The low rumble of the Manhattan Elite sailing into Hampton Harbor mixed with the sounds of seagulls overhead. The deckhand tossed ropes overboard to the first mate standing on the dock. Passersby watched as they secured the boat in a coordinated dance.
Captain Perry Dunbar looked out from the helm. The journey from Norfolk was a rough one.
“It's the nor'easter that developed off the coast,” he said. “We were complaining riding over here with four- or five-foot seas, but the ships that are off the coast right now are battling 25- to 30-foot seas, so I'll take what we have.”
Still, he said he would modify that evening’s sunset cruise to account for the choppy water.
“We'll get to see the NASA center from the water, Hampton University, the VA,” Dunbar said. “We'll pass out close to (Interstate) 64, and then due to the high winds and waves, we'll probably reverse course.”
City Cruises Norfolk started offering tours out of Hampton in June. Damion Madison, the general manager, said the second location is meant to fill the gap left by the Hampton Queen, a tour boat through Hampton Roads Harbor Tours that closed due to repairs.
“It's a lot of opportunity on the Hampton side,” Madison said. “And it actually helps folks that want to come cruise with City Cruises Norfolk to not have to go through the tunnel, but they can also get that experience on the Hampton side.”
The tour the evening of Sept. 25 was 90 minutes long. Concessions were available for purchase and a DJ provided live entertainment.
Jeff and Connie Speller have lived in Hampton for 24 years. Connie said she was looking forward to seeing the city from a different perspective.
“We don't see the water,” she said. “We see 64 and traffic.”
Along the way, Dunbar pointed out sites: The Virginia Air and Space Science Center and NASA Langley Visitor Center, Hampton University, the VA Medical Center and Blackbeard’s Point, where the infamous pirate’s severed head swung from a pole to deter other pirates.
The Spellers weren’t expecting to see much of a sunset that evening — the sky had been grey and overcast all day — but they were pleasantly surprised.
“It was postcard material,” Jeff said.
