We arrived at the Hospital Point Anchorage in Norfolk, Va this afternoon around 3:00 pm, a days total of 51.7 nm. As we were coming into Norfolk, we heard a Coast Guard “Notice to Mariners” on the VHF. They reported that the Pungo Ferry Bridge, 25 nm South of us, was undergoing maintenance with cables and safety netting suspended 10′ below the bridge, restricting clearance. This 65′ bridge only gives us minimal clearance under the best of conditions and I knew there was no way we would clear through with the netting in place. The report indicated that the maintenance work would be completed by Friday afternoon. With this news, we had no choice but to stay anchored here until Friday or Saturday. Over the next couple of days the weather began to deteriorate with the forecast predicting weekend winds gusting 40 – 50 knots with the worst of it South of us. We also heard another Coast Guard report that the Norfolk Southern #7 Railroad Bridge, 5 nm South of us, would be in the closed position for maintenance from 7:00 pm Saturday through 11:00 am Tuesday. This would prevent any boats from passing through during that 64 hour period. It was now apparent, considering the weekend storm and bridge closure, we would now be sitting here until Tuesday morning. As the week wore on, we watched as other boats intending to continue South started to fill up the anchorage and marinas around us, all waiting for the weather and bridge work to pass. Thankfully, we had good on-board internet, good TV reception, plenty of food and most important good company to keep us entertained.
