Oriental

347 nm  N35 01.490   W076 41.719

This morning, we got up before dawn, as was becomming our habit, in order to get going at first light. After popping our hatch to take a look around, we discovered that our Anchor light had failed!  I thought the problem was a corroded terminal strip, as this has happened before during this past summer,  but I was going to have to wait for later to troubleshoot it.

The wind was still blowing a pretty good 15 kts, so we made sure everything below was secured snugly, as we expected a bumpy ride today. Again, we have no pics because none of our cameras are waterproof, and it was a wet ride (from spray) .

  Our trip would take us across the Pamlico River, down a canal, across the Bay River, and out onto the Pamlico Sound, and up the Neuse River to Oriental .  The Pamlico Sound is the second largest estuary, second only to the Chesapeake, and it can get quite rough when the winds are up.

Crossing the Pamlico River had a lot of chop, and 1-2 ft swells.  Winds rose to 20 knots.  We were glad to be off of it in the brief respite the canal gave us.  Then more of the same on the Bay River.

Once we turned the corner and were on the Pamlico sound, the winds rose still further to 25 kts. SW, and were just forward of the beam. We rolled out a reefed jib and motor sailed at 6-7 kts! (I will not put anyone on the foredeck to raise the main under these conditions).  I had to start out with the jib furling line on a winch because I was not sure I could get it back in without it!

But it was fun!  We blasted along until the turn onto the Neuse River put the wind so close to our nose that we had to bring the jib in and just motor.  Got into Oriental and took a slip at the Oriental Marina & Inn, and discovered that a Halloween costume party was being held  up on the deck this evening!

We both love Oriental, and always contrive to spend one or two extra days there.  This trip is no exception, and we arranged to stay two nights.

Our friend and fellow P-323 owner Michael Scott lives nearby, and came down to visit and offered to drive us anywhere we needed,  We went out to dinner and then did a quick grocery run.

The next day, Sunday, We walked the town a bit, and were saddened by how many business were shut down by the devastation that hurricane Florence's flooding caused.  Especially sad was the fact that The Bean, the center of coffee and Ice Cream in Oriental, was shut down.  The building survived, but the inside was gutted.  But they are rebuilding, just going to take time. I was told that they managed to save most of the equipment before the floods came.

The Bean is Closed

 Later in the afternoon, another friend who is nearby, David Osborne, came by to visit.  We met David and Kim in Elizabeth City a year and a half ago, as they were just starting out on a Great Loop trip.  Now they are loopers!  Kim was away and unable to come by today.

To finish off the day, Joan whipped up a delicious Steak Marinara, and then we had sundowners with Sean and Eva aboard S/V Emerald Fire

Life is good.

(PS - I had problems uploading the pictures in this post and am almost out of power on my laptop, so I will have to fix them later.  --Ed)

To Belhaven

305 nm   N35 32.261   W076 37.726

A real nice sunrise at Deep Point on the Alligator River.

Sunrise on the Alligator

"Red Sky at Morning, Sailors Take Warning.."  So the ditty goes.  And we were expecting rain today.  But today's travels would take us down the Alligator-Pungo canal (sort of a larger version of the Dismal Swamp Canal) and would very shielded from most wind, limiting the unplesantness.  So, off we went.  Our next destination was Belhaven, a little town with a breakwater-sheltered harbor that would protect us from the weather moving through today and tonight.

It started to rain lightly shortly after we left, so, not a lot of pictures today.  Did get this one before it started.

Entrance to the Alligator-Pungo Canal

At one point, in the rainy distance, I saw what appeared to be two ducks, steadily swimming across the canal in front of us, from one bank to the other.  Imagine my surprise when they reached the far bank and strpped up out of the water, revealing that the "ducks" were actually the heads of two deer!

The rest of the trip to Belhaven was pretty uneventful.  By good fortune, the rain stopped briefly just as we got in, enabling us to set anchor and get below before it resumed.

That night, the front moved through, with 22 knot winds, which made it a little bumpy, but was great for the wind generator!

Joan cooked another one of her fabulous creations, shrimp with tomatos and onions over a bed of brown rice with quinoa.

Life is good.

Alligator River

First, because I know Mom is reading this and worries, it's NOT called the Alligator River because it's teeming with hungry, man-eating reptiles! It's called that because when you look at it on a chart, it has the shape of an alligator! :)

Dawn Over Elizabeth City Harbor

Anyway, up before dawn, our usual routine when we're on the move, so we can get going by first light and make the most of the short number of daylight hours we have.

Down the river, south of Elizabeth City in the small town of Weeksville, stands the old WWII-era naval blimp airdock, which was used to house blimps that would patrol the coastline in search of German U-boats.  Currently TCOM, a private airship manufacturer, uses the facility for their Ground Systems Manufacturing and Test Facility where they build blimps and airships for everything from surveillance to sporting events.

Old Naval Blimp Airdock and a TCOM airship

 Once down the Pasquotank River, we made our way across the Abelmarle Sound to the Alligator River.  This crossing can often be rough, but we managed to time it so the wind was behind us, so we made a speedy crossing with following seas.  We wanted to go today because tomorrow is rain.

Once across, we passed through the Alligator River swingbridge, and motorsailed all the way to the southern tip of the Alligator River.  With the wind out of the North, it's usually too rough to anchor right at the end of the river, so we turned the corner into the twisty approach to the Alligator-Pungo Canal and anchored off of Deep point with a number of other sailboats.  Joan thawed out a steak and I fired up the grill.

Life is good.

Dismal Swamp 2, Elizabeth City

After spending the night rafted up on the Dismal Swamp's Visitor's Center dock, everyone broke raft and headed out early, eager to cover the last 3 miles of the canal and catch the first opening of the South Mills Lock at 8:30.   The last part is some of the narrowest parts of the canal. You have to simultaneously keep track of staying in the center to avoid logs and roots, and keep an eye on the overhanging branches that force you out of the center!

S/V Take Five Squeezing Through

We made it to the lock on time, and locked through without incident.  Well, mostly.  Our locking technique still needs some work.  We've got to decrease our line-handling time so as to have the stern line free and ready the moment the lockmaster presents his boathook for the line.  Even a second or two of fumbling lets the stern swing too far out.

South Mills Lock, Ready for Boats

Get Ready for an Eight Foot Drop!

Once through the lock, the canal gradually widens into a winding river, the Pasquotank, and takes you to Elizabeth City.  We took a slip at the free docks and were helped with our docklines by a couple of friendly natives.

Dolce Vita Tied Up at Elizabeth City

To our surprise, one of the people who helped us identified himself as a "Rose Buddy"!  This tradition of greeting transient boaters had almost died out when its founder died, and we had not been greeted two years ago wnen we were here.  He also informed us that there would be a small wine and cheese party on the deck at 4:30 for all the boaters willing to brave the cold! 

Wine and Cheese Party

Note the Hat: Rose Buddies!

Swapping Sea Stories

Wine, cheese, good company.

Life is good.

Dismal Swamp Canal!

206 nm  N36 30.393  W076 21.353

This morning, everyone on the basin got up and left about the same time.  We were all trying to make the first opening of the Gilmerton Bridge after rush hour and get to the 11:00 lock opening.  This all worked pretty much as planned, and just before 11:00 found us all queueing up for the Deep Creek lock into the Dismal Swamp.

Sailboats Queued Up for the Lock

And we're In...

...and Out

The Dismal Swamp Canal is strange and beautiful.  It's miles long, narrow, and straight as an arrow.  The trees overhang the banks, and you have to remain vigilant to not get your mast caught in the branches!  It's so eerie, you're gliding through a heavily wooded forest in a sailboat!

Ahead...

...and Behind

Crossing from Virginia to North Carolina

 About 28 miles in, we reached the Visitor's center dock, our destination for the night.  This free dock allows overnight tieups, but only has space for three boats, so additional boats must raft-up.  We ended up with a total of seven boats.

Five so far...

Towards the dock, we had an experienced cruising couple our age aboard S/V Take Five, and outboard of us, we had a young Canadian couple and their two border collies aboard the S/V Emerald Fire.  We had sundowners aboard Take Five's spacious cockpit before retiring to our separate boats for dinner and sleep.

Tomorrow, we plan to complete the last 3 miles of the Canal, exit via the lock at South Mills, and head down the Pasquotank river to Elizabeth City.

Life is good.

Portsmouth

183 nm  N36 50.138 W076 17.782

Today was another short day from Salt Ponds to Portsmouth, only around 20 nm.  This would position us well to hit the first opening of the Gilmerton bridge after rush hour, and get to the 11:00am cycling of the Deep Creek lock into the Dismal Swamp Canal.

The trip through Norfolk harbor is always exciting, with lots of large military and commercial ships going every which way.  You've really got to keep your eyes peeled.  At one point, I looked up to notice that one of the shoreside cranes appeared to be growing.  It turned to be a crane on a barge, headed directly towards us on a reciprocal course!  I dodged without getting honked, but I truly doubt that he ever saw me before that!

Next, we were overtaken by a warship, a Littoral Combat Ship LCS-16, the USS Tulsa.  This is a trimaran hulled ship, with large flat angular surfaces (stealth?) that looks quite unusual. It came up astern of us, was greeted by two large tugs, which spun it around and let it back up into a mooring.

USS Tulsa

After that, it was tugs, ferries, more tugs...you get the idea.

As we passed Hospital point, mile marker 0 on the ICW, we looked over the anchorage in case we had to come back there if Portsmouth was full.

Our destination was one of the two basins in Portsmouth with free docks.  The first one, the northern one, was a bust.  The seawall was under construction and the free dock was closed.

The second smaller southern basin was open, and only had two other boats in it!  Our strategy of getting here early paid off!  We quickly tied up Dolce Vita and watched as other boats soon arrived.

Dolce Vita Tied Up at Portsmouth

We met two other cruising couples from S/V Pegasus and S/V North Star.  After early sundowners aboard North Star, we all decided to go to a dinner theater in town.  Someone had purchased the old Commodore theater, one of those grand old movie houses that had fallen into disrepair, and refurbished it into a dinner theater that showed first run movies.  We had dinner, drinks, and saw "A Star Is Born".

New Friends

The Commodore Theater

Tomorrow, we'll head for the Dismal Swamp Canal, a visit we've been looking forward to for two years, ever since hurricane Matthew shut it down for a year.

Life is good.

Interlude

Today was our second day at Salt Ponds.  After the front went through and the rain finished, the winds came, and steadily built up to gale force, making us glad we had decided to wait it out.  Even in the slip, the boat was heeling, and I had to put on extra docklines.

But it was clear and sunny, and in the afternoon the winds abated some, so we took a walk up to the public beach and did some beachcombing.

Bayside Beach at Salt Ponds

Although its not a particularly beautiful beach, I was struck by the cleanliness.  Virtually no manmade trash or debris of any kind!  I was hunting for seaglass, and only found six tiny fragments.

Tomorrow, we will be "back on the road" again, with our next planned stop a free dock in Portsmouth, just across the river from Norfolk.

Life is good.