Day 59, Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Got underway at 0630. The overnight thunder storms, rain and change in the wind direction have cleared the air of smoke for the moment. The temperature is also down a bit. The forecast for today is clear in the mid to upper eighties. That’s gotta be better than the past few days. We still have not been able to confirm the operation of the railway bridge #7 (next to Gilmerton), but we are headed home anyway.

We arrived at the North Landing Bridge just prior to the 1200 opening. We were joined in just a few minutes by four other boats. When the bridge tender attempted the opening something went wrong and the bridge would not open. He made two more attempts to open before informing us that the bridge was “stuck” and he was calling maintenance. Maintenance arrived, diagnosed the problem, needed parts and had to wait for the part to come from Great Bridge. All the waiting boats dropped an anchor to wait out the delay. Two plus hours later there were 8 northbound boats and 2 southbound waiting when the repairs were finally completed and the bridge opened.

The delay totally destroyed our bridge schedule. We were now going to hit the Steel Bridge during the evening rush hour closure. We cleared Centerville Bridge at 1500 and the Great Bridge at 1600. After passing through the Great Bridge bridge, we pulled over to the port side and tied up instead of proceeding to the lock. Tying up here allowed us to wait for the 1700 lock through and hit the reopening of the Steel Bridge at 1800. The good news was a report form the Gilmerton Bridge that the malfunctioning railway bridge was operational and in its normal open position. Only four boats continued north at 1700, three sail and one power. We managed to make all the remaining bridges together and said goodbye to each other after passing the Jordan Bridge and Waterside.

We pulled into Scotts Creek marina about 1930 and with some dockside help, secured the boat. We then enjoyed a brew and packed a few bags to take home. Don Wade arrived about 2000 to give us a ride back to our condo. We loaded our meager belongings into the car but Don persuaded us to detour to the PBC clubhouse for a short visit. We received a warm welcome home from the Wednesday night pot-luck dinner gang and enjoyed a few brews and hot dogs. We finally left and arrived at the condo about 2200. We’re Home!!!

Location: Portsmouth, VA, MM Zero. Boat distance traveled, 50.6 miles. Time actually moving, 8 hours. Total travel time, 11 hours.