Great Bridge saga 2020

On our trip north last year we discovered the free docks on the south side of Great Bridge and LOVED them so we decided to do a short day out of Norfolk and just stay there for a night. We hit every single “normally open” bridge in the down position, but had an easy pass through the locks and secured a spot on the south docks. After a little jockeying of boats, our cruising family friends on S/V Traveler got a spot, too! 

We visited the museum, hiked in the woods, and had a peaceful night. We didn’t have a long day planned so we lazily prepared to leave. 

Then we got word that the bridge south of us had been hit by a barge and was closed to sea and land traffic. Boats that had left early started returning to the dock. I went for a walk in the woods and while I was gone, they announced that boats could pass. I ran back and we got underway, but we had to stop for fuel and a pump out. We knocked that out and we were off. Not so fast! When we were 1/2nm from the bridge, they shut it down again! I was so upset that my hike had possibly caused us to not get through! We hung out a bit, then decided to return to the dock. The locks had been closed due to high water, but soon a bunch of boats would come through looking for somewhere to dock and we wanted to be set in case this bridge was a long-term thing. 

We decided 1300 was our absolute cutoff for departure. We chatted with our friends, watched all the other boats milling about, and chatted with a friend of ours that was northbound and stuck at the bridge. At about 1230 word came that the waterway was open. We all quickly got underway and this time WE

MADE IT! And we got to see our northbound friend!

Why was this a big deal? We could have hung out where we were, but technically there is a 24hr limit on the dock. More concerning was a front coming through Sunday that we are trying to get to Elizabeth City ahead of, but we have a few options there. This was all just another awesome example of why we really don’t do schedules as part of our cruising! 

Ok, so how did the day end? We went 38nm and dropped the hook off the ICW south of Coinjock about an hour after sunset. We can make EC tomorrow. It all worked out!