Saturday 11/19/11 Last night got really cold. The temps went down into the upper 20s and lower 30s. But we stayed snug in the cuddy cabin. The boat had about a 1/8th inch of heavy frost all over it. The sun came up to a cloudless sky. We were on our way from Yorktown at 8:50A. By noon we reached the entrance to Hampton Roads. The traffic was much lighter than we expected. There was a tug and barge at anchor with a diver in the water working on the Navy Degaussing Range. Then we passed about every type of Navy ship you could imagine in berths along the next 10 miles. 
One of the highlights was when we had to pass an oncoming ship, with a tug on each side, in one of the narrowest parts of the channel. To add to the fun…. there was an aircraft carrier docked on one side of the channel and a marina on the other. But we made it through without swapping any paint!
At 2:00P we reached Gilmerton Bridge. There are actually two bridges there. Gilmerton is a highway bridge and just 20 yards past it is the Norfolk & Southern Railway Bridge #7. The bridges open on the half hour so we waited patiently. We were the only boat there. By the time the bridge was to open at 2:30, there were 3 tugs, 2 trawlers and a sailboat for company. It got kind of cozy because the bridges are on a tight bend in the river. Two trains went by and delayed the opening another 10 minutes.
By 3:15P we made the right turn into Deep Creek and anchored about a mile before the lock marking the beginning of the Dismal Swamp Canal.
Gilmerton Bridge: N36° 46.509 W076° 18.777
Deep Creek: N36° 45.342 W076° 19.352
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