Sunday, June 23, 2013 - Great Bridge Lock Park - Bells Mill
We launched from Great Bridge Lock Park. The park is located, as you might deduce from the name, directly adjacent to the Great Bridge Lock on the Intracoastal Waterway. It is right off Battlefield Blvd just north of the Great Bridge Bridge. The boat ramp at the park gets a pretty good amount of powerboat traffic, but we got there early so we didn't have any problems launching.
It was a bit windy going out with the wind directly in our faces (thanks Kate!) at about 10 miles per hour. We went out from the launch and crossed the Intracoastal Waterway and down a little creek. The creek was more protected and had less wind on it. We were able to check out a protected "pond" surrounded by a thick stand of trees on all sides. We saw a bunch of fish jumping as well as some baby jellyfish in there. A bunch of other (self-described novice) kayakers came into the pond so we headed back out.
We went back out to the Intracoastal and then down Bells Mill Creek. We saw a bunch of tiny Swallows perching in the top of a dead tree. They were little and fast moving. We paddled all the way down to Bells Mill Road. This creek abuts a residential area so we saw a number of houses many with docks and piers. Some of them were, hmm ... how should I describe it ... you've heard of "gangsta's paradise"? These would qualify has "redneck's paradise". :) The houses actually seemed nice. The "accoutrement" ... less so.
We came back up the creek and saw some big fish that jumped about a foot out of the water and 12 feet horizontally ... THREE TIMES! Then we went around a big island on the Intracoastal. For some reason, this part was really really shallow almost the whole way. I'm not sure how any larger craft come down this part unless the other side is significantly deeper. Back out on the Intracoastal, the boat traffic had picked up significantly so we definitely stayed up against the shoreline.
We observed a Bald Eagle swoop down from its perch in a tall pine to and grasp a four inch long fish in its talons in one smooth move and then fly away. Very impressive. A BALD EAGLE!
When we got back to the boat ramp, we were approached by a very nice older lady named Lilly Stone. She was with the Nansemond River Power Squadron. (www.nrpowersquadron.com) She offered to do a free (voluntary) Vessel Safety Check on our kayaks. We happily obliged and got safety stickers to show that we are in compliance. All about safety!
It was pretty hot (high 80s) but the humidity wasn't as bad as they were saying and despite the clouds, it didn't rain while we were on the water.
Video to follow.
Two hours and 50 minutes on the water. 5.7 miles on the GPS.
Great day!!
