Trip down the ICW

We had 2 nights at the Waterside Marina in Norfolk. Its a great marina, very friendly staff, and good location. We went to the Nauticus museum, and explored the battleship Wisconsin. There was a retired navy man answering questions on the ship who had served on the Wisconsin during the Korean War as a radio operator. He was very interesting to talk to. He told us about when the ship was hit by enemy fire, putting a hole in the deck, all he felt was a slight thud. The crew quickly patched the deck and went on with business as no one was seriously injured. The museum also had an ocean exhibit with a touch tank, and the kids got to touch carpet sharks. We did a science lesson in this section of the museum, learning about water-flow through canals and locks. The exhibit had movable partitions so you could control the flow of water, and change how fast your boat went down the canal. The kids loved it, and we had to drag them away after an hour of re-routing water in a hundred different ways.

We met some new friends at the marina, Marty and Hernan, who are also going south to the Bahamas. They have a gorgeous Irwin 52 (I think), that we visited for cocktails. They have TV, so the kids spent a blissful hour sucked into the tube, while we enjoyed our drinks with our friends.

We left Norfolk at 8:15 a.m. yesterday to begin the trip down the ICW. All went well, the trip was a bit rainy and long, but easy. We went through our first lock without incident. After all boats were tied, we dropped 3 feet before being let out on the other side. Pretty cool! We tied up at 5 p.m. at the Coinjock Marina, took showers, had dinner, and went to bed. Today we left at about 9 a.m. heading for Albemarle Sound and Alligator River. Our plan is to anchor tonight.