Hospital Point, Portsmouth, Virginia. Tidewater Yacht Marina. October 6, 2020
Marc- We started off late from the Hampton Salt Ponds Marina due to tide level at 10:30 after filling the fuel tank and the water tank. We saw 6.1 feet on the way out about 1 hour before high tide. The beginning of the trip was uneventful following Hampton Beach until we reached Old Point Comfort. From there we started to cross the James River and saw a two knot increase in speed. Unfortunately a Naval ship was doing some maneuvers in the area and we had to detour. Our boat speed then dropped off as we entered the Elizabeth River. There is a massive Navy Base in this area with a fleet of ships. There are a number of them under repair. If you get too close to any naval vessel, the navy police will chase you away. We saw three aircraft carriers and numerous other ships during our travel upstream to Hospital Point at Portsmouth, Virginia. The Tidewater Marina was easy to find and easily entered. Many of the slips are empty. The staff found some special bolts I needed that allowed me to install another battery to our house bank. They would not accept payment.
We explored Portsmouth and Norfolk on foot starting out at 16:00. It was very quiet. Portsmouth had many restaurants to choose from on High Street (its main street). This is an old town with a substantial historic district with colonial homes. We took the ferry over to Norfolk and were impressed by the renovated waterfront. The center appears to be Waterside that is connected to the convention center and hotel complex right downtown. There is also a riverfront marina. We walked up the shoreside walk to the Norfolk Naval Museum (closed today). We were able to view the USS Wisconsin, an IOWA Class battleship and the last of these massive ships built. Several waterfront parks paid homage to US Navy sailors that lost their lives in the service of the country. The last park we visited was a Chinese Pagoda garden complete with fountains all donated by a sister city in China. We returned to Portsmouth for dinner.
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