Day Four - Wednesday, July 31

On Tuesday night we changed our plans from sailing to Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore to go to the Back River in Hampton, VA, on the Western Shore.  This change will save us a full day on our trip.  At 7:30 AM we undid our lines and left The Narrows Marina on Gwynn Island. We also decided not to try to take a short-cut through the "hole in the wall" because of what a fisherman told us about getting through the hole.  Instead we took the long way and drove the boat around Gwynn Island and out into the bay.  

As has been usual on this trip so far the winds have been blowing from the place we are going, so we spent another day motoring toward Norfolk, VA..  

About mid-way between Gwynn Island and the Back River we were escorted for a while by a school of dolphins diving and playing alongside the boat.  

At about 3:30 PM we arrived at the Belle Isle Marina on othe Back River in Hampton.  It was a long motor with choppy seas and we were beat.  

We were met by the owner of the marina, Marty, a pilot for U.S. Airways, who greeted us with a complimentary coca-cola and interesting conversation.  Marty flies A330 Airbus out of Philadelphia to Europe several times a month.  He has owned the marina for 23 years and (we think) he really enjoys running it.  

Ed's mother, Bea, and her husband, John, who live in Williamsburg, VA, came to the marina and took us out for dinner to a restaurant on the waterfront in Hampton called the Surfside Restaurant.  We enjoyed meeting them and had a very nice evening.

We are planning to get up early tomorrow to get through Norfolk and down the Elizabeth River to reach the locks at the top of the Dismal Swamp Canal by late afternoon.  We are concerned about the timing of the bridges that need to open on the river.  If time permits will try to get to the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center about halfway down the canal.  If not, we will anchor near the entrance over night.

Lat/Lat = N 37 06.0 W 76 17.2