Chesapeake, VA to Tangier Island

We left Atlantic Yacht Basin on 25 May. As we were preparing to leave the fuel dock at Atlantic Yacht Basin to make the Great Bridge opening, we realized that a very large barge was also making his way to get through the bridge. There were seven boats, in addition to the barge, wanting to make the bridge opening at 9:00 a.m. The bridge opens only on the hour, so no one wanted to wait until 10:00 a.m. for the next opening. Commercial traffic has priority on the waterway, so the barge was going to make the 9:00 a.m. opening, whether the other boats did or not. It is unusual for boats to lock through with a barge. However, the captain of the barge has the say as to whether or not other boats can lock through with his barge. Fortunately, the captain of the barge was a very nice guy, and he allowed all of the boats to lock through with him. This was high adventure! The barge went in first and tied up on the starboard side of the lock. All pleasure boaters were instructed to come in and tie up port side. We were second in line behind a smaller boat going in. As we eased past the barge, we held our breath; it was a very tight squeeze past this barge, with only two and a half feet to spare on each side of our boat. The captain of the barge, we think, actually enjoyed watching all of us squeeze in along side him. He and one of his crew were standing on the barge as we passed by, with their arms crossed and big grins on their faces, commented, “This is a tight one, huh?” We are pleased to report that all boats made it into the lock without causing any damage to their boats or the barge. When the lock doors opened, all boats were instructed to exit the lock ahead of the barge.

Next, we made our way through the Norfolk Shipping Channel, trying to avoid the huge commercial and Navy ships coming and going. We have never seen so many big ships all in one place. We’re talking about everything from aircraft carriers to huge container ships. When we got through the Norfolk area and got into the Chesapeake Bay, we did see a submarine passing by with only its Conning Tower sticking out of the water, and that was exciting. As you can imagine, there is a lot of security around these big vessels in port, and as they move out to sea.

Along the way, we heard from Bill and Barbara on HIGH SPIRITS, who were ahead of us by a couple of hours. As it turns out they were headed to the anchorage where we had determined to stay overnight. We made it to MobJack Bay about 3:00 p.m. and rafted to HIGH SPIRITS and had an enjoyable evening with Bill and Barbara. We left early the next morning, destination Solomons Island. However, as we made our way to Wolf Trapp Lighthouse, we decided to change course and head to Tangier Island. This island is located 12 miles from the Eastern Shore of Virginia west of Onancock, VA.

Tangier Island was settled in the 1600’s by fishermen families from Cornwall, England, and has changed little since it was first settled. The island is one mile by 3 miles, and the residents are mainly Crocketts or descendants of Crocketts, such as the Pruitts and Parks clans. They speak with an Elizabethan accent and enjoy a slowly paced lifestyle. There is no industry on the island. Their livelihood depends on harvesting the waters of the Chesapeake for crabs and oysters.

One of the interesting things about the island is that the front yards of many homes are cemeteries. There is a school on the island, a post office, a Methodist Church, and a very small airport. You get to the island either by ferry, boat, or airplane.

We arrived at Parks Marina on Tangier Island about 1:00 p.m. We couldn’t reach the marina via marine radio (since they don’t use one), so we had to use our cell phone, which was a challenge since we had service only sporadically. The marina is no longer operational; however, they do have a dock master, Milton, who helps boaters get in between the pilings and tied up, and collects the money for dockage, etc.

There are no motor vehicles on the island. Actually, there is a police car, and probably a fire truck, but that’s about it. The residents on the island ride golf carts, scooters, or bicycles. As a tourist, you can either walk the island or rent a bicycle, golf cart or scooter, or pay one of the ladies of the island to give you a riding tour on one of the golf carts. We chose to walk.

We had lunch at Hilda’s Chesapeake House in a “family style” setting, and the food was plentiful and very good. We were seated at a table with five young men from Maryland who had flown in for the day on two different small aircraft just to have lunch at this restaurant.

We enjoyed visiting this quaint little island and seeing how other people live and thrive. These folks are proud of their island and it is evident by the generations of families who continue to inhabit this island. We are glad that we decided to stop here.

We left Tangier Island at 7:00 a.m. on 24 May. Our next destination is Annapolis. We will stay there over the Memorial Day Weekend and then head to Baltimore. Stay tuned.