Days 110-111: May 7-8, 2023

The crew is still in relax mode and decided the next stop would be 3.5 hours away in Yorktown. It had a big anchorage and there was a note about free mooring balls. The note, however, said no one use them, and when we arrived, we understood why. They are huge metal balls that more resembled mines. The wind was calm, so we decided just to anchor.

It was then time to check out some history. We dinghied into the marina. The first stop had to be the ice cream shop. Ok, now it’s actually time to check out some history. We walked down the waterfront until we found Cornwallis’ Cave. The legend states this is where British General Cornwallis hid during the Siege of Yorktown.

After that we stumbled upon the Tobacco Road. The area was a valley between the hills where they used to roll the tobacco barrels between the inland inspection and packing facilities and the waiting ships ready to export the crop to Britain. BTW, the currency in the area at the time was mostly pounds of tobacco. People bought land and houses with it.

At the end of the Tobacco Road trail, we found ourselves at the Yorktown Battlefield, the site where George Washington led the 1781 victory over the British.

After poking around the battlefield, we did a walk-thru of town and headed back to the boats for dinner.

The next morning, we decided to put off boating for a bit and go back into town to check out parts we didn’t see the day before. That included strolling the grounds at the Watermen’s Museum, and then taking the trail up to the American Revolution Museum. The trail took you by an area where they still had examples of the old war barriers. All in all, a pretty nice day.

Day 110 Trip Details (May 07):
Hampton, US to York County, US
Time 3 h 26 m (11:32 to 14:58)
Distance: 25.02 nm

Day 109: May 6, 2023

Fort Monroe

After a few days of relaxing, we decided it was time to get moving. We didn’t want to go far though figured we should head north. We found an anchorage just north of the Norfolk area in Hampton, Virginia. We arrived there by noon and decided to check out what was around.

We were pleasantly surprised to find Fort Monroe. On the way, we saw a boat regatta and little bit of beach. There’s tons of history with this fort as it played a huge role in the Civil War and President Lincoln even stopped there. It was a pretty neat place as it’s not only the largest stone fort ever built in the U.S. but also the only moat-encircled fort remaining in active duty. We were quite surprised by the moat still filled with water as we walked around the fort. We saw the WWII batteries and talked to some volunteers that had just wrapped up a reenactment before heading to the local ice cream shop that is located in the ‘oldest fire department in the US Army’ building. Afterwards we took a quick tour of the museum. The fort also has a bunch of housing that they now lease out. You could live in a fort! Cool!

Our boats all nice and snug and happy at anchor.

Oozlefinch Beers & Blending

After a bit of rest on the boats we decided to dinghy over and check out the Oozlefinch Brewery. For those that don’t know, the Oozlefinch is a featherless bird that flies backwards and is the unofficial mascot of the Air Defense Artillery. What we learned is the brewery makes some very tasty beverages. Tonia and Mayli wish they would have purchased many cases of the grape and orange boozy sodas!

Day 109 Trip Details (May 06):
Suffolk, US to Hampton, US
Time 2 h 38 m (09:28 to 12:07)
Distance: 12.99 nm

Days 104-108: May 1-5, 2023

After our jaunt back to Seattle, we’re back to the boat and ready to continue the loop! The original plan was to do a short road trip to Philly, Baltimore, Hershey, etc. However, the crew decided it was time to get back to the boats. Tonia and I flew back to Dulles as it made the flights a whole lot cheaper doing a round trip. On the drive back we stopped at a rest stop that was decked out with the Virginia Is For Lovers signs, the state slogan. Tonia also saw a Fredericksburg sign reminding her of family in Iowa.

Marker 12 Great Bridge Pop-Up Happy Hour

We returned to find our boat in a covered slip, which explained why it wasn’t online when we were gone – Starlink doesn’t like a roof! While we were waiting for the Hodaks to get back, we provisioned before returning the rental car and then joined other Loopers at the Atlantic Yacht Basin for a pop-up happy hour. We had a great time chatting with some former Loopers from Catsaway (notice their onboard pup). Another former Looper caught us in one of their pics too! *The last photo is from the Great Bridge of a covert-looking military vessel.

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

The time arrived to fire up the boats and start heading north. The first stop for the day was the Great Bridge Lock. The lock had been on a reduced schedule because of an electrical issue. That made the 10 am locking pretty packed, which also means lots of impatient boaters. We learned when we got to the locks that railway bridge 7, which had a clearance of only 7 feet, was broken as well. All the boats rushed out of the locks and up a few miles to find themselves stuck before the bridge. Some turned around; Saga anchored and we rafted to them to wait it out. After an hour Boris dinghied over to get the first-hand update. The controller for the lift was out and would be repaired within the hour. Overall, we had a nice relaxing couple hours.

Cruise by Norfolk

The trip up past Norfolk takes you by many shipyards. It was fun to see the big ships and the variety of machinery needed to build and maintain them.

Bennett’s Creek

Once safely at a slip at the Bennett’s Creek Marina and rejoined with Steve on Coda, we decided to hang out an extra day. That allowed a necessary grocery store run and a couple actual morning jogs. It also gave us time to get out the kayaks and putt around the creek. The marina had a nice restaurant that was celebrating Cinco de Mayo and we had to join in and sip a few drinks.

Flight Trip Details:
2306 Miles, 5.05 Hours
Seattle to Washington-Dulles

Car Trip Details:
221 Miles, 3.5 Hours
Dulles, Washington DC – Atlantic Yacht Basin to

Day 107 Trip Details (May 04):
Atlantic Yacht Basin, Chesapeake, US to Chesapeake, US
Time 2 h 49 m (08:52 to 11:42)
Distance: 6.11 nm

Day 107 Trip Details (May 04):
Chesapeake, US to Suffolk, US
Time 3 h 13 m (13:34 to 16:48)
Distance: 20.04 nm