Thursday, 9/17/15 - Jamestown, VA
 |
| 1 of 2 annoying ferries |
 |
| We needed a howitzer! |
The evening anchored on the James River was very calm and pleasant EXCEPT for the ferries that continually went across the river. Though they ran maybe 1/2 mile away from us, they had large wakes. Many of the wakes were so large we would rock violently from side to side. Doors and drawers would open, food would spill, etc. Argghhh. Too bad we didn't have a cannon!!!!
Fortunately, they quit around 9:30 pm. HOWEVER, they started back up at 5:30 am. Argghhh.
Needless to say, we decided to move Samba first thing in the morning rather than spend another night anchored here. Too bad.
 |
| Carol & Ralph getting ready to hoist the anchor |
We decided to move over to the touristy Jamestown Settlement to see the sights there. There were no docks or marinas but it looked like we could probably anchor there. Sometimes, you just have to try. Hopefully we could find a place to land the dinghy!
 |
Carol gave Jim hand instructions while Ralph washed the
mud from the chain & anchor. It wasn't as messy here as
many places we've been. |
 |
| Due to shallow water, we had to anchor Samba pretty far out. |
 |
| Notice the sign. LOL! |
We anchored at low tide. Though Samba was fairly far out, it was only about 7 feet deep. The water was so low that we couldn't get the dinghy to the nice beach so we found a place to tie it to some trees on the other side of the rock wall. Fortunately, as the tide came in, the dinghy just floated around waiting for us.
 |
| It was not a boater friendly place |
 |
| The visitor center was huge - - and amazing! |
 |
| The 20 minute introductory video was well done |
 |
| The rotunda in the visitor center |
 |
They had wonderful exhibits that went
forever. This is just the hallway that skirted the exhibits. |
 |
| Heading to the outdoor displays |
 |
| Part of the reconstructed Powhatan Indian village |
 |
| The huts were surprisingly roomy. They were quite resourceful |
 |
| Logs being burnt out to form canoes |
 |
The Settlement had lots of helpful &
informative attendants |
 |
Notice her tattoos.
Powhatan women wore tattoos. The men wore paint. Interesting. |
 |
The Susan Constant was the flagship for
the 3 ships that brought the original group
of 100 men and boys in 1607 |
 |
| Aboard the Susan Constant |
 |
| The cook's quarters & galley! |
 |
| Tight quarters for 54 passengers! |
 |
They manually moved the rudder! This was before they had
a steering wheel above deck. Tough way to go! |
 |
| At the reconstructed fort |
 |
Is that Ralph Claus or the jolly green giant that just came down
the fireplace chimney? :-) |
 |
| A few of the beautiful exhibits at the visitor center |
 |
| This sculpture was at the entrance to the visitor center |
 |
| The tide was up so Jim extracted the dinghy from its hiding place |
 |
There was enough water this time to get the dinghy to the
beach to pick everyone up. |
We returned to Samba at 3:00 after an interesting and tiring day touring the Jamestown Settlement. We decided that rather than spend another night on the river, we would head downriver to Smithfield. This should be about a 3 1/2 hour cruise so hopefully we would make it before dark.
 |
| Leigh drove the boat for a bit while... |
 |
| ... Ralph finished his book |
 |
| A bald eagle flying by! |
Our destination was Smithfield Station, several miles up the Pagan River, off of the James River. The charts warned us of one area that had shoaling problems.
 |
| Though beautiful, the Pagan River was extremely shallow! |
As luck would have it, we arrived at the shoaling area at LOW TIDE. Argghhh. Yup, we ran out of water! As our depth finder displayed 0.00 feet below the keel, we gently plugged forward through the mud. Talk about tense!!!!
We did push through until we again found a little water and continued the journey to Smithfield. Phew!!!!
 |
Tired after a long day, we enjoyed a tasty dinner on the deck
at Smithfield Station |
 |
| What a great ending to a great day! |
