{"id":52834,"date":"2019-11-19T17:21:33","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T22:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/?p=52834"},"modified":"2023-05-08T08:43:51","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T12:43:51","slug":"destination-norfolk-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/story\/cruising-and-chartering\/destinations-norfolk-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Destination: Norfolk, Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Boats <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Norfolk, Virginia, is a fun-filled stop with a fall wine festival.<\/span>\n Courtesy Visit Norfolk<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Brook Smith can talk to boaters all day about why they should tie up in Norfolk, Virginia. As the manager of Waterside Marina, he spends countless hours next to scenic Town Point Park\u2014\u00adwithin steps of shops and eateries, the Nauticus museum and the battleship Wisconsin<\/i>, and the ballfield Harbor Park, where the Triple-A Norfolk Tides round the bases, hoping to get called up to Major League Baseball\u2019s Baltimore Orioles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s during the fall, Smith says, that transient traffic really picks up\u2014and during one fall weekend in particular. This year, it will be October 19-20. That\u2019s when the Town Point Virginia Fall Wine Festival is scheduled to take place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just become the thing to do,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople come over with their boats and walk because you don\u2019t want to be on the roads when they let out at 5 o\u2019clock.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Norfolk\u2019s <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Norfolk\u2019s Slover Library opened in 2015 with technological features that draw locals and tourists alike. There\u2019s a bistro with outdoor \u00adseating, a Playscape and KidZone, a video gaming room, and more.<\/span>\n iStock\/Bryan Pollard<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Dodging drunk drivers aside, visiting boaters consider the marina a haven because transients are the only kind of boaters welcome. No annual slip contracts are given, which means that reservations are first-come, first-served for anybody who wants to cruise on over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can handle anything from a 270-foot mega-yacht down to a mom and pop trawler,\u201d he says. \u201cOur enclosed basin has 35 slips, and we also have 500 feet of protected bulkhead inside the basin. It has new power and was recently updated, so we bring in 80-footers, 90-footers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Depending on the weather, he says, boaters stay for three to five nights, finding plenty to do. And this winter, the floating docks are scheduled to be replaced. Between that and the wine festival, he says, \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of nice things coming.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Things To Do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Within walking distance of Waterside Marina, boaters can find: Nauticus,<\/b> a museum and science-and-technology center that explores the naval, economic and nautical power of the sea. It\u2019s also home to the Battleship <\/b>Wisconsin<\/b><\/i>,<\/b> which offers guided and self-guided tours.\u2009\u00adHarbor Park<\/b> is where the Triple-A Norfolk Tides baseball team plays through early September. The Chrysler Museum of Art <\/b>is known for its glass collection, and there\u2019s a studio where visitors can see how the pieces were created. Harrison Opera House <\/b>has an intimate\u2014as opera houses go\u20141,632-seat theater, while Push Comedy Theater <\/b>seats 90 people and hosts live stand-up, sketch and improv shows. The Virginia Zoo <\/b>has more than 500 animals, including tigers and giraffes.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Norfolk, Virginia, has a bevy of events for cruisers visting in the fall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Kim Kavin","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20191119","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"156","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Cruising wine-enthusiasts may want to consider a stop at Norfolk, Virginia, during the fall wine festival.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"XPTU6VBI5ZDXZIIJOSIPXQPIYY","arc_website_url":"story\/cruising-and-chartering\/destinations-norfolk-virginia\/","custom_permalink":"story\/cruising-and-chartering\/destinations-norfolk-virginia\/","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[156],"tags":[],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52834"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}