Old Point Comfort, VA

Determined to get off to an early start, we were sailing out from our anchorage by 0730.  A miraculous feat I know!  It was well worth it.  The wind was N about 5 –10 kts and we were able to get around a sand bar we needed to pass before being headed (wind forcing us down) to a more southerly course by NE winds.  The timing was perfect

We set the asymmetrical spinnaker again and proudly did our 2 kts all day as others motored past us.  It gave us a chance to finish setting up our sun shade, listen to music, put together our whisker pole, read a book and rearrange some gear in our cockpit.

By 1630 we anchored by  Old Point Comfort and the tunnel bridge just north of Norfolk.  After using a sunshower for the first time (super cool) we were refreshed and ready to go ashore.  We got our dinghy inflated and motored over to the Old Point Comfort fort on an evening stroll. History fact: the longest US fort in continuous use, where Jefferson Davis was imprisoned and where freed slaves came to enlist.

The fort was more like a well-manicured park amidst old military housing.  Children played on the grass and Halloween decorations hung outside the historic homes the military families live in.  The perfect lawns and older homes are like the Naval Academy in Annapolis, but here it is more empty, less populated, and surrounded by a fort.  The homes are everywhere—inside and outside the fort.

One of the nicest parts of our walk were the old trees.  They were everywhere and seemed as old as the fort itself.

The fort also boasted a large moat. Filled with water, it did not disappoint.

To enter and exit the fort, you walked through tunnels which were also roadways. (As you can see—homes everywhere.)  Lincoln stayed at the home at the end of the tunnel.

Lincoln was a running theme.  This is a cannon that could shoot up to 4 miles is named after him.

Hiking up to the top of the fort, we found the pet cemetery (like in Scotland, Eva!).  Mitzy was my favorite.  Honorable mentions include Lassie, Skippy and Schnapps.  And apparently one family in particular didn’t do very well with three of their pets in the late 30s.

After walking a loop around the side of and through the fort, we returned to our dinghy.  Next to us was a sport fishing boat waiting at the ramp for his trailer.  The guy wanted to give us some of his left over calamari bait, but we don’t plan on fishing until NC.  He said we could just eat it, yet, still we declined.

As a beautiful sunset began to appear, Grant motored us back to the boat. (Old Comfort Marina in the background).