THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 17, 1996 TAG: 9606170028
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 35 lines
The Intracoastal Waterway is a zigzag artery that has sheltered and befriended boaters along the Atlantic coast for 60 years.
Although it officially begins at the Annisquam River north of Boston, bends around Florida and finally quits at Brownsville, Texas, Intracoastal travelers are most familiar with the section that runs from Norfolk to Miami - a stretch of 1,095 miles.
In fact, an imaginary line running across the Elizabeth River from about the tip of Town Point Park in Norfolk to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital is officially the waterway's ``Mile Marker Zero.''
The waterway pumps money and life into Hampton Roads, with as many as 60 to 80 boats a day coming through the Norfolk-Portsmouth choke point during the peak migration periods in fall and spring. Most of them stop to refuel, refresh, repair and relax before heading for the open water of the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic, or running the gantlet of bridges and locks on the way south.
Between the Waterside Marina in Norfolk and Tidewater Yacht Marina in Portsmouth, about 5,000 boats each year stop for the night. Many others tie up for a few hours and move on. Depending on the size, the boats leave behind from $200 to $500 per day for local services.
Other marinas on the Lynnhaven River, Willoughby Bay and Little Creek also share the wealth.
Increasingly, ``megayachts,'' some more than 100 feet long and costing $4 million to $5 million, drop by for a few hours or days and drop scads of money for catered parties, laundry, fresh flowers, gifts and taxis to the airport. MEMO: Sidebar to main story on page A1.
KEYWORDS: INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY SERIES by CNB