thanks. Is it frozen? It is frozen. I think it's frozen. It smells really good. Iced Mexican. What is it? Iced. Iced Mexican. Fabulous. Coming up on I-64. Stay tuned until next week as we continue our journey into the unknown and become swamp people.