Tomorrow we’re crossing into Florida – it’s been a great trip so far! While there are always some weather issues, minor repairs & all, it’s been smooth “sailing” so far. While stopping at many of our usual stops, we’ve explored a few new as well.
Although not usually a problem transiting thru, bridges under construction are more than ever. While Florida wins the prize for the most & the speediest construction, here are some contenders between CT & Georgia.
The slowest prize goes to Connecticut. The replacement for this Amtrak bridge over the Connecticut River has been talked about for 30+ years. After it’s 120th birthday, construction has finally begun.
This bridge under construction over the Alligator River in North Carolina is the longest under construction at nearly 2 1/2 miles. With a fixed bridge opening height of 65′, it will replace an old swing bridge which in addition to frequent breakdowns, would not open when the wind gusts over 30 knots, causing havoc for transiting boats.
The closest to our slip bridge was this one in Charleston. Glad we weren’t any closer as they casually swung those massive I-beams around.
After building a new, high bridge just 3 years ago, the 2nd one is already partially completed in Georgia.
Darn – this low railroad bridge in Norfolk will likely never be replaced in our cruising time & pretty much shuts down the Elizabeth River as there is only 6′ of clearance when closed (the photo shows it still closing). Everything here is very slow – it takes about 10 minutes for it to close, 15 minutes before the 1st train approaches, then as one begins to cross, they start & stop for up to 45 minutes. The hundreds of railcars are loaded from a nearby container ship port & I’m guessing they’re adding more railcars as it slowly moves along. Unfortunately, several busy railroad bridges are in this stretch south of Norfolk before a lock which only operates every hour, so if this bridge (or one of the others) holds you up too long, you’re behind schedule & stuck idling for up to an hour waiting before the lock. This year we got delayed with this & a 2nd railroad bridge yet still made the lock with minutes to spare.
Although not helping with that bridge, there are a few opening bridges with roughly 16′ of vertical clearance, so close for us to pass under. This year I lowered our flag staff for a few bridges, which gets us down to just over 13′. It’s nice to be able to zoom thru, rather than waiting minutes to hours waiting for an opening.
This bridge at Onslow Beach, NC (Camp Lejeune) is actually brand new & one of the few times a bridge is replaced without making it a high 65′ clearance bridge. At least being built just 2′ higher & lowering our flag staff, we made it thru with a foot to spare.
Once past Myrtle Beach, SC, we had just celebrated not needing any opening bridges for a few hundred miles, but WAIT – this floating, swing bridge just south of Georgetown, SC … is it closing?! This “bridge” is basically a long barge, hinged on the right-side & with a propulsion motor on the left-side so it sort-of motors open & close to create a floating bridge. Fortunately, I believe the operator saw us approaching & waited to open, so this closing view was in our rearview mirror.With all of the new bridge construction replacing opening bascule and swing bridges the last 16 years, I’m estimating nearly 1/2 of the opening bridges we needed openings for in our original sailing catamaran are now 65′ high fixed bridges, so a huge improvement for all cruisers. Unfortunately, many of the remaining opening bridges frequently break down and/or have reduced opening schedules due to car traffic. Some, for example, open only every hour, but then not for 3 hours at both morning & evening rush hours, so sailboats have a really tough time.
Always unusual sights along our travels. Lori wants this kind of paddleboard – with a comfy chair & an electric outboard! Doggie is optional.
This unusual fishing boat (one of 8 nearly similar ones) we came across on the Chesapeake are a bit controversial. While the bait fish Menhaden have been harvested by Native Americans for hundreds of years & by small commercial operations for a hundred years, one company has been a little too aggressive (experts say) with these massive netting ships, that use planes & drones to spot schools of Menhaden, taking nearly 50,000 metric tons/year. At this intense level, the striped bass & other fish population is dropping & most notable is that (some experts say), in pockets of the Chesapeake, the ospreys are literally starving to death as the oil-rich Menhaden (which are their primary food) are being severely overfished.
Lori thinks this is how we should travel south next year – in style! This powercat ferry is headed to the Savannah waterfront for the tourist season.Our next stop will be in St. Augustine, FL, before spending a month in Vero Beach, prepping for crossing to the Bahamas.
Lori’s Two Cents: Despite these photos showing mostly calm waters, we had more windy days than usual and hid from very windy days more than a few times. Happy that our Safe Harbor membership helped lower the cost of being secure in a slip. Keeping up with laundry and groceries, eating out, meeting fellow cruisers was a breeze! While in Beaufort, SC we tried Mother Smokin’ Good BBQ (near the large town day dock, now usable) and proclaim their pulled pork even more delicious than Sandfly BBQ in Isle of Hope- can’t go wrong with either one!
