The mouth of the bay is nearly 100 nm from my home port on the Patuxent River, so it isn't often that I have the opportunity to cruise this part of the bay.  Most of these opportunities have been on off-shore races and cruises where we just transited the area but did not stop and explore.  These trips included two Annapolis-Bermuda Races (1986, 1988), one Annapolis-Newport Race (1989), one cruise to Bermuda (2001), and one cruise to Newport, RI (1981).  My other off-shore trips from the Bay used the C&D Canal and Delaware Bay as the route to the ocean.

In 1992 I did sail with several other boats on a visit to Norfolk.  We spent two nights anchored in Willoughby Bay; had the opportunity to watch several Navy warships, including the aircraft carrier Eisenhower, return from the Gulf War; and toured the Norfolk waterfront. 

In 1980 I helped deliver a friends 38' sailboat to Hilton Head by way of the Inter-Coastal Waterway (ICW) which officially begins at Hospital Point on the Elizabeth River in the heart of Norfolk.

In 2005 Mike Repass and I passed through Hampton Roads on our way to Fort Pierce, FL via the ICW and an offshore passage.

In 2007 Bob Calt, Christie McGue and I stopped briefly in Little Creek, VA when returning Sarah from Europe via Bermuda.

Scroll to the destinations below, or click on the active areas of the map above for more information on the few places I have visited or plan to visit in this area.

Little Creek is the only deep water harbor with significant marine facilities outside of Hampton Roads at the bay's entrance.  Lynnhaven Inlet, just outside of the Bay Bridge Tunnel Complex has many facilities for power boats and is the sport fishing center for this area, but the inlet is very shallow and I believe there is a fixed bridge at the entrance.

In any case, Little Creek is a very convenient place to stop either before entering the ocean at the start of an off-shore trip or upon returning from off-shore.  The creek (which is anything but little) is dominated by the huge amphibious warfare base run by the US Navy.  On entering the creek only the starboard shore appears to be not part of the this naval complex.  Immediately to port on entering is the facility used by the Navy's hovercraft.

Civilian marine facilities are in the first branch to starboard on entering.  There are several very large marinas along this shore with a full complement of services.  There is no place to anchor in Little Creek and other than the convenience of the marine facilities, I am not aware of any attractions that would make one want to stay overnight.

I have stopped in Little Creek to take on fuel and supplies before heading into the ocean on two occasions.  I also stopped in Little Creek on our return to the bay from Bermuda in 2001 to have a faulty engine water pump replaced and once more in 2007 to clear in with Homeland Security.

The Elizabeth River is the entrance to the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW).  Mile Zero of the ICW is off Hospital Point, where the Elizabeth River branches. 

Below are some picture from my first trip down the ICW in 1980.