History Lessons While We Walk

I mentioned in a previous blog that the Great Bridge area of Chesapeake, Virginia is rich in history, especially relating to Revolutionary and Civil War battles. There are informational signs and markers everywhere and we've found it interesting to roam around on foot and soak up a little history. Walking through the Great Bridge Battlefields and Waterways Park is like stepping back in history.

According to Wiki, “its name is derived from the American Revolutionary War of Great Bridge, which took place on December 9, 1775 and resulted in the final removal of the Brits from the Virginia Colony.

Though the battles of Lexington and Concord took place months earlier, and are historically more memorable, the Battle of Great Bridge can be seen as the first strategically important colonial victory over the British, forcing Lord Dunmore's 200 redcoats to evacuate Fort Murray and withdraw to Norfolk.” A huge mural on the side of a local building commemorates the victory.

The “bridge” was originally just a narrow 10' wide causeway and remnants of it still remain under and around the modern Great Bridge bascule bridge, now situated about 50 yards to the south of the original bridge. The modern Great Bridge spans the ICW/ Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal. A replica of the original causeway is just one of the illustrative displays at the park.

Just across Battlefield Boulevard (yup, that's the name of the main street, aka VA-168) is the Great Bridge Locks Park. This waterway was critical for getting supplies to the Confederates during the Civil War and the Union worked hard to blockade it. The famous Battle of the Merrimack and the Monitor took places just a few miles up the Chesapeake River at Hampton Roads. There's a huge, 7,900 pound ship's anchor sitting on the lawn reputedly from the USS Hartford. The USS Hartford was most noted for its victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864 when its captain, Admiral Farragut, shouted “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” The ship was dismantled at the Norfolk Navy Yard not far away from here and her parts were buried on vacant land along the Elizabeth River. In 2001, the anchor was discovered during excavation and moved here.

Beyond the history of wars and battles there are several informational placards describing the building of the nearby Great Dismal Swamp Canal and the Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal. The Great Dismal Swamp Canal was hand dug and opened in 1805. In the 1820s, Marshall Parks, Sr. was commissioned to deepen and widen the canal to accommodate larger, deeper draft steam vessels. His son, Marshall Parks, Jr. took over when his dad died in 1840, and completed the Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal in 1859. He was one of the first to envision and encourage the connecting of inland waterways along the east coast of the USA … today's Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).

The actual Great Bridge Lock is “located approximately 750 yards west of the Great Bridge Bridge, and is the western terminus of the Virginia Cut of the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal. This tidal guard lock is a reversible-head, double-gated structure 600 feet long and 72 feet wide, with a depth of 16 feet. Its primary function is to prevent saltwater intrusion from the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River into the freshwater North Landing River and to control tidal currents from these two rivers. [...]The first Great Bridge Lock was built by the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal Company in 1859. The original Great Bridge Lock survived until 1917, when the Canal was widened. For fifteen years thereafter there was no lock, causing bitter complaints from shippers and local residents. [...]Under the management of the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Great Bridge Lock was completed on June 16, 1932.” From a strategic vantage point just west of the bridge, we can easily see boats and barges entering and leaving the locks as the locks open and close, usually in scheduled sync with the opening of the Great Bridge. We'll be heading through these locks in a few days as we make out way west to the Chesapeake Bay.

All in all, our morning walks have been quite educational and entertaining, while still fulfilling some of our daily exercise requirements. Multi-tasking at its best.

Life Aboard at the Atlantic Yacht Basin

We wake each morning to the horn blasts signifying the Great Bridge is about to open. It's not an unpleasant sound; it's a muffled nautical sound and we wait for it before we rouse ourselves out of bed to start another day. The kettle is on first thing … a cuppa before our morning walk. We've been walking every day even when it rains. Sometimes we explore the area around the boatyard, but more often we head to the little park on the north side of the river via the Great Bridge. The park itself has historical markers that describe the illustrious role played by Great Bridge in the Revolutionary War. This is also an historic battle area for the Civil War and there are lots of info signs and monuments to check out. I'll tell you about the history in a later blog.

There's a 1.5 mile loop route through the woods along the banks of the ICW and when it's not too wet, we enjoy this walk. It smells fresh and piney. The birds and squirrels are very active and we spotted a bald eagle standing sentry one morning. Native trees have name markers and there's a wooden boardwalk with views over the marshland. Plans for expansion of this park include a Visitor's Center and more trails. A wharf alongside the river provided us with a free night's tie-up when we first arrived back in June.

On the west side of the bridge, we can walk along the Elizabeth River towards the Great Bridge Locks and watch boats transit both the bridge and locks. In the early morning, casual fishermen and crabbers line the waterway.

The Great Bridge Locks Park provides lots of historical information about the building of the canal and the locks. There are picnic areas and playgrounds and wonderful views of the river. Herons hang out here, trying to get their share of the river's fish for breakfast.

We trek to the local supermarket, Farm & Fresh, everyday … whether we need to or not. It's only a ½ mile walk … a reasonable round-trip, but not nearly enough to reach my 10,000 steps goal (yup, still doing that), so we walk a bit further or longer or more frequently. Some days it's 2-3 trips to the grocery or the hardware store or Radio Shack or Walgreens ... in between projects.

The usual boat chores need doing, of course. While David is immersed in his projects, I write for awhile and then tend to the daily tasks. The deck and cockpit need cleaning almost daily to remove pine needles and tree debris, especially with the rain and wind we've been experiencing. I made new curtains for the aft cabin and installed them and subsequently decided matching pillows might be nice … they're on my to-do list. Cooking, cleaning, laundry and all the regular “pink” chores get done during the course of the day.

The cockpit mat was growing moss (on its north side) which probably indicates it's been wet and in the shade for way too long. I scrubbed it with a product called “Spore No-More” that David acquired a century or so ago and it seems to be working. Just in case it doesn't work, there's more old line where that came from and I know a good ocean plait mat maker.

By 6 pm, we're usually ready to call it quits for the day. We take evening showers in the marina facilities, then return to Cups for a beer or glass of wine. Though there are several restaurants quite nearby, we rarely eat out. It just seems easier (and cheaper) to eat aboard most evenings and save the infrequent dinner out for a special occasion. The meals are simple … grilled chicken breast and salad or white chili or sometimes just a salad or sandwich.

We either read or watch a movie on the computer till 10 pm or so and then head to bed and read a bit more before falling asleep. That's a day in the life here at AYB. Not so different than any other marina we've stayed at in other parts of the world. Not all that exciting. Needless to say, the days are flying by all too quickly, and even though we haven't left Atlantic Boat Basin yet, it's very pleasant just being aboard again. It's easy to get into a routine.

The Blue View - A Simple Project?

One of the items on my to-do list was to replace the galley freshwater foot pump. We have pressurized water for the freshwater system, but fresh water aboard the boat is precious, and we try hard to conserve it. When a constant stream of water is not required, like when brushing teeth or washing hands, a pump or two on the foot pump sends a long squirt of water to the faucet above, and provides just the right amount of water without wasting much at all. Our foot pump died while enroute from Puerto Rico to St. Augustine, FL, and it's been on the repair list since then. Now that we are tied up next to a boatyard in Chesapeake, VA, I am finally getting to it.

It shouldn't have been much of a problem – just disconnect the hoses and remove four screws to take the old pump out, then reverse the process to install the new one. Simple – an hour, maybe two at most. Except, as our readers have heard on more than a few occasions, nothing's ever easy on a boat.

To begin with, the old pump is original equipment on Nine of Cups, and the same model is no longer available. The newer models are almost the same size, but the hose connections are not in the same place. Okay, add an hour or two to re-plumb the hoses.

As I was removing the pump. I discovered a couple of things: 1. The bulb in my task light had burned out. No problem – I'll order a new one on Amazon and use my “mouth-operated” task light in the meantime, and 2. there were several hose clamps that were overdue to be replaced. After checking my stock on-board, it became evident a trip to the chandlery was in my future. May as well replace the hoses at the same time. Add another hour and $35 to the job.

While removing the screws, it became apparent that the mounting block under the pump was somewhat dodgy. I probed it with a screwdriver and discovered it was wet through-and-through and delaminated, so it would need replacing. We also have a seawater foot pump mounted next to the freshwater pump. It is currently working, but the block supporting it also appeared to be deteriorating. Add four hours to R&R the other pump, then fabricate, seal and paint both mounting blocks.

But wait... as I was removing the mounting blocks, I noticed that the floor under the sink had a few soft spots. I investigated this to find some delamination problems with it as well. I could just ignore it and plan on doing it in a year or two, but since I now had the pumps and mounting blocks all removed, I might as well do it all now. Add a couple of hours to remove the old floor, then a couple more to fabricate and fit a new piece of plywood, plus a couple of hours to epoxy it in place, then seal, prime and paint it with two coats of marine enamel.

And as long as I'm painting the floor and the mounting blocks, I should repaint the rest of the area under the sink as it's starting to look a bit worn. Of course, I'll have to remove a few more things before repainting, like the filter assembly for the watermaker, and, oh, look there – the bracket holding the filter in place is all corroded underneath. Shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours to locate or fabricate a new bracket and fit the filter to it.

Finally, to add injury to insult – literally – I cut my head on a hose clamp on the sink drain as I was leaning in to remove the filter bracket. But that's to be expected; rarely is a project completed aboard Cups without shedding at least a little blood.

So now we're up to 18-20 hours – if nothing else goes wrong – for this simple, 1 or 2 hour job, and it's definitely cutting into my afternoon nap time. I'm really glad this wasn't anything complicated