The cruising guide warned us about Portsmouth, our destination for today. The wording went something like “if you think NY harbor is busy, you ain’t seen nothing” compared to Portsmouth. The words didn’t disappoint.
This morning’s navigation session was a bit more complicated than we’ve had before. In addition to noting day marks along the way, we also needed to pay attention to low bridges and a lock.
The cruise from Coinjock offered more beautiful scenery and a couple of striking homes.
Didn’t get a chance to take any pictures as we went through the locks. We were both busy holding lines and making sure the boat was secure as the water rose about 2 feet in the lock. Bridges were frequent as we neared Portsmouth.
When you are cruising, you keep your VHF radio tuned to channel 16. Normally we hear various Coast Guard announcements and hailing from one boat to another (and some chit chat which is frowned on). Today, we heard from WAR SHIPS! Yikes. Double yikes in that the voices announcing some maneuver or information were little girl voices. Really. I think if a young girl listened in, she might think that being in the Navy on a war ship would be pretty cool.
Portsmouth is a busy Navy harbor. A lot of the activity we saw seemed to be dismantling out of date ships that had been mothballed. But there were active ships in the area as well — a fact we were reminded of by Navy Police boats, one of which turned on his blue lights and informed us that we were too close to the restricted area. We happily (and hurriedly) moved to the center of the channel.
Dinner at Fish & Slips, the restaurant at the Tidewater Marina where we are staying. Taco night! It is kind of weird to be back in a big city. We plan to stay for a couple of days and will wander down Portsmouth’s High Street, a shopping and historical district within a short walk of the marina. There is also a ferry that can take us across the river to Norfolk.
While we were at dinner a terrific storm arrived — no rain, but incredible winds! Strong enough to move the crowd at the bar over to the windows to watch as sailboats on anchor swung from side to side, canvas flapped on cruisers and flags flew straight out. Plastic chairs in the pool area (an unusual floating arrangement) ended up in the pool!
I consider this long stop a bit of R&R. I know that this whole trip sounds like R&R, but there is really a lot to do each day and the getting in and out of moorings is definitely not relaxing! Then there is all that laundry that needs to be done…..