Belleair Beach to Baltimore a 30 day adventure

[Turtlesboat]

Sweet, thanks for the update.

 

[mistercomputerman]

Cap'n Big Daddy
If you get out of Coinjock by 8:30am and are living right, you can make it to milepost 0 at Norfolk by early afternoon. You have a set of locks at Great Bridge plus the Great Bridge bridge, the North Landing bridge, the Centerville bridge, the Dominion Blvd bridge and the Gilmerton bridge, plus some no wake zones. Rarely can one catch them all open unless there is a lot of commercial tug traffic. Be especially careful after the Gilmerton bridge...the ditch takes a hard right turn and some folks who are not paying attention end up in St. Julien's Creek.

If you want to make it past Norfolk tomorrow, then the operative word is early, as in early start. However, once you clear the no wake zone in Norfolk you can run at cruise speed the rest of your trip North.

Good luck with it. I have made the run twice, last time about 4 years ago.

Turtlesboat made the trip last year.

 

[douglee25]

Nice pics again!

Doug

 

[Big Daddy II]

Day 15 We left Coinjock Marina at 7:15AM hoping to avoid some of the weather and catch the timed bridges and lock. We timed the man made obstacles perfectly but got caught in some pretty heavy bands of wind and rain. We got to Norfolk at 12:30 and decided to stop at Tidewater Marina due to the unfavorable forecast. The forcast for Thursday is 15-20m knot winds from the NW which is not great for the bay. We will see what it looks like in the morning. It's about 175 miles to Baltimore, so we can do it in one day if necessary, as the forecast for Friday is much better. We have an appointment at Camden Yards to see the Rays beat the Orioles.

 

[Turtlesboat]

That's it? Looks like someone is starting to feel the fatigue set in.

 

[Big Daddy II]

Busy here on Big Daddy. Watching the Rays, Lightning, posting pics and working all at the same time. Isn't technology great.

 

[Big Daddy II]

Wow- Lightning 4 game sweep of Capitals. Whats the deal with the temperature up here? Low 50's and water temp upper 50's. Thats worse than January in Florida. I have the heat on in Big daddy.

 

[Alex F]

BD,

Great pictures. What size the flipdown tv you have there on the bridge?

 

[Bucit]

wow- lightning 4 game sweep of capitals.

go bolts!

 

[Bugsy24]

BDII, great trip I'm Jealous! :thumbsup: You never answered the Doggy Doo Question!

 

[katricol]

I love that dingy also....nice thread BD.

 

[xravenx]

We have an appointment at Camden Yards to see the Rays beat the Orioles.

Refresh my memory, have the devil Rays played the Orioles yet this season?

 

[techmitch]

• • @ Rays
    
    
    
    
    
    W 4-1
    • 

• • 2
    @ Rays
    
    
    
    
    
    W 3-1
    • 

• • 3
    @ Rays
    W 5-1
  • 4/1,4/2,4/3/2011
  • Wise guy...LOL...Go Phillies!!!

 

[Big Daddy II]

Day 16 As expected, the winds were 15-20 knots, a bit more than I would like for a comfy trip up the bay(no other boat left either) so we had a relaxing day in Norfolk. We will try to leave at 7AM and travel 175 miles to Baltimore, hopefully arriving by early afternoon. To answer about Buddy's potty issues, he can hold it 12-15 hours with no problem. Some owners train their pets to go on a mat and then just rinse it off ,but Buddy prefers to hold it till port. The Rays did have a tough start this year, but that's when we had Manny- now he is gone. The flip-down TV is a Pyle 17". I had a waverunner on the lift but didn't think that would work out too well in these cool waters. I looked for a used whaler for 6 months but couldn't find one. I bought this one new a week before we left.

 

[Hoo'sdave]

Great Pictures and the O's will sweep again
Looks like you have one lazy dog but he is enjoying a great time.

 

[kevin27]

Awsome trip and go Rays!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ididntdoit]

Great pics all the way through this thread..................Its funny (or sad depending how you look at it) how your apparel has changed through the trip - From shorts and tanktops to jeans and winter coats! If Mother Nature is lurking here - its spring, turn up the heat!

 

[Bugsy24]

Day 16 As expected, the winds were 15-20 knots, a bit more than I would like for a comfy trip up the bay(no other boat left either) so we had a relaxing day in Norfolk. We will try to leave at 7AM and travel 175 miles to Baltimore hopefully arrive by early afternoon. To answer about Buddys poddy issues, he can hold it 12-15 hours no problem. Some owners train their pets to go on a mat then just rinse it off, Buddy prefers to hold it till port. The Rays did have a tough start this year but thats when we had Manny- now he is gone. The flip-down TV is a Pyle 17". I had a waverunner on the lift but didn't think that would work out too well in these cool waters. I looked for a used whaler for 6 months but couldn't find one. I bought this one new a week before we left.

Great shot of the Wisconsin BB-64 my Dad was a "Plank Owner" ! Good for "Buddy"!

 

[Big Daddy II]

Day 17 We left Norfolk at 6:45AM and there were actually boats that left 45 minutes before us. The lower bay was still a bit rough at 3 foot but at least a following sea. As we moved up the bay, it flattened considerably. We arrived at our intended destination at 2:15PM. Approximate stats for half the way point- 1900 gallons of fuel, 96 engine hours 1400 miles. Our port plan is way out of whack- I will work on a new schedule for the return trying to hit the nice ports that we missed on the way up. One thing is for sure - DO NOT HAVE A SET SCHEDULE, YOU WILL HAVE OBSTACLES. The boat has performed flawlessly except for the coolant bracket(Mechanic should have replaced it before we left). We were never passed by another boat. Most cruisers are going trawler speed but going 10-12 hours per day .I prefer 6-7 hours per day and using 5x as much fuel. I will post again in a few more days as we will be visiting family and friends here in Baltimore. I began this boating sickness on the Chesapeake while I was in college. I had an orange 15' MFG Trihull with a 50hp Evinrude- you probably saw it; it was the ugliest boat on the bay.

 

[Alegria]

Awesome news you made it! You brought a great weekend weather wise up to Bmore with you as well. I see the forecast was changing almost as fast as you were making it up the bay! Enjoy your return to Bmore!

Take Care..

Tom