“No, Emily, Look Left”

After a few weeks in the same spot, Lucas and I were both itching to get moving again. We left Rocky and Aaris’ dock just after Halloween, making our way south through the Chesapeake Bay. 

We planned to meet back up with our new friends, Sean and Anna, on SV Pokey near Solomons Island. It was a fairly uneventful 40-mile trip until about a half mile away from the marina. Lucas was at the helm while I prepped our fenders (big rubber bumpers) in preparation for docking. As always, I tied them onto the rail posts first and then flung them overboard to hang along Alaya’s hull. Well, I flung one over and it didn’t hang…it splashed. A knot had come undone. Lucas whipped Alaya around (“whipped around” is a relative-term for our 28,000 lbs. lady) while I grabbed the boat hook. As we closed in on our target, Lucas held onto my lifejacket as I stretched down to grab the slippery fender from the water. I was laughing so hard that it took me a couple of tries to bring the fender back onboard. Of course, Sean and Anna could see the whole thing from the dock. We Kizers really know how to make an entrance!

Our next hop took us across the Virginia line, passing the mouth of the Potomac River on our way to Mill Creek. We spotted our first pelicans during this stretch, they were hunting near the mouth of the Potomac. It was so fun to watch them dive bomb into the water. We anchored in a beautiful spot next to SV Pokey in Mill Creek.

Looking for a shorter travel day, we went about 25 miles the following day to Deltaville, which turned out to be a very popular boating spot. We walked to the local hardware store and then found a bar to watch the U of M football game. Sign stealing controversy aside, it was nice to partake in this familiar ritual even in an unfamiliar place. 

We hauled anchor the next morning, really appreciating our new deck wash, and motored out of Deltaville. As we were putting up the mainsail, we heard a bark and saw a splash. We are pretty sure it was a seal! A few minutes later, we had our closest dolphin encounter yet, a big dolphin surfaced about 15 feet away from the boat. We also saw a bunch more pelicans hunting near the harbor. It’s happening, guys!!

As we got closer to Norfolk, the wildlife sightings slowed but the boat and radio traffic really picked up. We saw 20 – 30 massive freighters anchored in the middle of the Chesapeake near the port, they must have been waiting for a dock or a weather window. We rounded Point Comfort and turned into Hampton Roads, the main channel into Norfolk. There were so many naval and commercial ships along the shores. 

We tied Alaya up at the lovely Safe Harbor – Bluewater and explored the Hampton area by foot and bike the next two days. First stop was the grocery store for more chocolate chip cookie supplies – we’re really loving having a working oven! We took the hogs to Fort Monroe the next day, where we explored the moated fort. What a wild place. There weren’t many visitors that day because the museum was closed but we walked all around the village within the moat, including the pet cemetery along the moat wall. Apparently, pets of military members and families who lived in the fort were allowed to bury their pets there. It was an odd place for a bunch of pet tombstones but made for an interesting afternoon. Later that evening, we were delighted to have dinner with Rob, our friend from Chicago who was in town for business. Always great to see familiar faces – thanks for meeting us Rob!

Hampton, VA was cool but we also wanted to spend a few days closer to Norfolk. So, we packed up and took Alaya across Hampton Roads to Portsmouth. As we motored into the bay, I went down below for a snack. Lucas yelled from the cockpit, “Emily, there’s an aircraft carrier!” My first thought was “ok, I knew that, we had seen a few docked along Norfolk’s shore”. As I stuck my head out, Lucas said, “No, Emily look left.” To our left, entering from the Atlantic was a huge aircraft carrier. Oh.

Lucas gunned it across the marked channel to make sure we stayed well away from this monstrosity. We learned it was the Queen Elizabeth, the UK’s flagship carrier. It was so cool to watch this massive ship come into port. There were military police keeping other boats away and a fleet of tug boats to bring it into port. At one point the carrier had to wait as another massive ocean container ship was exiting the port. Certainly not something you see everyday, even in Norfolk

We spent the next two nights at the Portsmouth City Free Wall. Our spot was right next to the ferry terminal, so we rode the ferry across to explore Norfolk and to reunite with SV Pokey. Norfolk has a lot to offer, including a beautiful art museum and the USS Wisconsin, a decommissioned Iowa-class battleship. We would recommend visiting both places. We would caution any Norfolk traveler on their margarita selection though. Lucas and Anna were horrified to learn that their jumbo margaritas from one local vendor were actually the same volume as my regular size – for $4 more. Oh, the injustice of it all! You better believe that Lucas wrote a Google review about that travesty. 

Lucas Kizer ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“The regular and jumbo margaritas are the exact same volume. Buyer beware. Food: 4, Service: 5, Atmosphere: 5”

Once Lucas had recovered from the emotional toll of margarita-gate (and we reached the city’s time limit at the free dock), we packed up and left Portsmouth heading south once again.

We were off to start our next navigational challenge – the Intercoastal Waterway!