Hysterics in the Chesapeake

An old canal mile marker?

Virginia is for lovers!

Junction of Coinjock and Dismal Swamp route

We thought that we had already published this post, but it apparently didn't make it. So this is our account of coming into Norfolk and is slightly out of order.

We left the Dismal Swamp Visitor's Center early the next morning in order to make the 11 a.m. locking time at our last lock in the canal. The entire length of the canal is a no-wake zone, so we leisurely crossed the 17 miles to the lock over the next 3 hours. We met the sailboat Roane who stayed with us the previous night and he waved us on and told us to have a great day. We believe that, since he was solo, he had to stop and find another person to help him lock through. We also caught up with and locked through the Deep Creek Lock with Gene and Trace on Dream Catcher. Once we were through the lock the Dismal Swamp route joins up with the route through Coinjock and heads into the Portsmouth/Norfolk area.

The shipping channel- note tug's prop wash

Geeez! Will this ever end?

As we entered the shipping channels we tuned the radio to listen to the bridge and ship traffic. There were several bridges and we were trying to sort out which ones we had to hail for an opening and which ones were usually open. We came around a bend and found a tug holding a large container ship against a wharf, and judging from the prop wash, it wasn't shy about using its massive horsepower. Capt. Larry noticed that a trawler in front of us was careening all over the place when it entered the prop wash. He revved the engines to maintain control of Bavarian Cream and was still turned around 90 degrees. We came to our first bridge to find 2 sailboats and 3 powerboats idled in the channel. From the radio we learned that a couple of tugs were turning a large ship so that it could head out to sea. By this time the wind had also picked up to around 15 kts. and we were dancing around trying to maintain our position.

A lift bridge

We noticed that a couple of boats had proceeded through the bridge, but we had to wait until a tow got in front of us before we could follow. When we got on the other side of the bridge we found that the channel was still being blocked. We waited until things cleared and started to proceed behind the tow when Capt. Larry found the boat difficult to control. When he looked at the tachometers, he found that the port engine was idling at 500 rpms and the starboard engine was turning 1500 rpms. Moving the throttle cable didn't change the port engine speed. So here we are in the middle of a heavily trafficked shipping channel, boats and tows all around us, bridge and ship chatter on the radio that we are having trouble deciphering, increasing wind gusts that are affecting maneuverability, and we are further handicapped with a broken throttle cable!

Navy ships being overhauled

Capt. Larry sent Jane to the lower helm to see if we had full control from there. We did, so we quickly transferred everything to operate from the lower helm. We tucked in behind a tow when we heard that one of the bridges was closing to river traffic. But we had no idea which bridge it was. A tow radioed the bridge and asked the bridge tender to hold and the bridge tender agreed. Capt. Larry was still trying to determine which bridges were talking on the radio when he looked behind the boat and saw that a bridge that we had just passed through was closed. The tow that had radioed to have the bridge held was right in front of us and we passed through without ever contacting the bridge. This really shook Capt. Larry and we could not get to our marina soon enough.

We finally got to the channel that would take us to the marina. By this time the wind was blowing 15-20 kts. so we knew that it wouldn't be fun getting into the slip. We radioed the marina to find out how to proceed and explained our situation and asked for all of the help they could provide. We had only docked the boat from the lower helm on one other occasion. The marina informed us that our friends, Lace and Dick Lacey from Elizabeth City, were two slips away from our slip. Normally we have found that there usually aren't many people around to help with docking. But when you are going to have a difficult time, there's a crowd anticipating a feeding frenzy. We approached our slip and it looked like the Vatican on Easter Sunday. In fact, there were so many people that we really didn't have much help with the lines unless we directed them. Capt. Larry made two attempts to go stern-in, but was turned by wind gusts and finally gave up and went in bow first. We got the boat secured, got cleaned up, and had dinner with the Laceys aboard Confetti.

Mallards in the canal

Honkers at our marina

Chilling Out with Family and Friends

The Laceys on Bavarian Cream

We were settled in at our marina and were planning on renting a car for a week, so we could visit Capt. Larry's 94 year old aunt and cousin in Roanoke Rapids, NC as well as sight see some of the historic places in the area. We spent the first couple of days in the marina doing boat chores that had been sorely neglected. Capt. Larry changed the oil in the engines and did some basic maintenance, while Jane did some major cleaning and organizing. We also arranged to have someone help us with our broken throttle cable. This was the weekend of the Kentucky Derby, and Jane felt that we should invite the Lacey's over for a Kentucky Derby party. Of course Jane and Lace wanted to dress up with their big hats while Dick and Larry just wanted an excuse to drink.

Mad Hatters!

We got together and watched the race and Jane's horse, Animal Kingdom, actually won paying 20:1! Capt. Larry's horse, Stay Thirsty, didn't make him the most interesting man in the world. We had dinner with the Lacey's and turned in for the night.

Christine, Larry, Ray, Lori & Barb

Capt. Larry & his favorite aunt

The next morning, Mother's Day, we took our rented car and went to Roanoke Rapids to visit relatives. Capt. Larry had not see his Aunt Gladys or cousin Barb and husband Ray for 5 years, and it was a real joy to be able to reunite at their beautiful home. We caught up and traded favorite stories and were treated to a great dinner that they had prepared. Afterward, Barb & Ray's daughter, Lori, and beautiful teenage daughter, Christine, came by. Capt. Larry was talking to Christine as if he were her uncle, and it wasn't until we left that he reflected and realized that she was actually his 3rd cousin! Young people will do that to you. Anyway, it was so nice to be able to get together with people that were so important in determining the course of your life.

Jane with Mr. Bubbles

Our permit to carry rum!

We left but didn't return to the boat. Being Mother's Day, Jane's daughters, Milana & Millette, had arranged for us to spend the night at a motel at their expense so Jane could luxuriate in a tub and bubble bath- something she had not done since we left home. We no sooner got checked in and Jane hit the tub. The next morning she got up early so she could take another bath, and Capt. Larry does believe that had she not needed something to eat, she would still be immersed in her world of bubbles. We left the motel and had breakfast, then made a run to a liquor store that we had spotted earlier. The rum locker was running low (already!). We decided to get a case of rum and when we checked out, the cashier asked Capt. Larry for his i.d. Seems that when you buy a large quantity of liquor in NC, you have to have a permit to transport it. They recorded all of our information and gave us the permit which we were told to show a state trooper if we should be stopped. They kept no copies of this permit and Capt. Larry found this whole process hilarious, because he had a dated receipt for the entire transaction. Anyway, they obviously don't want any rum runners passing through North Carolina! We got back to the boat without be stopped or detained as moonshiners.

A Dismal Day for the Dismal Swamp

Dinghies all in a row at Elizabeth City

Running the Patasquotank

Locking through the South Mills Lock

We had spent our 48 hours maximum at the Elizabeth City free dock. The weather was threatening and we were sure there would be no boats moving on for dockage and the visitor's center wouldn't raise hell with us for extending our stay, but Capt. Larry felt it was time to move on. Jane didn't exercise her veto, even though a fellow boater helping us cast off was showing her the radar on his Blackberry. We got positioned for a scheduled opening of the Elizabeth City bridge, and then it was up the Patasquotank River to the Dismal Swamp. We took our time, since we only had about 22 miles to the Dismal Swamp Visitor's center and had 3 hours to travel 18 miles to the 11 a.m. locking of the South Mills Lock. The sky started to cloud up and Jane started to fret, but Capt. Larry's Blackberry radar showed that the brunt of the squall line was passing ahead of us. The Patasquotank reminded us so much of the Tickfaw with its tannin stained dark brown water and numerous cypress trees. We were about 4 miles from the lock when it started to rain, but only relatively lightly. We made it to the lock and got in line behind the other boats to lock through. Once again we were the last boat to enter the lock.

Bavarian Cream at the visitor's center

Capt. Larry & friends

Jane & Gene from Dream Catcher

We locked through and proceeded for 4 more miles to the visitor's center where we were the first boat in. We were hoping to meet up with some friends that we met at Elizabeth City and had decided to cook a jambalaya that evening for whatever boats showed up. We were mildly disappointed when we registered at the visitor's center to find that our friends had been there and left. We walked over to the Dismal Swamp exhibit center and watched a movie, viewed the exhibits, and toured the gift shop before returning to the boat. Another sailboat, Roane, had arrived and we invited the solo skipper to happy hour. Shortly later, the sailboat, Dream Catcher, arrived with skipper Gene and son Trace. They were also invited to join us. We got together and had drinks and jambalaya with everyone having a good time.

Southport to Elizabeth City, NC

We got behind on posting to the blog, because we ran into a long stretch of the NC ICW that had no cell phone or internet service. Jane was beside herself that her Facebook, e-mail, and telephone service were scant or nothing at all, but that's part of the trip and we probably won't encounter such stretches until we get into more isolated areas further north.

Tug on the Cape Fear River

An AICW lawn ornament!

Sunrise at our anchorage

We left Southport and headed up the Cape Fear River towards Morehead City and Beaufort, NC. This section of the ICW is not particularly noteworthy, but the Cape Fear River is a major shipping channel that is wide, deep and with strong currents. The waterway does pass through some rather trendy resort areas with some interesting sights along the water. We started for Wrightsville Beach and made that rather early in the day, so instead of stopping there we went into an anchorage further north around the resort area of North Topsail Beach. We got settled in, grilled some bratwurst, and watched another of Todd's movies. It was a quiet night on the hook.

A Hannah & Sadie beach house!

This is the real deal

We figure these are targets

Our motel- white building, 2nd floor, waterside (covered by palm tree)

The next morning we hustled out of bed and pulled anchor a little earlier than we usually do so that we could make an hourly opening of a nearby swing bridge. We headed towards Sneads Ferry and were scurrying along to make another bridge opening, when we noticed a navy patrol boat on our stern. We passed through the bridge and were in the Camp Lejeune marine corps camp. We found signs warning of live firing exercises, but no alarms or patrol boats were impeding our progress. When the Camp Lejeune firing exercises are being conducted, the ICW can be closed for up to 3 hours. Almost immediately after we got through the base, we started to hear loud booms in the distance and figured that the patrol boat that came up on our tail was there to halt traffic while an exercise was being conducted. We heard the firing all the way to Swansboro. As we approached Swansboro, Capt. Larry told Jane that this area looked like the one we visited on a motorcycle trip in 2006. We rounded a bend and sure enough, we spotted a motel we stayed at and a nearby restaurant. Deja vu all over again, only this time we were on the water side.

We continued on toward Morehead City/Beaufort. As we were coming into Morehead City we watched the sky darkening and rain clouds forming. Capt. Larry told Jane to get ready for a major rainstorm and within 15 minutes we were in a downpour. We slowed down and closed the eisenglass on the upper helm. While this kept everything from getting soaked, we also lost visibility. Jane went below to prepare the lower helm for use when she reported that 2 of the 3 windshield wipers didn't work. Basically for a two-mile stretch we were steering by the GPS and chartplotter. It cleared a little and we decided to duck into the Morehead City Yacht Basin, rather than trying to make Beaufort. We thought we were home free as we approached the marina, but the skies opened up again as we came to the dock. We, and everything on the upper helm, were soaked! We got the boat secured and had dinner. The next day we debated over moving the boat to Beaufort. Because the weather was going to turn nasty in the next 24 hours, we decided it wouldn't be worth it. Instead we got the bikes down and headed into Morehead City's business district to pick up some marine parts, groceries and have lunch. We returned to the boat and battened down the hatches to get ready for our next blow. The weather caused us to spend an extra day here, and after 3 days it cleared and we headed out.

Our supper

We finally left Morehead City and started towards Elizabeth City, the gateway to the Dismal Swamp. We had planned to go into an anchorage on the first night out, but the wind was gusting fairly strongly and the wind direction indicated we would likely have a bumpy night. We passed up the anchorages we had chosen and was looking for somewhere to spend the night. There were no marinas in this stretch, but Capt. Larry noticed that one of the guides indicated a low cost dockage at the R.E. Mayo Fish Co. near Hobucken, NC. Jane called to get the scoop and we learned that this was a commercial fishing dock that we could tie up to for the night for 40 cents a foot ($16). They asked if we would be interested in any fresh seafood, and although we were looking for shrimp, they only had scallops and flounder. We were told to call (they had no VHF radio) when we got closer and they would have someone there to help us tie up. We got close and were getting ready to dock, but we couldn't get in touch with them, because we had no cell phone service. After 20 minutes of trying to raise them, we decided that we would have to dock ourselves.

Filleting Mr. Flounder!

Jane was able to get us into the dock and after we tied up we headed for the office, only to find that the dock we had tied up to was cordoned off because it was in such need of repair.

Ladies' facilities at Mayo Fish Co.

Jane stepped on a plank and the entire plank came up causing her to almost fall. We paid our dock fee and bought a 2 lb. bag of scallops. When we were asked if we wanted any flounder, Capt. Larry, thinking that we were talking about fillets, said sure.

Hmmmmmm! Grilled flounder

He was taken to the ice house and presented with a 4 lb. whole flounder that we could clean on their fish table! Jane went back to the boat to get a fillet knife and we ended up with two really nice fillets that we grilled with green onions, butter, lemon juice, and Cajun seasoning. It was probably the best meal we have had on the trip. The next morning we fueled up at Mayo's commercial fuel dock and headed for another anchorage.

Refilling the water tank

"Libations & Lies" session

We crossed the Pamlico River and headed up the Pungo River on our way to a marina on Upper Dowry Creek. The trip seemed to drag on as we were on fairly large bodies of water with monotonous scenery. We arrived at the Dowry Creek Marina in the early afternoon and thought the marina was a real gem. Some like fancy marinas and yacht clubs that are all spit and shine, but we prefer a more laid back style and that is what we found at Dowry Creek. We were invited to a "libations and lies" session at 5 p.m. and we met a lively group of boaters and partied for the next couple of hours. We accepted an invitation to a birthday party the next day. However, when we arose the next morning we found that a storm was forecast to roll across the area in the next couple of days, and we wanted to make it to Elizabeth City to ride out any storms and stage for our trip through the Dismal Swamp. We cast off and started up the waterway to an anchorage that night.


Although we were on a leisurely pace of 7-8 knots, we arrived at the anchorage that we had pick out around noon. Feeling that it was to early to stop, we changed our plans and continued on up the Alligator River to a recommended anchorage in the Little Alligator River. When we arrived at the anchorage Capt. Larry had his doubts as to how comfortable it would be given the little protection. The guides noted that the anchorage would not be good with westerly to northwesterly winds. Since the winds were from the east and forecast to change to the south-southeast, we dropped the hook, grilled some pork chops, and watched another of Todd's movies. Problem was, the winds never shifted until around 4 a.m. and the anchorage was very exposed to easterly winds. We were bumping miserably all night long. This lack of comfort was compounded by Jane's frustration at not having cell phone or internet coverage.

A blimp at the Elizabeth City blimp factory

Bavarian Cream at free dock

At the wine & cheese party

Jane with her roses and Rose Buddy

With the Laceys at the museum

The next morning we decided to leave earlier than usual to get out of the anchorage. Talk about being out of touch. Jane finally got connected to Facebook and saw all of these postings about Osama bin Laden. We turned on the satellite radio and listened to the news as we crossed Albermarle Sound. It was difficult to focus on the news and dodge the numerous crab pots in the sound and Pasquotank River. We arrived at Elizabeth City just before noon and were delighted to have a slip available at Elizabeth City's free dock. We got settled in and then took advantage of a free shuttle provided by a local grocery store between the docks and the store. We were able to restock with the things that are hard to carry on our bikes (mostly beer!). We returned to the docks and were invited to a wine and cheese party hosted by the "Rose Buddies" and the Elizabeth City Visitor's Center. Click on this Rose Buddies link and you can read about the tradition. Jane got her roses, some wine & cheese, and everyone received a briefing about what to expect in the Dismal Swamp. We left the party and had happy hour aboard Confetti with Dick & Lace Lacey from Texas. We had met them at the Port St. Joe mini-rendezvous last January. We went out to eat and turned in for the evening. The next day we went to the Museum of the Albermarle and then to a seafood restaurant with Dick and Lace. The seafood was some of the best we have had on the trip. The rest of the day was spent on boat chores and waiting for the storm to arrive.
 

We Make It to North Carolina

Part of the "Rockpile"

Covered at high tide

Near the SC-NC border

Capt. Larry finally pulled Jane from the shops in Myrtle Beach and we headed north towards North Carolina. Right out of Myrtle Beach we encountered what is referred to the "rockpile'" In this stretch of the ICW the channel narrows significantly and is lined by outcroppings of rock ledges. The advice is to travel straight down the middle of the channel, but at high tide the rocky ledges are covered or awash with a minimal depth of water. Get outside the channel and you will almost surely hit some rock. Also, meeting a large tow in this section forces you to approach the ledges dangerously closely. We went through just after low tide and were glad we did. It was so much easier to see the channel and stay in the middle and we had 8-9' depths all the way. With a 3+ foot more of water at high tide we would not have been able to know where the channel was. This section stretches for almost 5 miles and we were glad to be out of it. We were traveling on Saturday of an Easter weekend and we encountered a lot of weekend boat traffic. That and a lot of no wake zones made the run to Southport, NC, our next stop, a lot longer than we expected.

Music at the Spring Festival

Beautiful Southport

Strawberry shortcake!

Chocolate, ice cream and orchids

Easter happy hour

We arrived at the Southport Marina in the early afternoon just as the onshore sea breeze was kicking up. This made getting the boat into a slip difficult, but we finally made it by going in stern first into the breeze. When we checked in we were told that the town was celebrating its Spring Festival, so we decided to head to the nearby park and have lunch and enjoy the festivities. There were lots of food vendors and Jane had lots of craft vendors to look at. Capt. Larry listened to some live music while Jane browsed. She found a jewelry store with Easter presents and a Christmas store. We headed back to the boat for happy hour and dinner. The next day we were offered the use of a car from a fellow boater, so we headed out to Wal-Mart for a beer and grocery run. All of the things that we have trouble hauling on the bicycles. This was Easter Sunday and we had made reservations previously at an old pharmacy converted into a restaurant. It turned out to be a delightfully wonderful meal. After we got back to the boat we watched some TV then went over to a neighboring boat for a protracted happy hour. Since we had a good internet connection, we were able to have a video Skype call with Jane's grandson, Brennan, and Capt. Larry's granddaughters and family. It was a wonderful holiday even though we were not able to be with our families.

Sunset over the marina