JACKIE B III Going Loopy

Our stop in Deltaville, Virginia, turned from one night into seven due to the strong winds and high surf brought on by a Nor’easter.  We are trying to remember that this is pleasure boating and rough seas are NOT pleasurable Well, sitting on the boat at our dock was also not too pleasurable.  The wind was coming into the harbor and we rocked and rolled the entire time we were there. Deltaville is a sleepy little town with many marinas but very few restaurants near the marina.  I had to bicycle 3.5 miles to the grocery store, although the marina did have a loaner car if I hadn’t needed the exercise. They do however have a terrific maritime museum, complete with a waterside exhibit of old Chesapeake Bay boats that used to be built in the Deltaville boatyards.  I thought the weather would be better so intended to get back there for more photos but we also had a lot of rain in addition to the wind. Instead “we” did a lot of boat maintenance.  Mike worked on our gene...

We got up and left Waterside Marina early this morning for Deltaville, VA.  The sun was just coming up as we left the harbor.  Although it was slightly overcast all day, the Chesapeake Bay was fairly calm. We were up close and personal with this big boy on our way out of Norfolk. The Chesapeake Bay is a major shipping channel and yesterday was no exception.  It took me three photos to capture all the ships waiting to move up the bay. This is a picture of our chart plotter showing the  Automatic Identification System (AIS) symbols (green triangles) of all the tankers and container ships we saw anchored on the east side of the bay.  AIS is  a short-range coastal tracking system currently used on ships . This photo was taken by another Looping couple, Sarah & Michael, from their boat the Noah Genda. Say that name out loud 😁. Thanks to them!  We made it safely to the Regatta Yacht Center, but have decided to stay here through the weekend given the imp...

We have had a wonderful time at the American Great Loop Cruisers Association Spring Rendezvous in Norfolk, Virginia.  We met many past present and future “Loopers.” The photo above is a screenshot of an app that shows the location of Looper boats. As you can see we had quite a crowd and there were even more boats at the marina across the Elizabeth River and some loopers left their boats elsewhere on the loop and stayed at the hotel where we had our information sessions.  We learned a great deal and met some wonderful people we hope to see again on our journey. Just one of many slides about the loop I thought some of you might be interested to see. Our good friends from Immanuel Bible Church are in the Norfolk area ministering to Navy families.  It’s always great to see them!   New friends gathering for a friendly game of Left Right Center Lots of Loopers Learning and Celebrating Alaura and Jonathan finally get their dingy ride. Bon Voyage Party with the local gang: C...

 What a view! Yesterday we moved backwards on the loop just a little bit to Norfolk, after a terrific week with friends in Virginia Beach. Jonathan and Alaura shared their pier with us and Chuck and Julie shared their home and all their critters☺ Our slip for the week. Today we begin the Looper Spring Rendezvous at Waterside Marina.  We have really been looking forward to this; learning about the loop and making new friends. Our Journey

Today we passed through our first lock and the amazing Norfolk Naval Shipyard on our way to Lynnhaven Inlet and Broad Bay, which is on the north side of Virginia Beach.  We made safely to our friends pier up Broad Creek where we'll be staying until Sunday, May 1.  We'll get some maintenance done here and catch up with several old friends.  Next we'll head back to Norfolk for the Looper's Spring Rendezvous from 2-5 May.  Stay tuned.  Our First Video Intro Great Bridge Lock and Bridge Cruising from Norfolk to Lynnhaven Inlet and up Broad Creek Today’s Journey “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We had a peaceful night at the River Forest Marina.  As promised, today began with a beautiful sunrise! We departed shortly after sunrise.  Deer sighting on the Alligator River. Barge Traffic Finished the day  at Coinjock Marina.  Can you see us? Today’s Journey

This was such an exciting day.  We had quite the send off from New Bern even with the 7:00 am departure.  We began the journey with our dock neighbors, Mark and Vicki on their boat Always Someday.  It was a little sad when they veered off to the south as we continued to head north.   Fortunately the day was uneventful.  The water was calm and the wind was light. Our first stop is at Belhaven, NC. We are staying at the River Forest Manor and Marina; a top notch facility with golf carts available to visit this cute little town.  We have a great sunset view and tomorrow’s sunrise should also be spectacular as our boat is on a pier facing south and no boats on either side of us.  We did meet several other looper boats today thanks to the Nebo app. It was a great Day One! “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Today’s Journey