Crossing the Albemarle Sound

Day 4
9/17/15

Today we got up at the break of dawn to try to take advantage of the typically calmer water on the sound early in the day.

The boat was running great with its newly cleaned props and our crossing was fast and uneventful since the water was relatively calm on the sound.  The Albemarle Sound is known as often being one of the most challenging sections of the entire Intercoastal Waterway, and our previous experience with the sound confirmed that, so we were glad to have an easy crossing.  

We arrived fairly early to the Alligator River Marina on the other side of the of the sound where my brother David and his wife Terri met us.  They live in New Bern, NC and are cruising with us until we get them back to New Bern.  We wound up using their car to go to dinner in a nearby town at a very nice restaurant because the cafe at the marina did not seem very receptive to serving dinner to us there.  Go figure.  The Alligator River Marina may be a convenient stop, but I think we'll avoid it for overnight stays in the future if we have a choice.

Hanging Out in Elizabeth City, NC

Day 3
9/17/15

Today was a "no travel" day.  I needed to find a diver to get the props and rudders cleaned of the barnacles that were slowing us down.  I was finally able to find someone who was willing to short haul the boat and clean the props for less than I had paid the last diver, so I hired him.

The people who had been behind us in the Dismal Swamp Canal who also had two Border Terriers showed up and we had some nice conversations comparing notes on our dogs.  They also gave us some leads on where we may want to stay in Florida when we arrive.

Sharon and I walked to the local CVS for some supplies and also took a walk around town.  We had some visitors come by the boat, one of whom also owned a PDQ 34!  Several people came aboard to check out the boat.

It was late afternoon by the time I could move the boat to the lift for prop cleaning, so while the dogs and I went to take care of that Sharon went to the free wine and cheese party given by some locals for visiting cruisers.  Then she went to a wine tasting and a food pairing event at a local restaurant where she had supper.  After getting back from having the props cleaned I had microwaved hot dogs and sauerkraut for supper.

The Dismal Swamp Canal to Elizabeth City, NC.

Day 2

9/15/15

We left the free dock at the beginning of the Dismal Swamp Canal route at 7:45am so we could make the 8:30 lock opening into the canal.  The lock raises the boat from the water level in the creek up 8 feet to the canal level.  We were second in line at the lock and two more boats came up behind us.  After we got into the lock we realized that the tug style boat behind us also had two Border Terriers aboard.  We found out that the husband and wife team on that boat lives only about 20 minutes from us in Saluda, VA and they boat out of Urbanna, VA.  Small world!

Robert, the lockmaster at this lock, was very friendly and helpful.  After he helped each boat to tie up on the lock wall he explained to each one of us what to expect during the locking process.  Then he raised the water level in the lock and while that was going on he gave us each a short history of the canal and asked us if we reached Key West or the Bahamas to please bring him back a conch shell to add to his collection in the front yard of the lock office.  

Then he gave us a serenade on a conch shell horn and let us proceed.

The canal is 22 miles long and boat speed is limited in the canal to “no wake” speed, about 6-7 mph.  

We made it to the Visitor Center, which is about 4 miles before the end of the canal.  Since we were running a little ahead of schedule for the 1:30pm lock opening 4 miles further down the canal we decided to stop at the visitor center and walk the dogs and have lunch.  

After lunch we went on to the end of the canal and our timing was perfect, we were able to go right through the draw bridge just before the lock which had been opened for the boat ahead of us without even slowing down.   After locking 8 feet down to river level, we followed the beautiful upper Pasquotank River 18 miles downstream to 

Elizabeth City, NC where we docked at the municipal marina.

They were so happy to see us they threw us a party with a live band!

Our Adventure Begins!

Day 1

9/14/5

We left Southall Landings Marina in Hampton for the last time about 11:30 am, naturally later than we wanted.  As soon as we were in open water it was immediately apparent that we had barnacle growth on the propellers in spite of having had a diver clean them just a little over a month ago.  I tried calling several marinas in Norfolk, but had no luck getting a diver on short notice.  Since our speed will be limited to “no wake” all through Norfolk and through the Dismal Swamp Canal, I decided not to worry about it until we get to Elisabeth City, NC and hopefully we can get a diver to clean the bottom while we’re there for a couple of days.

As we headed to Norfolk we saw a submarine leaving the Navel base and headed out to sea.  This is the first time I’ve seen this.

Going through Norfolk we saw the naval base and a ferry, many navy ships being refitted, and finally we reached the cutoff to the Dismal Swamp Canal.  Since we missed the last lock opening for the day we found a free dock and tied up for the night.

Finally! Today is the Day!

This is a much-delayed post from April 9th.

Building Our Wings came out of storage today at Pleasure Cove Marina in Pasadena, Md.

After splashing, I spent a half hour on the phone with the former owner going over some of the systems and procedures.  My next door neighbor, Fran Murphy, came along with me to help move the boat to its new home in Hampton, VA.  He filled the water tank while I fueled the boat.  Then we cast off the lines and headed for Solomon's Island, MD for our first stop.  It was cold and rainy, so after getting out of Bodkin Creek I drove from the lower helm out of the weather.

The boat ran beautifully and there were no problems except when I accidentally engaged the autopilot while fooling around with the GPS.  It took a few minutes to figure out why I had lost steering control, but once I figured that out it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.  It took about 5 hours at 16-17 mph cruise to reach the Calvert Marina at Solomons Island, where we stayed the night.

Meet Little Wing

We finally got the dinghy titled and registered.  We decided "Little Wing" would be a good name for the tender for "Building Our Wings".  She should fly with that 15hp Yamaha!

Stevie Ray Vaughn playing his version of the Jimi Hendrix song "Little Wing"

Boat Cards, Who Knew?

Boat Card Front

Boat Card Back
  

Have you ever heard of a boat card?  I'm sure most of you have, but we had not until we began reading and doing research about cruising and traveling the Great Loop.  It's like a business card for boaters to exchange with people they meet while cruising.  What a great idea!  After finally settling on a boat name we decided to order these boat cards.  They give our basic information like boat name and make, hailing port, our names and our boat dog's names, as well as our contact information.  For this picture on the blog I deleted my telephone number, but it is on the card itself beneath the blog address.  On the back we decided to put the Ray Bradbury quote that is the origin of our boat name.  

We ordered these "economy" business cards on-line from VistaPrint, and I thought they were quite reasonably priced.  The background is one of their standard economy templates.  You can order 100 cards printed on the front only (blank back) in full color for $5.00 and add the back in grey scale for $4.00 or in full color for $8.00.  Of course you can spend more for fancier cards, but we think these "economy" cards will serve quite well!