Sometimes It's All About Timing

The goal today was to get to Norfolk to the Waterside Marina where a Great Loop Rendezvous was meeting. We would arrive near the end of the meeting but wanted to meet up with some folks who were there. As we have learned already, you never know who is going to show up when you are in port.

So we were off in the morning of May 8th finding the Dismal Swamp Canal to be very quiet . We were getting used to this with virtually no other boat traffic.

Of course, we had to be mindful of hazards in the water.

Then there are the times when we are the hazard and the "locals" scampered to get out of our way.

On the north end of the Dismal Swamp Canal we had to exit via the same routine that we entered on the south end. This included a passage requiring a bridge opening and then through the Deep Creek lock. The lock master and bridge tender was the same person. He is the locally famous "Robert".

He loves his work and is a wealth of information for all who pass through. Being the only boat making the transit gave us a little extra time to talk to him. The timing was great!

After we exited the canal we traveled through a very serpentine route sometimes heading south in order to get north. The closer we got to Norfolk, the more boat traffic we found. There were barges heading south, many commercial and pleasure boats heading north. All seemed to be in a hurry except us. After a few very quiet, private days in the Dismal Swamp it gave us a feeling of "culture shock" to be back to "civilization". The timing was poor.

When we got to our destination, Waterside Marina, we requested a pump out for our holding tanks. Well, it seems that someone had left their boat in that area and was not coming back for about 3 hours. We had to go to another marina for the pump out. The timing was really poor.

After returning to the marina we were given our slip assignment. It was the last one on the inside where we wanted to be since we planned to keep the boat there for a while. Since the meeting was in progress, the marina was jam packed with boats and not a lot of room to maneuver. We eased our way in through the narrow opening lined with big, beautiful yachts hoping that we would not nudge one along the way. One of the spectator sports with boating is to watch others come and go and see how they handle their boat. We passed that test and provided no extra entertainment for the onlookers. Overall, the timing was good.

Once there we were able to join the rest of the looper group for their last dinner on Thursday night and to attend a class about Georgian Bay which is on the eastern end of Lake Huron. We got some great information and had a great time catching up with some looper friends. The timing was again great.

Almost all of the loopers left on Friday morning, May 10th, as we prepared to return home for a week. We became the spectators in that marina sport as we watched the loopers leave... mostly one at a time. By the early afternoon there were only a few of us left. However, we were treated to an unexpected "show" on the waterway next to the marina. The OBX WaterJetPack Company from Kitty Hawk, NC was there to put on a demonstration for the TV news stations to promote an upcoming water festival they are having next month.

These are the guys that use jet ski propulsion to propel themselves up in the air and do all sorts of stunts. We got to inspect all the gear up close as there was not a big crowd there at the time. The "rider" has a jet pack strapped to his back...

 and with a fire hose type connection to the modified jet ski. In this case this is all controlled by the rider.

It all starts off with the jet pack in a rack to hold it up.

The rider is then strapped in to the jet pack and positions himself for "liftoff"...

while a "spotter" adjusts the jet ski from his own unit.

And off he goes.

These units are very maneuverable with subtle movements of the body.

Stunts included "walking on water"...

the dolphin move where the rider dives head first towards the water...

actually goes all the way under...

resurfaces...

and in this case he jets right out of the water again.

He demonstrated how controllable they are by just dragging his feet along the top of the water over quite a distance...

and by landing on the back of the spotters jet ski.

When he was done, he came back to the dock for a very soft, controlled landing.

The timing here really was GREAT! Even the local mermaid loved it!

Nautical Word For The Day: [from seatalk.info]

Jury Rig:

1. A piece of equipment made out of materials at hand to take the place of broken part.

From Great Loop Jargon:

2. This is what you want to have in your favor if you have a court case or are on trial for some reason.