Langley Air Force Base to Hospital Point at Norfolk – 21 nautical miles sailed, 6 kilometers walked
We left Langley at first light and were soon back on the wider Chesapeake on our final run for neighbouring cities of Plymouth and Norfolk. From 15 miles out, the area had the strangest skyline – it looked like a mess of pick-up sticks. But as we neared, what came into focus was a massive industrial corridor of cranes and huge loading/unloading machinery to support all the container ships and freighters we’ve seen up and down the lake. More impressively, this area is home to the largest naval base in the world – the Naval Station Norfolk –with the highest concentration of Navy forces in the US. The massive piers and dockage facilities were populated by an array of Navy ships – we identified several gargantuan aircraft carriers but also other ships with guns, communications equipment, loading equipment…really, it was very hard to know what these ships were used for or identify much of the equipment on them, but it was simply amazing being so close to this concentration of military hardware. Mixed in with all the piers were many other industrial facilities like fuel depots, processing plants, tugs and barges, shipbuilders, giant dredgers, and the like. It reminded me much of the Rust Belt cities along Lake Erie and the Detroit River, just to a much larger, mind-numbing scale.
We arrived at the Hospital Point anchorage by 10:30, which is Mile 0 of the ICW, and filled up with diesel and water at the nearby Tidewater marina then got the hook set and dinghy’d back in the marina to explore Portsmouth. In truth, there wasn’t much there to see and neither was there anything open on a Sunday besides a few bars and restaurants…and a bunch of churches. So we got back in the dinghy and tried our luck on the other side of the river. Bingo!
After tying up at one of the many free public docks, we found ourselves in the Pagoda & Oriental Garden, whose centrepiece was an original pagoda given to Norfolk as a gift from the citizens of Taiwan in the late 80’s. There were also fountains, gardens, and a coi pond full of colourful, tame fish, just in case your striper fishing in the river didn’t work out. Best thing is the pagoda was built on a foundation of concrete pillars that used to hold a giant molasses storage tank. You just don’t see as many molasses storage tanks around as you used to. I wonder where they put the stuff now?
We did a walk around town to get our bearings and found a compact, attractive city centre with some amazing architecture and a beautiful waterfront. There wasn’t a lot open, but we did find a small arcade with some very unique shops – a custom leather maker who fabricated belts while you waited, a soil store selling specialty dirt and plants, jewelry shops, and some other knick-knackery places Ana went into while I sat on a nice bench. On the riverfront was the Waterside Festival Marketplace with bars, restaurants, and a cool outdoor performance space. From there, we walked the waterfront trail which passed a marina with one of the most beautiful boats we’ve ever seen, then we continued past the giant Nauticus facility which is a science and technology museum, but also has the USS Wisconsin – one of the largest battleships ever built by the US Navy. We didn’t have enough time to visit, but we got great views of the ships from the public walkways.
By sunset we were back on the boat and had a drink in the cockpit, a chat with Kate and Ben who were still in Deltaville and likely now stuck there for a few days with strong winds forecasted, then had a nice dinner and capped off the day with some route planning.
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