The Concrete Ships in Kiptopeke VA

May 14, 2022

Pushing off from Top Rack Marina, the wind had settled as forecasted, but it was still overcast and cool. Twenty-one minutes after we left Top Rack, we approached a very unique bridge. It's called the Gilmerton Bridge or South Military Highway Bridge. This structure doesn't swing, turn, or split in half so each side raised. The entire center of this bridge moved up and down like a massive lift. We didn't require it to raise for us to cruise under, but the sailboat approaching behind required an opening, so we did get to see this impressive platform in action.

We also hit a milestone on this trip. At 7.5 miles into our day, we passed mile marker 0 of the AICW (Atlantic Inter Coastal Waterway). This ICW runs from Norfolk VA all the way to Plantation Key (located 140 miles east of Key West) which means we have travelled the entire distance of this AICW. For clarification, we haven't cruised through the entire winding waterway. There were days we did ocean runs, but we have passed the Florida Keys mile marker 1153.4 and have now passed mile marker 0 in Norfolk, VA.

It was a foggy run through Norfolk, which made the naval ship yards seem ghostly and eerie. The sheer size of those vessels is mind blowing. We had been looking forward to this part of the trip and we were not disappointed . In the dense fog, a massive cargo ship was approaching us and this is all we could see of it in the not so far distance.

As we were making our way through the ship yards, an alert came over the VHF stating that a navy submarine was entering the channel and all vessels were to keep a distance of 500 feet. We were anxiously keeping our eyes open, hoping we would get a glimpse of the submarine. The alert came over the radio every few minutes, building our excitement. Where was it!? We were following a barge through the channel, and there were many boats heading in each direction. We kept looking in all directions and finally saw the tall sail (or tower) of the submarine. The barge in front of us veered to the port side and over to the submarine. They were conducting a naval drill and we were thrilled we got a glimpse of it. In the excitement, Gord had wandered a little too close to the 500 foot restricted area surrounding the submarine and received a reminder from security to stand down and mind our distance.

The rest of our day was a smooth run. We had intermittent patches of dense fog, and warnings to alert sea travelers of the fog blasted through our electronics periodically. We were headed to Kiptopeke which has an anchorage protected by old sunken concrete WWII ships to create a barrier. We knew we were close, we could see our destination on our electronics, but we could not see the ships with our naked eye. The only thing ahead was a white misty wall of fog. Suddenly, almost magically to be honest, the shapes of the ships appeared through the fog and we found the entrance to the anchorage.

When we drove into the anchorage, the south side had many crab pot buoys so we avoided that end. We set the hook a little further in and lowered the dinghy. We were the only boat in the anchorage, which can be a little unnerving when you don't know the area. It was choppier than we would have liked, but we expected it to settle down in the evening. As we were bouncing around, a large Coast Guard vessel cruised into the anchorage and pulled itself up to the concrete ships by the crab pots. They secured themselves to the concrete ships and it appeared like they were going to spend the night.

We took the dogs by dinghy to the Kiptopeke state park beach and we all stretched our legs along the shore. We made our way back to the boat and settled in for dinner and the Leaf game. Later in the evening, the waves settled down and as the sun set, we could see the Coast Guard vessel lit up ahead of us.

We had a decent night on the hook and woke up early to thick fog which just added to the mystery of it all. Being sheltered by concrete WWII ships for night is a pretty amazing experience. When I walked out to the cockpit, I could hear the symphony of birds that use the ships for nesting, resting and socializing, but couldn't see eight feet beyond our boat. When Gord walked out later, he could hear voices of people fishing nearby, but still, we couldn't see. Our plan was to be on our way by this time of day, but there was little chance of leaving safely in this. This anchorage is known for its great fishing, so while we waited for visibility to improve, we casted our lines to see if we could reel anything in.

Later in the morning, Gord and Brooklyn disappeared into the fog when they took the dogs to shore and when they returned, the fog still hadn't lifted. We expected the sun would burn some of it off after 11:00, but it was stubborn and hung on. Slowly, the Coast Guard vessel came into view, and was still tied to the concrete ship. We decided to load up in the dinghy, cruise around the ships and stop by to see the Coast Guard. As we were piling into the dinghy, we heard the Coast Guard engines start. We buzzed over and chatted with the crew. There were 11 crew members on board. They are generally on board for one week before heading back in to their port. They move to different locations, but they always work with the same crew. They told us they rarely come into this anchorage and they never see anyone anchored in here. We talked about how impressive the ships were and what a unique place it was to anchor. They said they were about to pull out because this patch of fog was clearing, so we bid them farewell, zipped around the amazing ships for a closure look, then made our way back to Holy Cow.

We pulled up anchor and headed out of the anchorage just a few minutes behind the Coast Guard vessel. Our next destination is Antipoison Creek and it's about 36 nautical miles and we were on our way.

Voyage Log

Top Rack Marina VA to Kiptopeke VA travel day here.