Chez Team · video

What this video covers

Chilu and Eze run their sailboat Chess aground on the ICW south of Norfolk, Virginia, during the autumn southbound migration of cruising boats heading to Florida and the Caribbean.22:34 The grounding happens while maneuvering in a crowded holding area near a bridge under repair, where 30–40 boats are circling in rising wind with nowhere to tie off.14:59 Before that, the crew navigates the Norfolk Naval Station — the world's largest naval complex — past aircraft carriers and destroyers, with a security escort warning if boats approach too close.4:04 The ICW passage from Norfolk involves a cascade of timing problems: a railroad bridge listed as normally open is closed, causing a 90-minute wait that nearly costs them their slot at a lock; the lock itself is so crowded that Chess is assigned to the unprotected overflow side; and a second bridge under maintenance opens only every two hours instead of hourly.9:25 Chess carries a 62-foot mast and faces a 65-foot fixed bridge at 3.5-foot high tide, leaving less than 1.5 feet of clearance.11:00 Wind picks up while boats queue for the bridge opening, Chess drifts into a submerged log, and the episode ends mid-crisis.22:34 Timing bridge schedules and lock cycles together, not separately, is the critical planning lesson the crew learns the hard way.

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