Elizabeth City, NC - 10/25-10/30

A day on the Dismal Swamp! 

6 boats were tied at the lock pier last night, and this morning, we all got in line to journey down the canal.

The lead boat is also headed to Brunswick Landing Marina (m/v Spirit)

3 boats behind us.

The water in the canal is maintained to 6 feet, so we had a pleasant 4.5 hr cruise down the canal to the 2nd lock.  There is a really nice bulkhead (long cement wall) with cleats to tie up the boat when waiting for the lock to open.  Several of the boats in our line opted to stay at the bulkhead because big rains are predicted for today and tomorrow.  It was tempting, but since it was just 1:30pm, we decided to push on to Elizabeth City (at the end of the canal).  The only catch was that we had to make the 4:30 bridge opening or wait until 6 pm.  So the 2nd half of the trip was less relaxing as we kept a careful watch on the depth sounder, the very twisty river with lots of floating debris, the ticking clock, and the rapidly darking sky.

We made the 4:30 bridge opening with about 1 minute to spare!  The city dock was full so we pulled into Pelican Marina (where the rate is a flat $35/nite - including electricity).  No sooner than the dock lines were tied than the rain and wind started and didn't stop until about 10pm.  I tell ya, nothing beats the security of being tied to a dock during a major blow. 

Tuesday, 10/26:  Our intention was to get up and get out early, but the rain was still falling and the winds were still high, so we are staying another day in Elizabeth City.  Since we didn't stop here on our way up, we are looking forward to exploring this cute city today.  It is definitely one of the more boater-friendly cities we have visited.  Every nite, the visitor's center hosts a wine and cheese party for the boaters, and there are always two old salts sitting under a tree at the city dock to direct boaters to a slip that will fit their boat.  We found a restaurant with 75cent tacos and a half-pound of shrimp for $5.00!  Our kind of place!

Mile 51

From talking with other boaters, it looks like we'll be staying here thru Wednesday as the wind is predicted to be over 20 knots tomorrow.  We face crossing the Albermarle Sound after we leave Elizabeth City which is wide, long and shallow ... perfect ingredients for a nasty crossing of  choppy, steep waves when the wind is high.  And the bridge at the Alligator River (at the end of the sound) doesn't open if the wind is over 20 knots. 

Oh well.  We didn't get as far as we'd hoped during the current weather window of warm temps.  Thursday will be last nice day -- highs of 78 and lows of 67.  On Friday, the high temp will be 64!  On the plus side, our friends Clyde and Sheri will reach Elizabeth City tomorrow, and we'd been hoping to complete part of this trip with them.  Especially the passage at Alligator River -- it's shallow and tricky and the spot where we ran aground on the way north.  With a little luck, we'll be able to follow them through that stretch.

Thursday, 10/28:  Still here in Elizabeth City because this storm system out of the midwest just keeps on coming, bringing lots of rain and high winds.  In fact, last nite, we watched the Giants kick butt in the first World Series game while under a Tornado Watch.  Who would have thought we'd have to worry about tornados after leaving MN!  For the last two days (and predicted thru Friday), the wind gusts have exceeded 25 knots which means the smaller bridges we need to transit won't open.

The high winds have resulted in many, many boats hanging out in Elizabeth City, waiting for weather.  The City Dock is completely full as are the local marinas.  We heard from friends on the Dismal Swamp that over 11 boats are rafted together at the Visitors Center ('rafting' is when boats tie onto each other because there isn't room to tie directly to the dock).  Plus, the 300 ft bulkhead at the 2nd lock in the canal is completely full!  We figure there are about 50 boats waiting to make the Albermarle crossing as soon as the weather improves.  Not being a fan of crowds on the waterway, we are thinking about waiting unitl Saturday to shove off.  Hmmmmmm, the weather will definitely be cold by then ... on the plus side, we have great internet service here and can plug in our small electric heater (and take advantage of free elecricity at the marina)!

Today is our last day of warm weather so Dan got busy cleaning the boat, and I got busy doing laundry ... anything not clean when we leave here will have to wait til Brunswick.

The highlight of the day was that our son, James, sold his home in Eagan (closing today at 1:30pm).  A rocky road to get here but considering the bad housing market, he got out after having it on the market for 2 months.

Our favorite son and favorite golden retriever

Off to new adventures.

Friday, October 29

OK, starting to go a little stir-crazing.  We get up early every morning with hopes of untying lines and moving on, even though we can hear the wind howling outside.  By the time coffee is ready, numerous weather forcasts have confirmed what we already know, but hate to admit ... another day of 20-30 knot winds is upon us, and we are staying in Elizabeth City another day.  Today, several boats left the City Docks with plans to cross the Albermarle (unfortunately, they won't get passed the Alligator River b/c the bridge won't open).  We are tempted to leave the marina and move over to the free docks, but since the temps are dropping into the 30's tonite, the thought of using the heater tonight is even more tempting.  Plus, Captn Dan is 'pretty positive' that we'll be able to shove off tomorrow.   Can't wait to get moving.

After the Albermarle Sound, we have to cross the Neusse River (at Oriental, NC), which can also be a nasty crossing if weather is not favorable.  But then, we are done with the tricky water ... or at least the wide, long expanses of tricky water.  For the remainder of the trip, we will be in protected waters of the ICW, rivers, canals and channels, where the trickiest part will be avoiding shallow water.

Saturday, October 30

FINALLY! Left the dock at Elizabeth City at 7:30am, along with a dozen other sailboats.

Crossing the dreaded Albermarle Sounds was a smooth affair, so I guess all that waiting was a good thing.

 

The Albermarle Sound connects to the Alligator River, which is where we had a nasty grounding on the way north.  This time, we were in a line of about 6 sailboats and there's definitely safety in numbers!  All morning we heard reports on the VHS radio of people going aground at the same spot as we did, so it was a good feeling to pass that spot again with 9 feet of water under our keel (while we watched a 60ft motor yacht being pulled off the shoal by a tiny BoatUS tow boat).

After a 50 mile day, we anchored at 3pm at the bottom of the Alligator River.

(this picture is proof that Capt. Dan does get to relax every so often!)

Mile 101

10/24 -- Starting the trip south

Well, the debate is over ... we paid our bill for 4 days at Salt Ponds Marina, deciding not to stay one more day in order to get two days free (and get this:  the price for a week at the marina is just $20 less than the cost for a whole month!).  We've got a couple of nice days to travel before the weather turns sour so we figured we'd better take advantage of the warm temsps, clear skies and southerly winds and get moving.

Leaving Salt Ponds Marina.

It's a very tricky exit. That's shallow water on the left.

Following the markers out the channel.

Our first stop was Norfolk to fill up on diesel.  I thought that a return visit wouldn't be as exciting as our first trip, but seeing the huge naval vessels from the water was still quite a thrill.  Mile 1 - formal start of the ICW.

Of course, nothing beats the thrill of looking over the stern and seeing this bad boy coming up on us!

Our destination for today is the Dismal Swamp Canal ... one of George Washington's better ideas and one of the Army Corp of Engineers genius feats!  It's 52 miles from Norfolk to Elizabeth City (other end of the canal), and we'll pass thru 2 locks that control the depth of the canal to 6 feet.  The locks operate 4 times a day, and after making the last lock of the day at 3:30pm, our best option was to tie up at the lock pier and spend the night.  Gorgeous, calm, warm, and we even have TV reception so we can watch the Vikings' football game tonight.

Entering the Dismal Swamp. The canal itself is 22 miles.

Entering the Deep Creek lock with two boats behind us.  Mile 10.5

Robert - the lock tender.  A man who truly loves his job!  He knows all the history of the canal, can play actual music on a conch shell, and invited us over for coffee and donuts in the morning.

Maja at the pier.

Fall in coming!

D.C. back to Hampton VA (10/17-10/20)

Sunday:  Time to say goodbye to our wonderful sojourn in Washington D.C., and retrace our path down the Potomac River.  Getting fuel, water and pump out at the only fuel dock in D.C. (which opens at 9:00) guaranteed that we'd have a late start down the river.  We've been debating places to anchor tonite, and for such a big river, the choices are amazingly slim.  Our goal is to make it back to Pt. Tobacco since we are running behind schedule ...this means anchoring after sunset, something we generally try to avoid.

Yes, some beautiful homes line the Potomac.

Here we are, chasing the sunset towards our anchorage.  Thanks to the city lights of D.C., we had about 30 minutes to spare before it got really dark ... and by that time, we were using our boat light to search out crab pots that line the shore.  We anchored safely midst the crab pots ... tuna sandwiches for dinner and early to bed so we can beat out of this anchorage before the crabbers arrive tomorrow!

Monday:   We were on our way by 7:00.  The day was clear and calm and warm ... probably one of the last we'll be having for awhile.  Because of our early start, we had time to cruise up to St. Marys City, off the St. Mary's River, at the mouth of the Potomac.  St. Marys City is the oldest town in Maryland, originally the state capitol, so lots of history to hike over around town.

This shipped traveled from England with 70 passengers!

This ship traveled from Georgia with 2 passengers!

Happy Birthday to Me!  Steak dinner and champagne and sunset.  Life is good!

Tuesday:  Exit the Potomac River and enter the Chesapeake Bay.  We were expecting rain today so we left the cockpit enclosure up as we got underway.  Even though the rain never came, the temps stayed cool enough that we ended up leaving the cockpit enclosed the whole day. Today was one of those days where the wind was always coming over the bow, no matter what direction we were headed, so we had little luck trying to run with the sails up.  So, it was just a long, long day of 60 miles to Deltaville, where we anchored at Fishing Bay for the night.  This is our last night at anchor on the bay ... tomorrow, we arrive back at Salt Ponds Marina where we started this leg of our trip 6 weeks ago.

Wednesday:  Brrrrrrrrrr.  Let's hope this is not a preview of things to come!  The temps are in the 60s, it's windy and cloudy and the waves on the bay are giving us a rocky, rolly ride down to Hampton.  Even with the cockpit enclosure up, we are dressed in sweatshirts, wind breakers, hats and mittens ... makes me wonder what we'll wear when it gets really cold.  The good news is that it's 80 degees in Georgia!  We arrived back at Salt Ponds Marina at 4pm, and docking into the wind was made much easier because Sheri Leatherwood (m/v Morada) heard our radio call to the marina and came down to catch our dock lines. Despite boat tasks waiting for us, we ended up hanging out with Clyde and Sheri on Morada until 9pm, catching up on news since we last saw them in August. 

It's been 12 days since we've been in a marina, and we are looking forward to the creature comforts of shore power, TV reception and water on demand!  From here, we head back to the ICW and the 3-week trip back to Brunswick Marina in Georgia.   The onset of cool weather makes us want to get the trip started, but we're also reluctant to say goodbye to the Chesapeake ... for now, it's nice to be in one spot for a few days.



Anchored at Washington DC - Oct 11-17

Our current home in D.C.

That's us (view from East Potomac Park)

That's us (view of Washington Monument)

We are anchored in the Washington Channel.  For $10/nite, we can use the dinghy dock and bath facilities.  We could even take our dinghy down the channel to the tidal pool in front of the Jefferson Memorial (how cool is that!! except for the gates that control the tidal flow ... it seems that you could get trapped on the wrong side when the locks close to regulate the depth -- and stuck there for 6hrs until the next tide!).

Monday, 10/11:   Our first day started with lunch with Bob and Sue (s/v Seahorse III).  We haven't seen them since they left Brunswick in mid-April, so it was a fun reunion.  We got a tour of the local area (including the Pentagon where Bob worked for 5 years -- cool, huh!).  Then off to Alexandria, where we had lunch at the Old Dominion Boat Club (founded in 1880).  4 hours later, we emerged from the club!  

Beautiful view of the Potomac.

After lunch, we realized we were about 9 blocks away from where Michele Casey works, so that was our next stop.  We spent the evening at Michele's home, which included seeing the Vikings play on Monday night football (bah!) as well was some fabulous Cosmopolitians! 



Tuesday - 10/12:  Our day with Michele Casey.  What a blast to have a personal tour guide! 

We had only one item on our list -- See the WWII memorial. 

After touring the memorial, Michele began her personal tour, which included a pub crawl around D.C. and Chinatown. 

Start the route by passing the White House!

At Hotel Washington (or W), we had an over-priced, delicious cocktail on the rooftop lounge with a million-dollar view of the city. 

At Old Ebbitts Grill, we had the best artichoke/crab dip EVER.

In Chinatown, we had the BEST wood-fire pizza at Matchbox. 

It was a day of pleasant extremes -- including the weather which was unseasonably warm (~80+ degrees).   We ended the day on the Metro, where Michele gave us a lesson on using the train to get around town.   

Wednesday - 10/13:  Our day with Ed and Connie Dooley.  What a blast to spend the day with two real "Washington Insiders" -- Ed worked at the Capitol (as the Washington Bureau Chief for UPI) and Connie worked as an economist with the World Bank in D.C. We went to the new Visitors Center at the Capitol (very nice -- our tax dollars at work!), and we even got to see Ed in one of the photos covering Watergate!. Next to the Supreme Court Building, and then the Library of Congress, where we could have spent hours.  Vowing to return, we moved on to the National Press Club ... we were really looking forward to having a  drink with a Press Club member (Ed!) at the Reliable Source bar, tour the many photos and newsprint hung on the many floors.  What a piece of history.  And what a tasty dinner at the Fourth Estate

Ed and Connie

Requisite tourist pictures!

The Sequoia, the presidential yacht was docked at the marina we are using!

Thursday - 10/14:   All week, we've been debating whether or not we should move Maja over to the marina.  It would be nice to have shore power to run the electric heater at night and fully charge the batteries, but at a cost of $65/night, we continue to debate!  It's $10 to use the facilities ... and don't forget, we've have two anchors down, so moving isn't all that hassle-free.  Anyway, the debate was resolved early this morning, while it was still dark outside, when it started to rain and kept on raining and raining and raining all day.  Who wants to move a boat in the rain?  Rain days at anchor take on a whole different schdule, especialy when it's cold outside and you can stay warm under the comforter and read in bed until noon.

Friday, 10/15:   Thursday had been our "intended" departure date (that would get us to Hampton VA by Monday).  But the rain took that option off the table.  Following that storm system, we are facing 2 days of high winds (20-30 knots).  Today was a clear and blustery day, blowing 17knots at our protected anchorage.  So we stay put for another day in D.C. 

Today we bought an all-day pass for the Metro.  First we went out to Arlington Cementary to honor our nation's soldiers.  Today is the memorial service for my Uncle Harvey in Bath, NY, and since we couldn't attend, we had our own service for him at 2pm at Arlington.  We brought a dozen roses and left them throughtout the cementary. 

We sat for the longest time at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  It's such a moving ceremony to watch the guards.  Uninterrupted since 1930.... 24/7.

We took the Metro from Arlington to Alexandria VA to do some more sight-seeing and meet Michele and her friend, Ally, for dinner. Then a another short Metro ride back to the marina. We like this town!

Saturday, 10/16.   Delay day #3.  We really thought we'd be leaving today, but the forecasts of another day of 30knots wind from the west dampered our spirits (our anchorage for tonite has a western exposure).  So we debate over coffee, in our snug, warm, enclosed cockpit, and the steady whine from the high winds wins out, and we vote to stay another day!  It's so weird to consider the weather "too nasty" for travel when the day itself is beautiful!  Clear, very blue sky, temps in the 70s, sun shining, and wind blowing like stink! 

Time to finish our sightseeing.  We can easily walk to the Botanical Gardens, The Air and Space Museum, and the new Native American Museum.  Capped off by an ice cream cone for the long walk back to the marina!  We are optimistic that we'll be leaving tomorrow, so before sunset, we raised the 2nd anchor we were required to drop (what a bitch that was!  no manual windless helping with that anchor!). 

We return to the boat every day, amazed that we are anchored with a view of the Washington Monument! Wow.