We come down alongside Fort Monroe and we can see the brick row houses - military housing and the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse.
Old Point Comfort Lighthouse
As we round the hotel coming in toward the marina about 12:15 , I call on the cell phone and tell them we want fuel before we go into our slip.
Chamberlain hotel
The fuel dock is on our starboard as we enter, and we want to tie up port side to the dock. However, due to the wind, the boat is only backing to starboard instead of to port as it usually does, and we end up coming in on the starboard side. We use their lines, since all ours are rigged on the other side.
We get 15 gallons, and Bob goes up to pay. We tell them we are supposed to go into slip B33. They say there is no way we will fit in a slip on B dock (which is mostly small power boats). The guy who seems to be in charge runs up to the office and says it was supposed to be E 33, but he is going to put us into E38 instead. That's really better as that way we don't have to go around between the docks to the other side but just go in as we come around the protective wall. I think he decides this based on how incompetent we were at getting in to the fuel dock but whatever the reason, it's better for us..
One of the fuel dock guys and a guy from one of the other boats help us to tie up. The docks are floating docks and transient rates are $1/foot. There is free water, and free electricity, but only 50 amp outlets, so we rent a splitter for $5. (a splitter divides the output from 50 amp into two 25 amp sections)
Our trip today has been 22 nm at an average speed of 5.5 knots.
In 2000, the marina was open to anyone who wanted to come, but by 2003, the marina only allowed civilian transients if they are DOD employees (military, Coast Guard or civilian employees), or work at Fort Monroe. Since Fort Monroe has been decommissioned, the marina is open to everyone again.
The people tied on the end of E dock next to us are Fred and Sharon in an aft cockpit Gulfstar named DOLPHIN . Fred is a retired submariner from New London CT This is their first trip down the ICW too and they are bound for Ft. Pierce.. Bob fusses around with the lines until he has us tied as he wants. Right outside the marina is a big protected anchorage between the entrance to the tunnel and Old Point Comfort. You just have to be careful not to anchor in the channel especially of the commercial fishing boats in the far corner.
Fishing boats in the far corner
Chartmap_showing_anchorages and marina
We go up to the hotel for lunch, but it is too late and they are not serving lunch. I go back to the boat and find my chicken from Wendys (from the 31st) and eat that and make myself a cheese sandwich. Bob goes out to the commissary, which Sharon warns him will be closing, and to the PX and brings back sandwiches, but we get into conversation with Fred and Sharon, and don't eat them. (As of 2003 the commissary is closed.)
Zero Mile Post by the commissary
Then we go up to the hotel to try to use the phone to connect to the internet and have dinner. The phones there will require a phone cable to connect, and that is in my other computer bag.
I have a nice birthday dinner - it is a buffet but the dishes are not labeled. The soup, the waitress tells us is vegetable beef. NOT. There is no beef in this soup -I know there is crab in it. It is a spicy tomato base, but I don't see any vegetables. The head waiter guy says it is really a crab/lobster bisque. Also on the buffet is some kind of a chicken dish in cream sauce with big hard biscuits in it, a beef dish, rice, potatoes, broccoli, green beans, rolls (but not hot) and a salad bar. After dinner we walked back to the boat (I picked up my email with pocketmail), and had an early night.
November 5, 2000
It rained last night. I heard an annoying loud dripping sound over my head (don't know why - it isn't leaking inside), and then I could also hear the pitter patter of the rain The wind has picked up quite a bit too. Since it is from the north, and the boat is in the slip pointed south, this makes a loud slapping noise when the waves hit the stern. Normally, this is not a problem at anchor because the boat would usually ride bow to the waves.
The rain stops before morning. Fred and Sharon from Dolphin intend to go to the brunch buffet at the hotel this morning. We were told that it didn't start until 11:00 am, so Bob takes the laundry and goes up to do that and have a shower. I piddle around on the boat. It is both windy and cold. The furling sail on the boat opposite us looks like it will be torn off the furler.
We leave to walk up to the hotel about 10:45. We get there at about 11:10, and find the brunch doesn't start until 11:30.
Fred and Sharon are hungry, as they haven't eaten since last night about 6:30 but I had a couple of bagels this morning, so I'm fine. I suggest that they go out on the steps overlooking the pool, and I go into the visitor's center and use Pocketmail.
When we go into the hotel again there is a long line waiting to get into the dining room. However, they take us without a reservation, and seat us in the front row where we can look out the windows at an angle (we are beside the wall, but there's a window at a 45 deg angle from the table at each side).
The "world famous seafood brunch" is $18.50 each, and includes champagne, juices, coffee, and a buffet where there is (on this day), egg drop soup, omelets to order, ham, roast beef, salmon, waffles made fresh (the ones with the big deep holes) with syrup and preserves, tossed salad, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, diced fried potatoes, half baked tomatoes, steamed shrimp, Alaskan king crab legs, mussels, meat loaf, a stuffed crab shaped thing, rolls, apple pie, strawberry mousse and coconut cake. At least that's what I remember of the offerings. Bob and I had cranberry juice. Bob and Fred and I wanted hot tea, but they could only find 2 tea bags, so Bob and I shared. It took us two hours to eat from start to finish.
Then we went up to the 8th floor to look out over the fort and Hampton Roads. It is a beautiful view up there. We could see the marina,
Marina
and the fort ramparts
Fort Monroe from the top of the Chamberlain hotel
Sally Port from the Chamberlain hotel
And Fort Wool across the way. The land that Fort Wool was built on was started by ships dumping their ballast there.
Fort Wool
When we toured Ft. Monroe, we also learned about Fort Wool because Robert E. Lee (who was originally a military engineer), was given the job of stabilizing the island when he was stationed at Ft. Monroe. From the website:
"A Brief History of Fort Wool 1823 - 1946
"The island that Fort Wool sits on is man-made. Known as the Rip-Raps, it was created beginning in 1818 on a shoal and is basically a big pile of rocks. The island .. was still incomplete at the start of the Civil War. .. Plans called for Castle Calhoun, the original name of Fort Wool, to have three tiers of casemates and a parapet with a total of 232 cannons. But as the island started to settle, construction stopped during the construction of the second tier.
"Fort Calhoun was used before the Civil War as a summer retreat for President Andrew Jackson. In 1862, a name change was in order. Named after John C. Calhoun, President Monroe's Secretary of War and Confederate sympathizer, it was decided that it would be named after Maj. Gen. John Ellis Wool, a Mexican War hero and commander at Fort Monroe..."
The soldiers at Ft. Wool were able to witness the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac (some of the first ironclads).
"After being decommissioned it was given to the state in 1967 and in 1970 the City of Hampton developed it into a park. ..
It can be briefly glimpsed by cars entering the southern end of the Hampton Roads tunnel on Interstate 64.
Freighter coming in to port
Fort_from_the_air_in_1967
Map_of_the_fort_published_by_Ft_Monroe
The hotel is the tallest building around, and a well known landmark. The wait staff was setting up for a wedding reception in the terrace room so we left and walked over to the fort. The hotel went out of business after 9-11 because anyone who wanted to go there to eat or use the hotel had to submit to a search. It is now an old folks home
Engineer's pier from the top of the hotel
We walked along the waterfront, past the place where the old Baltimore ferry dock used to be (that Bob used to travel on with his family to visit their relatives in Norfolk), past the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse
Old_Point_Comfort_Lighthouse
Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort
which is almost dwarfed by the fort ramparts past the Engineer's pier (which they built to bring in the materials to built the fort), and went into the fort through the East gate. This gate (and also the North gate) is just wide enough for one car (oversized vehicles have to use the Main Sallyport on the west), so there are traffic lights at either side.
Sally Port
One comes while I am on the bridge over the 8 foot wide moat and have to stand out of the way for a car to enter the fort, and then again when I am in the middle of the tunnel through the fort walls when a car is coming out, so I duck into a pedestrian cavity to allow them to come through. Bob and Fred and Sharon are a bit ahead of me because they walk faster and don't stop to take pictures.
Quarters_inside_the_walls
Lees_Quarters
Quarters One is right opposite the East Gate. It is the oldest residence on the post, and Lincoln and the Marquise de Lafayette have both stayed there. We walk around inside the fort, where Army families are still quartered, past the house where Robert E. Lee stayed in 1831-1834 when he was stationed here and was stabilizing the island where Fort Wool is located (it was then Fort Calhoun).
Drawing_of_the_1862_fort
Old Point Comfort Lighthouse
As we round the hotel coming in toward the marina about 12:15 , I call on the cell phone and tell them we want fuel before we go into our slip.
Chamberlain hotel
The fuel dock is on our starboard as we enter, and we want to tie up port side to the dock. However, due to the wind, the boat is only backing to starboard instead of to port as it usually does, and we end up coming in on the starboard side. We use their lines, since all ours are rigged on the other side.
We get 15 gallons, and Bob goes up to pay. We tell them we are supposed to go into slip B33. They say there is no way we will fit in a slip on B dock (which is mostly small power boats). The guy who seems to be in charge runs up to the office and says it was supposed to be E 33, but he is going to put us into E38 instead. That's really better as that way we don't have to go around between the docks to the other side but just go in as we come around the protective wall. I think he decides this based on how incompetent we were at getting in to the fuel dock but whatever the reason, it's better for us..
One of the fuel dock guys and a guy from one of the other boats help us to tie up. The docks are floating docks and transient rates are $1/foot. There is free water, and free electricity, but only 50 amp outlets, so we rent a splitter for $5. (a splitter divides the output from 50 amp into two 25 amp sections)
Our trip today has been 22 nm at an average speed of 5.5 knots.
In 2000, the marina was open to anyone who wanted to come, but by 2003, the marina only allowed civilian transients if they are DOD employees (military, Coast Guard or civilian employees), or work at Fort Monroe. Since Fort Monroe has been decommissioned, the marina is open to everyone again.
The people tied on the end of E dock next to us are Fred and Sharon in an aft cockpit Gulfstar named DOLPHIN . Fred is a retired submariner from New London CT This is their first trip down the ICW too and they are bound for Ft. Pierce.. Bob fusses around with the lines until he has us tied as he wants. Right outside the marina is a big protected anchorage between the entrance to the tunnel and Old Point Comfort. You just have to be careful not to anchor in the channel especially of the commercial fishing boats in the far corner.
Fishing boats in the far corner
Chartmap_showing_anchorages and marina
We go up to the hotel for lunch, but it is too late and they are not serving lunch. I go back to the boat and find my chicken from Wendys (from the 31st) and eat that and make myself a cheese sandwich. Bob goes out to the commissary, which Sharon warns him will be closing, and to the PX and brings back sandwiches, but we get into conversation with Fred and Sharon, and don't eat them. (As of 2003 the commissary is closed.)
Zero Mile Post by the commissary
Then we go up to the hotel to try to use the phone to connect to the internet and have dinner. The phones there will require a phone cable to connect, and that is in my other computer bag.
I have a nice birthday dinner - it is a buffet but the dishes are not labeled. The soup, the waitress tells us is vegetable beef. NOT. There is no beef in this soup -I know there is crab in it. It is a spicy tomato base, but I don't see any vegetables. The head waiter guy says it is really a crab/lobster bisque. Also on the buffet is some kind of a chicken dish in cream sauce with big hard biscuits in it, a beef dish, rice, potatoes, broccoli, green beans, rolls (but not hot) and a salad bar. After dinner we walked back to the boat (I picked up my email with pocketmail), and had an early night.
November 5, 2000
It rained last night. I heard an annoying loud dripping sound over my head (don't know why - it isn't leaking inside), and then I could also hear the pitter patter of the rain The wind has picked up quite a bit too. Since it is from the north, and the boat is in the slip pointed south, this makes a loud slapping noise when the waves hit the stern. Normally, this is not a problem at anchor because the boat would usually ride bow to the waves.
The rain stops before morning. Fred and Sharon from Dolphin intend to go to the brunch buffet at the hotel this morning. We were told that it didn't start until 11:00 am, so Bob takes the laundry and goes up to do that and have a shower. I piddle around on the boat. It is both windy and cold. The furling sail on the boat opposite us looks like it will be torn off the furler.
We leave to walk up to the hotel about 10:45. We get there at about 11:10, and find the brunch doesn't start until 11:30.
Fred and Sharon are hungry, as they haven't eaten since last night about 6:30 but I had a couple of bagels this morning, so I'm fine. I suggest that they go out on the steps overlooking the pool, and I go into the visitor's center and use Pocketmail.
When we go into the hotel again there is a long line waiting to get into the dining room. However, they take us without a reservation, and seat us in the front row where we can look out the windows at an angle (we are beside the wall, but there's a window at a 45 deg angle from the table at each side).
The "world famous seafood brunch" is $18.50 each, and includes champagne, juices, coffee, and a buffet where there is (on this day), egg drop soup, omelets to order, ham, roast beef, salmon, waffles made fresh (the ones with the big deep holes) with syrup and preserves, tossed salad, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, diced fried potatoes, half baked tomatoes, steamed shrimp, Alaskan king crab legs, mussels, meat loaf, a stuffed crab shaped thing, rolls, apple pie, strawberry mousse and coconut cake. At least that's what I remember of the offerings. Bob and I had cranberry juice. Bob and Fred and I wanted hot tea, but they could only find 2 tea bags, so Bob and I shared. It took us two hours to eat from start to finish.
Then we went up to the 8th floor to look out over the fort and Hampton Roads. It is a beautiful view up there. We could see the marina,
Marina
and the fort ramparts
Fort Monroe from the top of the Chamberlain hotel
Sally Port from the Chamberlain hotel
And Fort Wool across the way. The land that Fort Wool was built on was started by ships dumping their ballast there.
Fort Wool
When we toured Ft. Monroe, we also learned about Fort Wool because Robert E. Lee (who was originally a military engineer), was given the job of stabilizing the island when he was stationed at Ft. Monroe. From the website:
"A Brief History of Fort Wool 1823 - 1946
"The island that Fort Wool sits on is man-made. Known as the Rip-Raps, it was created beginning in 1818 on a shoal and is basically a big pile of rocks. The island .. was still incomplete at the start of the Civil War. .. Plans called for Castle Calhoun, the original name of Fort Wool, to have three tiers of casemates and a parapet with a total of 232 cannons. But as the island started to settle, construction stopped during the construction of the second tier.
"Fort Calhoun was used before the Civil War as a summer retreat for President Andrew Jackson. In 1862, a name change was in order. Named after John C. Calhoun, President Monroe's Secretary of War and Confederate sympathizer, it was decided that it would be named after Maj. Gen. John Ellis Wool, a Mexican War hero and commander at Fort Monroe..."
The soldiers at Ft. Wool were able to witness the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac (some of the first ironclads).
"After being decommissioned it was given to the state in 1967 and in 1970 the City of Hampton developed it into a park. ..
It can be briefly glimpsed by cars entering the southern end of the Hampton Roads tunnel on Interstate 64.
Freighter coming in to port
Fort_from_the_air_in_1967
Map_of_the_fort_published_by_Ft_Monroe
The hotel is the tallest building around, and a well known landmark. The wait staff was setting up for a wedding reception in the terrace room so we left and walked over to the fort. The hotel went out of business after 9-11 because anyone who wanted to go there to eat or use the hotel had to submit to a search. It is now an old folks home
Engineer's pier from the top of the hotel
We walked along the waterfront, past the place where the old Baltimore ferry dock used to be (that Bob used to travel on with his family to visit their relatives in Norfolk), past the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse
Old_Point_Comfort_Lighthouse
Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort
which is almost dwarfed by the fort ramparts past the Engineer's pier (which they built to bring in the materials to built the fort), and went into the fort through the East gate. This gate (and also the North gate) is just wide enough for one car (oversized vehicles have to use the Main Sallyport on the west), so there are traffic lights at either side.
Sally Port
One comes while I am on the bridge over the 8 foot wide moat and have to stand out of the way for a car to enter the fort, and then again when I am in the middle of the tunnel through the fort walls when a car is coming out, so I duck into a pedestrian cavity to allow them to come through. Bob and Fred and Sharon are a bit ahead of me because they walk faster and don't stop to take pictures.
Quarters_inside_the_walls
Lees_Quarters
Quarters One is right opposite the East Gate. It is the oldest residence on the post, and Lincoln and the Marquise de Lafayette have both stayed there. We walk around inside the fort, where Army families are still quartered, past the house where Robert E. Lee stayed in 1831-1834 when he was stationed here and was stabilizing the island where Fort Wool is located (it was then Fort Calhoun).
Drawing_of_the_1862_fort
- Next entry in the series 'Snowbirds by Boat and Car': Inside Fort Monroe - 3rd ICW Post 2000
- Previous entry in the series 'Snowbirds by Boat and Car': Getting Ready to Go South on the ICW - 2000
