June 30-July 9 2014 Norfolk, Waterside Marina

June 30 2014

We were up and ready to roll by 9 AM.  Field Trip had just cruised by us leaving for the James River about 15 minutes earlier.  We hauled the anchor up and it was evident why we never moved.  The thick mud was impressive!  We didn't bother washing it off with the water on board.  We just let it hang a little low at first dragging in the water as we made our way across the channel.  We had to pause momentarily to wait for 2 large barges to clear from our path before we turned into the east branch of the Elizabeth River towards the marina.

Called the Waterside Marina on channel 68 but couldn't hear them.  Tried channel 16 and got them but we had trouble making contact for some reason.  Radio problem on our end I guess.  Something to look into later. 

Tucked in and washing down

We entered the marina basin and I spun the boat around and backed into a corner slip.  One one side there is a wobbly floating finger pier and on the other is the sea wall.  But the advantage to this slip is the large, floating section of pier behind us which will make it easier to access the boat from the swim platform. 

Once we were tide up and the electrical plugged in we embarked on cleaning the boat exterior.  After days of being anchored it gets a bit dirty.  And we tackled some inside cleaning as well.  A work day.  And we did a load of laundry at the marina laundry facility and showered before eating on board and heading to bed.  Tomorrow we are grocery shopping!

It was hot most of the day too.  Thankfully the A/C was working fine so we could retreat to the boat when it got too unbearable.

Empty marina

The Marina is still rather empty but I suspect tomorrow will find us in more company.  The city is planning on a big party an fireworks display and the dock hands told us the marina fills rapidly as boats stop over for the festivities.

That's us tucked way in the back

July 1 2014

Mary talking the checker into using the store discount card

We took advantage of the free grocery shuttle and went to the Harris Teeter grocery store.  We did purchase a large amount so it didn't take long to stow it all.

I  did some online banking and cleaned more of the interior of the boat.  Spent much of the day just puttering around the boat although I did watch as a big Hatteras yacht came in and tied up right in front of us.  And a few other large yachts also trickled in during the afternoon.   But alas, only a few large freighters came up the river so it wasn't a great ship watching day

The Tide's Stadium at Harbor Park

 Later I took a walk to the Harbor Park baseball stadium I had discovered last year.  Same scenery no nothing much has changed.

We had subscribed to a weather warning service offered by a guy, Hank, in Southport earlier this month when we were there for a few days.  And just received word the tropical depression was beefy enough to warrant a name, Arthur.  Oh joy!

July 2, 2014

I was up (for us) early and took another walked around the stadium again this morning an then headed over to the mall, MacArthur Center.  MacArthur Center is right in the middle of downtown Norfolk and is like any other big mall.  It was nice to stroll around in the cool air for a awhile.

It was hitting 95 when I returned to the boat. But lucky for us the marina is situated next to a public park like area with these water jets that gently shot vertical streams of water in the air.  The little kids love it.  I would too but the kids had taken over the place and there were some fierce looking mothers hanging around so jostling for a cooling jet of water seemed like a poor idea.  I settled for a cool drink.

5 dock lines

I was receiving weather updates of the tropical depression, now named Arthur, forming south of here since we arrived in the marina.  It's designated a tropical storm but likely to become a hurricane soon.  So in anticipation  (we are on the fringe of the effected area) I conferred with one of the Hatteras owners and he and I put out some extra lines and I went up and securely lashed down the dinghy cover.  We could be having  excitement soon!

Bike did fine on the ferry

I decided to take my bike to the Portsmouth Walmart about 3.5 miles away.  I was curious about the rest of the city and we needed a few things.   So I hopped on the ferry ($.75 for seniors) with my bike and then road up High street to Wool street and then to the Walmart.  Walmart is, well Walmart.  Not a lot of things we need but I did get batteries because our fly bridge table and stairway lights are dead which usually means dead  batteries.  And I also bought reading glasses because two pair just broke off in my hand before I left and I lost the pair I brought with me a pair overboard on the ferry.  Guess I’m hard on glasses.  Or maybe its because I buy them at Dollar Tree for a buck?

By the time I peddled back and got to the boat it was 97 degrees.  Thank goodness I left all three A/C units running.

I met Tom, the other Hatteras owner who was directly in front of us and talked a bit about the approaching storm.  He's from around here and expressed little concern about any dire consequences due to storm surge so its not looking too bleak.  He was planning on staying past the fourth though so we also discussed a plan to ease us out our slip and past him since it was near impossible for us to leave without him moving his boat forward. 

 I went out and readjusted a few lines and then we had a cocktail.  Mary went for a walk and we started getting ready for Dan and Judy to visit.

The storm, Arthur, is causing evacuations of the very places we were anchored last week, Ocracoke and West Bay.  And Manteo is also being effected.  Luckily we are here in Norfolk which is just on the boundary of the effected area so we’ll more than likely escape any heavy winds but will surely get some heavy rains.  Of course all this is predicated on the forecasters being right.  Yup …

Amtrak train running through the station near the stadium

I walked over to the stadium again and arrived as an Amtrak train pull in to a station near at the edge of the stadium parking lot.  The tracks run over a bridge across the Elizabeth River and the bridge couldn't open while the train was there so the two heavily loaded barges I was watching had to jockey in the river to remain in position to go through the bridge.  No an easy task with the winds picking up and constricted maneuvering space on the river.  This is all on the eastern branch of the Elizabeth River.

We should see about a dozen boats pull in the marina tomorrow.  Meanwhile I’ll ride over to Harris Teeter in Norfolk (about 2.5 miles) to grab some seltzer water (our latest craving) since the store will be closed on the 4^th.

July 3 2014

On my way to the grocery store this morning I stopped at nearby ABC liquor store close to the marina on Granby street.  Then rode to the Harris Teeter grocery store which was maybe a mile or less up the road.  Easy ride.  Downtown Norfolk on Granby street has a number of theater type places and restaurants.  Its part of the downtown refurbishment  Something to remember.

Arthur, the Hurricane seems to be petering out at least near us.  It’s veering off to the north east so we are only under a tropical storm watch.  It means we’ll get some strong winds probably tonight out of the north and some brief periods of heavy rain.  I added 2 spring lines to accommodate the expected north winds which will tend to push us forward in the slip not backward like we’re experiencing now. 

Dan and Judy

Dan and Judy made it here this afternoon.  They parked in front of the Waterside Market building and came on the boat for awhile.  Judy brought along some caramel corn.  So Mary. I guess like caramel corn?

After a while we headed over to their hotel, Waterside Marriott.

That was some goooood caramel corn

View from the hotel.  We're the first boat in the background

We all met back at the hotel and had a few drinks before going to a restaurant/bar on Granby street called Hells Kitchen.  It was really a bar with a few tables and since we were there rather late in the evening, the nightly band began setting up right next to us.  The food was pretty good, but we had to hurry and eat before the band equipment took over our table.  And as we left they began moving the PA speakers right where my turkey sandwich was consumed not 5 minutes before.   I took a walk back after walking Dan and Judy to their hotel.  The band was playing, and it was loud alternative/modern rock.  Not real conducive to enjoying a quiet dinner.   

The hurricane, for us anyway, has been changed to a tropical storm warning.  Nothing tonight but I’m sure in the morning we’ll see some effects of the storm.

July 4, 2014

Effects of Arthur

During the night the winds moved swiftly to the northwest and began blowing in excess of 20 knots with frequent gusts in the 30-40 knot range.  We were protected from the considerable swell  by the seawall of the marina but the winds blew unimpeded.  So we rattled and rocked the night away.  After dawn it began to settle down slowly so that when Dan and Judy came over around 10 AM it wasn't nearly so rocky.

In turns out our first hurricane experience wasn't much but I'm sure we'll have more opportunities to experience hurricane force winds and waves.  Geee, cant wait!


We were all going to take the 11 AM  Norfolk Harbor Tour.  But the tour called me and apologized for having to cancel the 11 AM tour because of high winds.  So I just re-scheduled for 2 PM.   In the meantime we all walked over to the museum  but decided we didn't have enough time to see everything and make the tour boat time at 2pm. 

USS  Wisconsin seen from the street

The Nauticus Museum is where the battleship Wisconsin is located in addition to museum on Norfolk and and the maritime activities in the area over several hundred years.   Given our time constraints we just walked around the battleship Wisconsin and then Mary and I ran over to the Jimmy Johns on Granby Street to get sandwiches for everyone.  We ate in the deserted  museum cafeteria and then headed over to the tour boat.

Victory Rover, the tour boat, was originally a crew boat in the Texas oil fields in a prior life.  It has three engines and three shafts with mid-ship rudders.  Captain said it’s the easiest thing to maneuver he’s ever driven.  I make no such claims of our boat.  

Submarines at the Naval Base

The tour itself was exceptional.  It was about 2 hours and went from where we are here in Norfolk up the Elizabeth River a short distance to the Norfolk Naval shipyard  and than down the Elizabeth River to Hampton Roads past the docks at the Norfolk Navy base.

Ships in the Norfolk Naval Base

We saw 5 Los Angeles class submarines, many Arleigh Burke destroyers  and 2 aircraft carriers, the Roosevelt and the Truman.  Very cool!  There were several other classes of warships too, but these were the highlights.  The tour guide, who was also the captain, was an exceptional.  Excellent tour.  Superb information and presentation!  Loved it.

We then headed over to Hooters to have a few drinks before Dan and Judy left to return to their hotel.  We headed back to the boat where I fiddled with lines and screens and Mary went off to shower.  A blustery gray day that turned into a sunny and entertaining time.

July 5, 2014

This morning we all took the ferry to Portsmouth.  We visited Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum for free and wandered around one of those recreation exhibits where people dress up in period costumes and show how things were accomplished back in the day.  The day, in this case was back near revolutionary times.  There was also an old wooden sailing bark there which appeared to be acting as a giant floating stage complete with scaffolding, lights and big signage.

We decided we needed ice cream for some reason so strolled up High street to a store a few blocks from the river front.  Not geat ice cream.  Just OK ice cream.

We walked back to the Portsmouth ferry dock with the intent on visiting the USS Wisconsin and the Nauticus museum.  But I had to check on the boat first though so we agreed to meet at the museum.  I ran up there soon after.  No one was there.  No one meaning Mary, Dan or Judy.  After a few minutes I made the brilliant deduction that they must have stopped to eat something back at Waterside.  Hooters was my guess.  Needless to say, I still got it!

Lynette our waitress from the previous night was there.  A real sweet heart of a lady.  We had a few beers and promised to bring her back some funnel cake.  We left there and headed to the museum.  We walked around the ship a bit and then Mary, Dan and Judy decided to see a movie in the museum while I poked around the ship some more.  I had enough time to take a quick tour in the museum and met up with the rest of the gang at 4:45. 

They were hungry and Dan seemed enamored with Jimmy Johns so we walked the 2 blocks there and ate.  They returned to their hotel and we walked back through the festival and bought Lynette her funnel cake before heading back to the boat to relax before fire works.

Fireworks watching

Dan and Judy came down to see the fireworks which were shot off right in front of us.  The fireworks barge came down the east branch of the Elizabeth river.  The tug anchored it right in front of the anchorage where we were a few days ago.  Phil and Linda on Aimless, a Fleming 55 next to us, offered to host a little viewing party since they had a relatively obstacle free top deck but we declined.  Instead Mary, Judy and Dan all sat out on the dock and I sat up on one of the kayaks to watch the impressive display.   We even had two drones overhead observing the show from above.  New world I guess.  Drones!  Everywhere.

 Afterwards we said our good-byes to them and headed off to bed.  They were planning on leaving early in the morning and we all know by now early for us is more like lunchtime for most others.

July 6  2014

Thanks Greg & Dona

We slept until 9 AM.  I helped Phil and Linda get off the dock in the midst of the mild chaos of many boats all leaving the marina at the same time. Then woke up Mary and fought with the damn internet connections for a while before heading out for a walk and stopped at the mall where a quick perusal of Dillards and Nordstrams turned up a suitable coffee maker.

Our Krups coffee maker pretty much bit the dust so we need a new one even though only one of us drinks it regularly.  But when we have to leave before noon, it becomes a necessity.

We waiting for the arrival of good friends Greg and Dona who should be showing up here this afternoon.

Greg and Dona at Stills

And show up they did!  They found the boat and after we unloaded their luggage and parked the car, we all took the ferry over to Portsmouth for some food and drink.  We first went to Stills then on to the Bier Garden where we had even more food.  We rode the ferry back to Waterside and then spent some time talking with a nightcap before heading off to bed.

Portsmouth watching one of the jazz bands

And Greg and Dona, thanks!  for the coffee maker!  We can now make coffee in sufficient quantities to energize the most ardent of sleeper!

July 7, 2014

We walked to this place on Granby for breakfast, Famous Uncle Al's Hot Dogs.  It was pretty good.  And cheap!  We lingered there for a while until the fringe elements of the early lunch crowd began showing up.  We said our good byes and Greg and Dona headed out.

We went back to the boat and started putting things away in preparation for leaving the next day.  But then I checked the weather and we were left to decide if we really wanted to leave tomorrow given that they now have posted small craft warnings for Tuesday.

I should also admit that after enjoying dockside power and places to walk and shop, the impetus for untying the dock lines begins to grow weaker the longer one lingers at a nice marina.  

So instead of tackling a tough decisions we hopped on one of the light rail transit trains to militarily highway where we left the train and got on a waiting bus which had a stop next to the Norfolk Walmart.  This Walmart was much better as far as inventory than the one I biked to in Portsmouth.

We plunged right in to a massive Walmart replenishment exercise.  I bought 12 gallons of oil, and six, 4 packs of special marine toilet paper and  8 rolls of paper towels and assorted other sundry items leaving me with a full cart.  Mary had her own cart and it was pretty much full too.  I needed the oil to change the engine oil and the toilet paper is hard to find so we stock up on it when we can.  The paper towels were a deal and the other stuff we just needed.

So you might be asking yourself,  " how did you manage to schlep all that stuff onto a bus and then a train?"   Easy.  I called a cab and for $25 he took us and our stuff back to the boat.  It took us a while to put it all away.  The forward shower is now my oil and paper towel locker since there is only one person who ever used it.

We finally reached the point where most of it was stored away.  Mary fell asleep and I went off on an exploratory walk past the stadium and discovered a propeller grave yard of sorts and another shipyard where they were painting a naval destroyer.  Also observed this commercial freighter up in  dry dock, which seemed to have a split hull since the twin stacks were tilted in towards each other and there was a large gap running down the transom.  Strange sight.

When I got returned to the boat  I re-checked the weather and noted the small craft advisory was still there but they were now forecasting 97-101 degree temperatures.  That caught my attention.   So we decided to stay here another day and thwart the high temperatures by running our  A/C.  We could be at anchor and run the generator so the A/C would run, but that would only be for a few hours.  Here we can be in soothing cool air all night.

July 8 2014

It was stifling hot even before 10 AM.  I think we made the right decision staying here.  I took several walks around the neighborhood close to the stadium and Amtrak station.  But the high hat and humidity was taking its toll.  I was exhausted.  

Later in the evening we  joined Filed trip for cocktails at night.  Mary wasn't feeling well so she stayed behind.

 Needless to say, it was a rather unproductive day.  But then again what did we have to produce?  

July 9 2014

The ride I missed!

After checking the 6 am forecast which was predicating severe thunderstorms, we stayed put.  Ugh ...  we're getting antsy to be moving.  I did some computer work and wandered over to the light rail station near the MacArthur Memorial.  I was going to just hop on and ride-the-tide and see where it went but decided to first breeze through the MacArthur museum.  Ended up staying there for a few hours.  Pretty interesting.  Never quite made it on the light rail. 

I walked to the baseball stadium via the downtown area this time and than back to the boat.  Mary did a load of laundry and we joined Field Trip again for cocktails.  Ate aboard and decided we'll figure out what to do tomorrow morning when the update the forecast at 6.  We do have to be in Colonial Beach on the Potomac by 15^th so we can get to DC and take the 6 AM flight to Milwaukee.

The latest forecast for tomorrow is for more severe thunderstorms so I don’t know what we’ll end up doing.  Stay or leave.   But at least we'll sleep well in air conditioned comfort tonight!