Visiting Old Point Comfort and Hampton, VA

After a couple of days of pleasant, warm sailing, the good weather window we were enjoying threatened to close. Our choices for places to shelter this time: Chesapeake Bay or Cape May. We chose Chesapeake Bay - for one thing it was the perfect opportunity to meet one of the voices we had been talking to on the Cruiseheimers Net in the mornings, for another it was that much closer to where we were - and that much further away from where the actual bad weather would occur, further up the coast.

So we consulted our charts and chose our course to an anchorage in Old Point Comfort. We were close to the bay’s entrance when the wind dropped, leaving us trying to coax the boat to get closer while the tide and current were still favorable. Finally we had to admit it was either take many more hours that we wanted to to get there, or turn once again to our trusty motor. So we started our motor and travelled slowly into and up the bay, keeping an eye out for ships and barges as we went and for any large power boats creating large wakes that might swamp the engine (Not every large powerboat is so thoughtlessly driven - so this is a good time to thank those skippers who are considerate and knowledgeable enough to pass smaller boats and sailboats gently). In the end it was the powerboat wakes that were the greatest problem, and at one point we were not sure that our engine had survived one of its dunkings. But it started again and kept on going, taking us in to anchor outside the channel across from the Old Point Comfort Marina.

Old Point Comfort is home to Fort Monroe, the third oldest continuously operating military installation in the United States and site of the largest stone fort in the U.S. Visiting is an interesting experience. The marina is for military and Depart of Defense personnel, but the boat ramp, fuel dock and restaurant, as well as the Fort and the surrounding area are open to the public (anyone wanting to enter by road must show photo identification). Being anchored there gave us a good opportunity to visit the fort and its Casemate Museum, and we walked past the elegant Chamberlin Hotel, now reborn as an independent living apartment community, along the seawall and along quiet streets with nicely maintained historic buildings. We enjoyed the Casemate Museum, which presents the history of the fort using a nice variety of exhibits, and were lucky enough to hear part of the presentation to a tour of military personnel. There’s always something interesting to be learned from a knowledgeable guide.

We enjoyed visiting with our friends, who helped us get around and find what we needed. Then they were off to do other things and the wind and weather were changing. We decided to move to more sheltered anchorage in Hampton, across from the Hampton Public Piers, between Hampton University and downtown. The last time we had been there it was crowded - it was far from crowded when we arrived, though the anchorage did start to fill up the next day. We found ourselves a good spot just outside the channel, and settled in for a few days.

A trip ashore showed us that things were much as they had been last time we were here. Free wi-fi on the docks, access to washrooms (free) and showers (payment required), and friendly helpful staff. Happily we had been to the grocery store with one of our friends - there are only convenience stores close by. The laundromat was a brisk walk away, across the bridge by the anchorage; we shared it with several Hampton University students, who helped us figure out the oddities of some of the machines. There was not enough time to linger around the art galleries or re-visit the Cousteau Museum - or to visit the Virginia Air and Space Center, or explore further. So yet again - we want to go back when we have more time. And before we go we’ll download the iPod tours the city has developed, which are an interesting concept and well-suited to the kind of exploring we like to do.

Laundry and grocery done, we were ready when Herb of Southbound II said there might be another weather window. Early in the morning on our third day we started the engine, picked up the anchor, and set off out into the bay, heading seaward again.