ICW Mile 12: Portsmouth to Great Bridge
Gates of the Lock Closing in Background
Today was unique and very busy watching for other traffic and communicating on the radio. We left the marina in Portsmouth and headed down the most congested section of the ICW, though not so bad for us as most of the private boat traffic is about three weeks ahead of us. The first bridge was right out of the marina, a railroad lift bridge that is normally open, but was closing as we approached. It wasn’t for a train but for maintenance. We circled around for about 45 minutes until they opened the bridge. A tug with a huge barge asked us to move out of the way while we were sitting there (thanks AIS). You can’t just pull over and put the breaks on, you have to do fine maneuvering, which is difficult in a sailboat like ours. Essentially, we sit and slowly spin clockwise to keep in place. There were about 5 other boats waiting with us, making it fun avoiding them.
When they raised the bridge, they took it up to only 65 feet. This was a great test for our mast clearance. We got under it and man was it close. A few miles later we went under another 65 foot fixed bridge and dinged the very top of our antenna. No problem, but we know that going under the 64 foot bridges ahead we will bend the antenna a bit. Shouldn’t be a big problem. We think.
We steered down the narrowing waterway until we got to the Great Bridge Lock. This is the only lock we have to go through. They open the gates at about 15 minutes past the hour, you get into the lock and moor your boat to the side right behind the boat in front of you (pictured above). They then close the back gate and open the front gate. The water rises a couple of feet and you proceed out to another bridge that is coordinated to open shortly after the lock fills. When that bridge lifts, you have fun avoiding the northbound traffic trying to get into the lock.
Shelly Guiding Good Karma Out of the Lock
There are docks just outside the lock and we easily picked up a place for the night. We are at a place called Great Bridge, an important historical location as this was where the British forces were first defeated in the Revolutionary War.
AIS reception seems to be working well and so this is where we are today.
Posted in Sailing by Mark with comments disabled.