Norfolk Yacht Club - Chaos at the lock, stealth boats, dock at Norfolk Yacht Club

 

The day started out innocent enough, a 9:00 am opening at Great Bridge

We didn't have far to go since we only wanted to stage for Deltaville on Friday. We took the 9:00 am opening of the Great Bridge and proceeded to the lock with two other boats. There was no help. All three boats wound up drifting away from the bulkhead (there was some wind and perhaps a slight current). Fleetwing at one point was perpendicular to the bulkhead. The two powerboats faired better with one doing okay and the other only drifting at about a 45-degree angle off the side. 

After our lock adventure, we were greeted with this sight at the Gilmerton Bridge. ! No way through!

Eventually, one of the two dockhands (lockhands?) walked slowly over and offered to accept an aft line, and all the boats got straightened out. Are they still observing the "no help rule" of COVID-19 lock handling? It appears so. 

Always plenty of these guys on hand

Since we had done a 180, we backed out once the other two boats left. It really does help to have someone grab your lines from shore. We thought the excitement was over for the days - but we were treated to a train on the railroad bridge by the Gilmerton Bridge, oh joy. We lost an hour there circling, that bridge is incredibly slow in raising and lowering. 

Two of these whizzed by. Notice the camouflage, it's the 
latest design, a digital pattern

At last we're through? Well, not yet, one of the other two railroad bridges north of there also thought it was a good time for a train crossing, nice timing. I guess it was a send-off for the last bridges going north! We're presently at the Norfolk Yacht Club, a great facility. We like it since it's at the northern part of Norfolk and for us that makes a shorter trip to Deltaville the next day. It's also off the main channel so there are no wakes and no current to contend with. We have a facedock for the night which makes it very easy to dock, we like that. 

On Friday, it's off at 8:00 and we head north, the last leg of our trip. Our grandson picked up our car in Titusville for us and he'll meet us in Deltaville to help with decommissioning Fleetwing and the trip home.