7.05.2009

Welcome To The Jungle


We got into Norfolk just ahead of the crowd. This was Harbourfest weekend here. Three days of fun in the sun. A new Waterfront Park to dedicate, a Tall Ship show and Parade Of Sail, tug boat salutes and muster, an Anything That Floats But A Boat Race, music and food of all kinds, ship tours and fireworks every night.
We anchored in what was an empty anchorage across from the waterfront. By dark on the 4th there were more than 200 boats in less that 1 square mile. Every kind of boat and every size, from kayaks to cruisers. The fireworks on Fri were spectacular. A barge down the middle of the harbour close enough that there was no lag between the boom and the light. We thought they were great, until last night. TWO barges, launching simultaneously, fireworks wider than my field of vision. The concussions rocked the boat. It lasted for 40 minutes. We've seen some amazing fireworks, but these were the best. The cat slept through it all.
N 36 50.635
W 76 17.968

4 comments:

Anne and Chris said...

The cat didn't sleep; she knocked herself unconcious so she didn't have to deal with the fireworks. Liann in the houseboat in St. Pete used to feed her dogs whipped cream when we had fireworks to calm them down. Yum!

Chris said...

Looks like you guys are having fun... Where did you spend the 4th? We watched the fireworks on the Hudson River... Manhattan was awesome, but oh, man... I think I wore all the zinc off my anchors with the tide race in the river... three knots one way, then a flip and three knots the other... But you can't beat the price: $25.00 a day for dinghy dockage at the 79th St. Boat Basin, which includes... free laundry!

Anne will be posting pics soon...

Anonymous said...

We had a blow out 4th with a cook out put on by Sid & Melissa. Melissa cooked ribs, brisket, chicken and sausage....yummmmm! Everyone brought a side dish. There was so much food, if anyone went hungry it was their own fault. The fireworks were pretty good for little ole St. Pete. The wind was blowing away from the marina so no fallout in the morning....big smile. All in all it was pretty good. Miss you guys.

Ellen & Gordon

Equinox Crew said...

It's always a hilarious situation when immediately after you've patting yourself on the back for finding a nice, uncrowded anchorage another couple hundred boats join you. We've been there! SO glad you took the swamp route. It's definitely worth doing at least once.