Sailing South on Carina: Fascinating Norfolk*

. . . THE CITY OF WARRIORS AND MERMAIDS

Put it down to old-fashioned flag-waving, but seeing our country's military might is awe-inspiring to us. Few places have caused us to be in as much awe as Norfolk, Virginia, home of a huge U.S. Navy base. Entering the Elizabeth River to downtown Norfolk is jaw dropping because of all the destroyers and supply ships looming over us on dry dock. We learned that those ships are nothing compared to the number of active ships docked at the naval shipyard.

Carina was safe at Waterside Marina in the shadow of U.S.
Navy warships at dry dock.

After tying up at a downtown marina, we got fuel, a pump out, and did laundry. Joe, son of good friends Bob and Trish, was kind enough to help us make a rum run. We've heard about Joe and his family -- who live in Norfolk, by the way -- for years from his folks, and it was wonderful to finally meet him in person.

After boat chores, we had fun touring the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, a free museum on the history of the Navy in the Norfolk area. The Civil War battle of the two ironclads -- the Monitor and the Merrimack -- took place just outside of the city.

The U.S.S. Cole was repaired after the bombing that
opened a hole in its side and killed 17 people.

Later that day we took the naval base cruise that took us by several miles of ships. The most famous were the U.S.S. Cole, the destroyer damaged by bombers in Yemen in 2000, totally repaired and back in business, and the U.S.S. Enterprise aircraft carrier.

We remember the Enterprise from the times it recovered capsules as part of our space program. The carrier was involved in the Cuban Missle Crisis, Vietnam War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. This year, it was decommissioned and is being disassembled. Soon it will be sold for scrap metal.

The Big E is the longest naval vessel in the world and was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. It had a crew of 4,600 sailors. Probably its size and age were its downfall. Upgrades to the ship in 2010 cost $662 million and ran 46% over budget. Despite the cost, it's still somewhat hard to say goodbye to a ship that was such a part of the history that we lived through.

Maids of the Sea

Mermaids were everywhere in downtown Norfolk. Chicago was the first city to give plain fiberglass symbols of the city to leading artists, asking them to use it as a canvas. The really creative pieces were displayed in streets around the city to stir up interest in the arts. In Chicago's case, the symbol was a life-size cow (Mrs. Leary's cow that kicked over the lantern). Norfolk's symbol was a mermaid.

In Norfolk, mermaids were part of fountains, on sides of buildings, in malls or on pedestals in parks.

The Heron Mermaid is a favorite. . .

A pink-jeweled mermaid for a law office.
You floozie, you!

And then there's this chocolate-colored mermaid,
wrapped in foil, with several bites out of her tail,
named Go-Diva.

As is the Star-Spangled lady.

Goodbye, Norfolk. Hello, Chesapeake.

Leaving for the Chesapeake caused us to retrace our
steps from the cruise the day before. Here's a lonely
early morning watch on an aircraft carrier.

Two days after we docked, we left Norfolk early in the morning to avoid as much military and shipping traffic as we could. It seems like other sailors had the same idea.

It didn't work out as well for some boaters as it did us. As we sailed toward the Chesapeake, we'd hear VHF radio calls like: "Pleasure craft entering the Elizabeth River, this is Warship 55 on your stern." Now wouldn't being told a warship is behind you get your attention?! We laughed every time we heard a military boat contact a sailor or trawler -- and kept an eye peeled so we suddenly didn't have Warship 55 or 69 or Whatever on our tail.