October 21, 2019 Elizabeth City, NC to Wrightsville Beach, NC

 After four days the swing bridge was finally repaired and the trio Veritas, Cramina II and Calliope finally left Elizabeth City, a rough fifteen mile ride down the Albemarle Sound into the Alligator River.  Later the Alligator-Pungo Canal was wide, quiet and peaceful.

Little Alligator river anchorage

A fully functioning Alligator river Bridge!

 We all had been looking forward to a pump out station since the Dismal Swamp.  There were none working in Elizabeth City or at the Alligator River Marina.  Yikes!  After more than a week, we blessed the little village of Belhaven for maintaining one at their docks.  The next day, we crossed an unusually calm Pamlico Sound and into the Neuse River to Oriental, NC.

Pamlico Sound

 Dietrich managed to wiggle Calliope to a free city dock, tucking under the bows of two 60 - 80 ft. Shrimp boats.  Our bow hovered at the main street's edge which was flooded due to a high, wind driven tide.   It was a tight space, but entertaining.  The shrimpers keep motors running and huge LED lights on the decks all night.  Across the flooded street The Bean welcomed us back (we hung out there in 2008-2009, too) for 7:00 am coffee, bagels and scones, real newspapers and locals who have their own mugs behind the counter.  We enjoyed bike rides and long walks in the charming neighborhoods.  Our Canadian friends on Veritas and Cramina II joined the cozy harbor crowd having passed R.E. Mayo Seafood Co. along the way.  We all had a feast on Veritas of fresh shrimp, lightly curried, over rice.  We turned Queen up loud and sang along in an attempt to drown out the shrimpers' diesels.  Earlier that day, Mike Sutherland (a Traverse City friend) called from his boat eight miles away.  He made a speedy trip in his dinghy for a short but lively visit.   It was good to have him aboard!  We hope it will happen again as we all head south.

Oriental NC shrimp boats

A visit from Mike

Snapping off shrimp heads

Cramina II squeezing between Veritas and the behemoth

 During an easy day's sail to Morehead City we encountered dolphins dancing in Adams Creek.  I sat on the cabin top for a better view, wanting to talk with those beauties but they were shy.  Predictions for high winds caused us to choose the city's transient docks where dolphins played in the canal at our bow.  The whole shoreline is new due to nearly complete destruction  during Hurricane Florence in 2018.  We had a wonderful reunion with Laurie and Paul Welser (former Traverse City teacher, artist, carpenter, musician, GTYC cruisers on steel hulled Verkennen) who now live in Morehead City.  They generously took us to grocery stores, hardware stores, bookstores, and let us do laundry in their home.  They prepared a Low Country Shrimp Boil and the best Key Lime Pie!  They shared trails that wound through forested dunes to the remains of a WWII bunker, then back along several miles of hard packed beach as the in coming tide chased shore birds and the sun set.

Fred Balls old Lucky in Morehead prepping to cross the Atlantic

At a nearby marina, we spotted a familiar boat!  It had belonged to Fred Ball, from Harbor Springs, MI, a friend of Dietrich's and a fellow racer.   Fred sold the boat, now it is headed to the Mediterranean.

Morehead City weather

with Paul and Laurie Welser

Atlantic Beach sandpipers

Atlantic Beach grasses

 After dinner in the cockpit, we listened to a Beach Music concert in the nearby park.  It was Ok, but we were more impressed with the Welser guitar and ukulele duets on their back porch.

Atlantic Beach rocks

 An anchorage at Mile Hammock (Camp LeJeune, NC) was a quiet respite before docking in Surf City to shelter from 30 - 40 knot winds.  The Atlantic beach was a five minute walk through the resort area, past more new construction due to hurricane damage.  After the storm, waves were huge, dotted with board and kite surfers.  We spent most of the afternoon and until dark roaming that beach!
 The 650 ft. fishing pier shared our attention, too.  The dock shook with each crash of wild waves.  It was easy to lean on a railing and be mesmerized by the quiet conversations among fishermen, the birds arguing for morsels at the cleaning stations and by watching the grace of surfers.  The pleasant feeling of isolation above the water was worth savoring.  We will look for more fishing piers.

Surf City fishing pier

Surf City fishing pier

Surf City fishing pier

Southern Chesapeake to Elizabeth City, NC October 8, 2019

 Tangier Island continued to make us smile and wish for more.  Two watermen often struck up conversations with us.  Eventually, they invited Dietrich to motor out to their oyster farm, where they filled an order for 600.  Back at the company fish house they dumped each oyster filled frame on to a stainless steel counter, counted, bagged, and stored the crop in an industrial refrigerator.  Within the hour, the Buy Boat zoomed the bags to a Chesapeake area restaurant.  Later, a bag of thirteen oysters was delivered to our cockpit.  Dietrich pried them open with a screwdriver and a paring knife, doused them with lemon and hot sauce, then shared the slippery slurping with a boater across the dock.  A good time was had by all.   A few days later, we stayed at the Fishing Bay Yacht Club near Deltaville, Virginia.  They generously let us have a slip and access to beautiful facilities.  Their Cruisers Group met that evening and they asked us to join them.  It was such an enjoyable event, complete with meeting a couple who were friends with our Tangier Island dock neighbors and whose daughter spent several summers at Interlochen Music Camp.  Those Small World incidents happen all the time!

Fishing Bay Yacht Club

 After a quick stop at Fort Monroe, we traveled thirty miles up the James River to tour Jamestown.  The ferry wakes were wicked, so we had to anchor several miles away.  Once again, our dinghy proved its worth.  The day we spent at Jamestown was quite interesting, certainly worth the effort. However, weather was humid and 96 degrees.  The following day, the heat index was over 100 degrees.  We ordered our first Uber and went to a Theater Tavern, wonderfully air conditioned, to see Downton Abby.  It was a good decision!

The Largest Gun from Fort Monroe, the Lincoln

In the crosshairs

Jamestown Demo Glassblowers

James River Sunset

James River Sunset

James River Sunset

James River Sunset

The Ghost Fleet, in Reserve for the Next big Conflict

The anchorage in Norfolk was just off a spiffy, contemporary downtown area, surrounded by Naval yards.  At a fuel dock, we met Chad Ross whose son had just finished an advanced degree at the University of Michigan.  He had high praise for Ann Arbor and his many trips up Michigan's west coast to Traverse City.  Later that evening, he motored out to our anchorage, rafted off for a while, just to chat.  It made our day.

Norfolk Drydock

New Carrier Under Construction at Newport News Shipbuilding

Norfolk Crane

Norfolk Navy Base Carrier Fleet

 We visited the Battleship USS Wisconsin.  After the basic tour, Dietrich took a long tour below decks and to the engine rooms.  He was with a group of only five and the docent was excellent.

Ready for Fore Deck Work

Just Another Chain Link

USS Wisconsin, the Engine Room Tour

USS Wisconsin, Targeting Computer

USS Wisconsin, Broadway

USS Wisconsin Machine Shop

 The trip through the Dismal Swamp Canal (28 mi. from Deep Creek Lock to the Pasquotank River) was not so much fun.  Duck Weed covered much of the water's surface and it sucked into our raw water cooling system.  We had to turn the engine off five times while Dietrich cleared the system of densely packed debris from the through hull to the strainer.  Additionally, traveling in about six feet of dark water, we rumbled over deadheads thirty-four times.

Robert Peake, Lock Master, conch horn master

Dismal Duck Weed

Duck Weed Cocktail

As we arrived in Elizabeth City we were beckoned to a free dock.  The Mid Atlantic Christian College offers these docks to cruisers who need them, graciously puts up with our questions, provides transportation for laundry and groceries, and shower facilities.  The college also makes us  welcome at an economical breakfast each morning, complete with cheesy grits. We are here with cruisers we met at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center, all Canadians.  The company is top notch.
We have been here nearly four days.  Past Elizabeth City, down Albemarle Sound to the Alligator River, the swing bridge is broken!  While there are many theories and internet speculation, there is no reliable information about when it will be fixed.  We are considering our options.   Each evening, we gather in someone's cockpit and Marc Ouimet offers this toast:  A l'amitie' des peuples (to the friendship of all nations).