Cruising after the Rendezvous, early May

After Rendezvous, we cruised down the river from Norfolk to the Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB), a marina and full service boat yard, only about 12 miles away. We need quite a bit of work done on the boat. Dan had planned to do much of the work himself, but, you know what? Life is too short to spend unnecessary time in a marina with Dan working his butt off! So, we decided to hire the work done. AYB has a great reputation among the boating community. Unfortunately, this is one of their busiest times of the year, and they are slammed. They did give us a work order, however, and said they can get to us on May 21, just over two weeks away. Rather than sit here for two weeks, we decided to use that time and do the ‘Dismal Swamp Canal’, and ‘The Albermarle Loop’ – more on that in a later article!

Max loves this marina – very relaxed where dogs are concerned. He loves to go out into the woods, just across the dirt drive from our boat, and settle in for hours. He’s happy and safe, so we’re ok with that.

Cruising here required our passing through our first dock and drawbridge, Great Bridge. The dock master was so nice and accommodating – easy peasy!

The marina, where we are tied up along the wall on the river, is just south of a drawbridge, which is Va. Highway # 168. It opens every hour, on the hour. It’s really fun to sit here, watching as all kinds of boats gather south of the bridge waiting for passage through the bridge. We see everything from huge yachts, small fishing boats, sail boats, motor vessels, tugboats and long barges. It’s a never ending parade!

While sitting here, I was able to discover a very nice trail in the woods across the river. Beautiful woods, soft pine-needled trail, right along the river. (Pictures below).

Every Tuesday and Friday nights, a group of ladies from the Chesapeake Tourist promotion group called Marker 12 provides snacks, wine, and beer for any boaters who are around. What a nice thing to do! They offer us rides or any assistance we may need while we are here. They are called Marker 12, because this marina is at mile marker 12 on the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW).

Basically, if you have to be 'stuck' somewhere, this place is a pretty good spot. Good restaurants, hardware store, pharmacies, all within walking distance.

Here are some pictures of our time here.