Captain's Choice blog: Norfolk, VA and the start of the Chesapeake

Norfolk...Impressive...yes, I am the one who loves to see the freighters, the tugs and tows, shrimp boats, so it was impressive when we were in Norfolk harbor to see the Navy ships. From the time we arrived on Saturday to when we left on Tuesday we saw so many ships. Some under repair/refitting, others moored and all very different, it reminded me of the game battleship!
Norfolk is the largest Navy base in the world and has a long history as a strategic military and transportation port. It supports naval forces operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Hampton Roads which incorporates Norfolk is also the 6th largest container port in the US and 3rd largest on the East Coast.

Once we got situated Saturday at Waterside Marina our first order of business was to find out the hours for touring the USS Wisconsin. It looked like we would only have 3 hours if we went right away and Mark said "no way, not enough time"... Sunday 12-5 and closed Monday, Sunday it would be. Because we knew the rain was yet to come Saturday afternoon we took a quick walk and as the raindrops fell we headed for the Waterside entertainment complex. They were having their "soft opening" and the place was jammed. It has outdoor activities, bars, restaurants for families and the adult crowd. It looks like it will be a great venue very close to a big park where they have many festivals.

We were at the doors of Nauticus, the naval museum at noon Sunday and they kicked us out at 5 p.m. and we still didn't get to see everything. We took the guided tour of the Battleship Wisconsin from Bob, a veteran and also a former seaman on the ship. He was very knowledgeable as he walked us through the interior for our 90 minute tour. As we walked around and saw the bunks, the mess hall, galley, the Post Office, gun rooms, etc. you just couldn't stop yourself from remembering all of the men (no women ever served on the Wisconsin) that made this home for all different lengths of time. It was with great pride and humility and the utmost respect that we toured that battleship and remembered all that served on her. These are the true heroes, those that have served or are serving our great nation and to them we say THANK YOU!

Some highlights of the USS Wisconsin:

It is an Iowa class battleship with 16" guns, the largest of any battleships in the US
It is 887.3' in length and 108.3' in width so that it could fit in the Panama Canal which is 110' wide
It served in WWII - 2,800 men, Korea War - 2,560 men and Desert Storm - 1,776 men
It only suffered one hit in wartime which occurred during the Korean conflict, it resulted in no deaths and little damage
We were surprised that the deck of the ship was teak, which helped to keep the ship cool (no air conditioning), teak does not splinter, dries quickly
Commissioned Apr. 16, 1944 and decommissioned Sept. 30, 1991 - it only took 39 months to build
The Wisconsin was also used as a replenishment ship - see below

Right across the river is Portsmouth, VA and the ferry that takes you across is located right at the end of our marina. We took the ferry over on Monday and spent several hours roaming the town. This is the home of the Fifth Coast Guard District which is responsible for Coast Guard activities from South Carolina to New Jersey.
They have some beautiful old homes but it seems a good majority of them have been converted to apartments and therefore it has detracted from the beauty of the area. We did find a fabulous German restaurant, The Bier Garden. Being a Monday many of the businesses were closed. Later we met up with the boaters on the dock for docktails and dinner with Impulse and Destination ?? at Jack Brown's, a beer and hamburger restaurant (literally beer and burgers - nothing else on the menu).

As we left Norfolk Tuesday we entered Chesapeake Bay where we crossed over to Cape Charles, 37 miles away on the Eastern Shore. We heard warship 72 call out on the radio that they were leaving their berth and heading to sea. Warship 72 is the USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier. I wish we had seen it leave.
Due to the fact we have already completed the Canadian portion of the loop we are going to spend about 6 weeks exploring the Chesapeake. This will have us crisscrossing from the west to the east and back as we make our way north to Delaware Bay. About 6 miles off shore from Cape Charles were 12 freighters anchored just off the channel, a "parking lot" for freighters so to speak.
Cape Charles is a cute little town with a beach along the shore, restaurants and a few shops along the main street. This is their "off season" and many of the shops are only open on the weekends. The weather the last few days has also been cool and crisp, compared to our hot and humid and I am assuming that also contributes to the "off season". We walked several miles to a farmers market where we scored some home grown strawberries, it was worth the walk!
It was our first night in the Chesapeake so we had to go to dinner for seafood. Kelly's Gingernut Pub did not disappoint... she-crab soup, crab cakes and the seafood boil were amazing.

Hooray, light winds on our stern as we made our way 33 miles to Doziers Marina in Deltaville on Wednesday. This will be our home for several days as the forecast is for rain Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then possibly high winds. We will be watching the weather closely to see if we can venture on or if we need to stay put.

Unfortunately we were unable to take the Dismal

Swamp to Norfolk, it has been closed due to

shoaling from Hurricane Matthew

Entering the Norfolk harbor, the small Coast Guard

boat is off to catch up with another boat after

boarding us and completing our inspection

"Keep your distance"

notice the barriers around the navy ships and

the Coast Guard keeps a close eye on the comings

and goings in the area.

The USS Wisconsin

Bob said it was fitting that the guns are pointed towards

City Hall

Those 16" gun turrets are massive.

Each gun weighs in at 240,000 pounds, add the turret and associated machinery

and each complete turret weighs in close to one destroyer. They were designed that if the ship

became in peril and began to list severely, they could break them free and they would roll off the deck into the ocean before their immense weight would pull the ship the rest of the way over.