Yachting USA – September 2019

3 8YACHTINGSEPTEMBER2 019

DRINK IT IN

Norfolk, Virginia, is a fun-fi ll e d stop with a fa ll win e fe st iva l.

by kim kavin

B

rook smith can

talk to boaters all

day about why they

should tie up in

Norfolk, Virginia. As the man-

ager of Waterside Marina, he

spends countless hours next

to scenic Town Point Park—

within steps of shops and

eateries, the Nauticus museum

and the battleship Wisconsin,

and the ballfi eld Harbor Park,

where the Triple-A Norfolk

Tides round the bases, hoping

to get called up to Major League

Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles.

¶ But it’s during the fall, Smith

says, that transient traffi c really

picks up—and during one fall

weekend in particular. This

year, it will be October 19-20.

That’s when the Town Point

Virginia Fall Wine Festival

is scheduled to take place.

¶ “It’s just become the thing

to do,” he says. “People come

over with their boats and walk

because you don’t want to be

on the roads when they let

out at 5 o’clock.” ¶ Dodging

drunk drivers aside, visiting

boaters consider the marina

a haven because transients are

the only kind of boaters wel-

come.No annual slip contracts

are given, which means that

reservations are first-come,

fi rst-served for anybody who

FORGET THE CARD CATALOG

Norfolk’s Slover Library opened in 2015 with technological features

that draw locals and tourists alike. There’s a bistro with outdoor

seating, a Playscape and KidZone, a video gaming room, and more.

C

CURRENTS> DESTINATIONS

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