Cape Hatteras NC 6/1/09

My observant readers will notice that today’s entry places us back in NC when we were in VA yesterday. Why-you might ask? We traveled into 5 states in May and kept going as our boat insurance requires us to be in the Chesapeake Bay in early June due to hurricane season. Time did not permit a boat side trip to the beautiful Outer Bank area of NC so we decided to rent a car on this very windy day and go back to Cape Hatteras.

Cape Hatteras stretches north to south across three islands, Brodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke, and the islands are linked by the narrow NC paved road, Route 12 as well as the Hatteras Inlet ferry. You could spend an entire month’s vacation in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Park exploring the islands, shipwrecks, lighthouses, and wildlife refuge but we only had a day and spent our time on Coquina Beach and the Brodie Lighthouse. With our beach umbrella and folding chairs, we are always ready for a beach day. After the brown calm water of the ICW and Dismal Swamp, the ocean water today was green and frothy.

This area is also home to Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Bob got his private pilot’s license a few years ago so this stop was definitely on our itinerary. The Wright Brothers amazing story of flight is told here from their earliest boyhood longings to fly, establishing a successful bicycle business in Dayton OH, learning mechanics, physics and chemistry from fellow inventors, self-financing their efforts and setting off for Kitty Hawk to test their dreams and theories in an area they referred to as the Sahara Desert. Through blazing heat and cold, bug and rodent-filled tents and primitive buildings, they persevered first with glider flight, and then on 12/17/1903, they made 4 successful propeller-powered flights, the longest being 852 feet in 59 seconds. Our modern world owes a lot to these pioneers.

Loopers Peg and Dave on Sea Ya will be coming into the marina tonight and we will travel together to Deltaville in the Chesapeake and do more aqua touristing in Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown. Stay tuned.

Portsmouth and Norfolk VA 5/31/09

We exited the Dismal Swamp back into the fast lane with jet skis and water skiers having fun on a summer Saturday but we missed the quiet oasis we had just left. Another few miles and we were in the Portsmouth/Norfolk VA area, home of the US Navy fleet. With so many sailors around, there are bound to be mermaids, and there are 2 Hooters within a 1 mile radius.

Portsmouth and Norfolk are connected by bridges, a tunnel and a paddlewheel ferry across the Elizabeth River. We took this over to Norfolk on Sunday to explore the maritime and science museum, the Nauticus. You can get lost here for hours watching The Living Sea movie, engaging in a simulated naval battle at the AEGIS theatre, learning more about NOAA and our ocean world as well as see shark tanks. Adults and kids alike were involved in the interactive exhibits. The second floor is a free exhibit of naval history and art at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum which prepares you to visit the Navy battleship, the USS Wisconsin.

While on the deck on the USS Wisconsin, I spotted our next boat, the 221-foot White Cloud, complete with helicopter. One internet yachting site suggests that it is owned by Barry Diller, the TV programming guru who is married to Diane von Furstenberg. This is their small boat compared to Eos, a 305-foot mammoth yacht. Our little 32 -foot Baby Grand is not even big enough to be their dinghy.

We topped our day off with a walking tour around the Free Mason Historic district and the Free Mason Abbey, now a restaurant, has some interesting stain glass windows. We went back to the Waterside harbor area to take the ferry back and met Joyce and Wayne on Lady J again . They are from San Diego, just bought a Marine Trader here recently, and are figuring out their new boat and traveling plans.

We are staying on the Portsmouth side at the Ocean Marine Yacht Center and picked up diesel for $1.82 per gallon. The marina is next to the nTelos Wireless (outdoor) Pavilion, and during our stay, we were serenaded with rap music on Saturday and the US Army on Sunday and we wished that we were here instead on June 8th for the Celtic Women concert. Waterside Marina on the Norfolk side would be quieter but has a tighter harbor for docking.

Dismal Swamp Canal 5-30-09

When you visit the Dismal Swamp, you are transported back in time to the forest primeval and enveloped in its greenery and quiet. It is 125,000 acres now but once covered 1.28 million acres in NC and VA but it has been drained and logged since the time of George Washington who used slave labor to help build part of the original canal. These slaves found refuge here also as it was a staging area for the Underground Railroad to freedom in the north.

For boaters, it is a chance to get off the ICW fast lane and cruise at very slow speed through the brown tannic water and enjoy more of a wilderness experience. The canal is lined with walking and bike trails and some of the walkers were passing us. The park borders are home to deer, black bears, fox, snakes, songbirds and butterflies. It is not without risk as the canal depth is 7-8 feet in the center but the bottom is full of tree trunks and deadheads that might just reach up and grab your propeller.

You can do the canal in one day with 2 locks but we opted to tie up at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center dock for the night along with Los Gatos (catamaran sailing family with 3 adorable daughters who have been cruising and home schooling for a year) and Briar Patch (Dean and Kathy on their beautiful hand-built wooden sailboat from NH heading north after the Bahamas; we were even at the same Easter sunrise service on Great Guana Cay and I am unintentionally in two of her photos—how is that for it being a small world).

It was a hot, humid 93 degrees and it was interesting and cooling to spend time in the North Carolina Welcome Center. There is a new Dismal Swamp Interpretative Center across the canal which is reached by a portable bridge which is swung into place for land visitors and swung over again when boaters want to pass. Pretty clever use of space.

Why is it called “dismal” if the experience is so wonderful? There are many stories and legends about this but the best one we heard was from the Deep Creek lockmaster, Robert. Apparently, Colonel Byrd was charged to survey the swamp area to establish the border between VA and NC. He returned years later to oversee the canal building, but it was slow going and the canal crew abandoned him after they ran out of rum. He then pronounced the entire operation, “dismal.” Not only can Lockmaster Robert tell a good story but he gave us a conch shell concert so remember to bring an extra shell for his collection.

We passed a signpost which put our travels in perspective so now on to a month in the Chesapeake. We have travelled through 5 states in May.

Elizabeth City NC 5/28/09

We left Oriental on 5/27 with clouds, rain, NE winds of 15 knots and 1 foot waves in the Neuse River building to 2 footers in the Pamlico River but watch out for the deadhead (tree branch) by the Hoboken Bridge by the Coast Guard Station—could they remove it? On to the Pungo River cut and then 20 miles on the Alligator River for a 79 mile day. We anchored with Avalon at Milepost 102.2 which was quiet until 8-10 pm when the Marine aircraft streamed overhead and then back to quiet and a good night’s sleep

Up and aweigh with Avalon at 6:30am in the fog but this burned off as the sun rose higher. We had an easy day on the rest of the Alligator River and then on to the unbelievably easy, flat calm journey on the 14 miles of the Albemarle Sound—did we luck out. We parted ways with Avalon as they are headed for the Virginia Cut and we are headed for Elizabeth City and the Dismal Swamp route. Thanks for helping we ICW newbies through some difficult sections.

As we neared Elizabeth City, we saw the blimp hangar and a blimp ready to launch—they still use these for advertising on the east coast. As we approached the free docks at Elizabeth City, the SE wind increased to 15-20 knots which would surf us right into the dock with a roaring tailwind just like a sailboat we saw crash. Free or not, we did not want to wipe out. Sam from the Elizabeth City Rose Buddies called us on Channel 16 and diverted us over to an overflow docking area by the museum. This docking had its challenges but no damage to us or our boat so that’s a good boating day.

Elizabeth City prides itself on being the Harbor of Hospitality since 1983 when wine and cheese receptions for boaters complete with roses for the First Mate was inaugurated. See the picture of the plaque commemorating this tradition. Current Rose Buddies, Charlotte and Dave, met all of the visiting boaters (Lady J, Briar Patch, Sea Shell and La Vinea) at 4:30 pm and gave us a welcoming reception as well as an orientation to the Dismal Swamp.

Hospitality does not stop there as Farm Fresh Supermarket will offer a free shuttle and the new museum is free. Check out the pirate history and the new Art Duck O exhibit as well as try your luck at the Shooting Gallery. If you don’t have time to do the Great Circle Loop, consider doing the Caroline Loop from Norfolk to Coinjock to Elizabeth City and through the Dismal Swamp. Elizabeth City also has a walking tour and Civil War markers so its pr campaign slogan of "nestled in history and steeped in charm" is very accurate.

Oriental NC 5/26/09

How does a city in NC get a name like Oriental—it is named after the steamer Oriental and the town even continues the theme with a Dragon Festival. Oriental is the sailing capital of NC and it was great to watch the sailboats on the Neuse River from the colorful Adirondack chairs at Lou Mac Park. We are traveling with North Carolinians, Pegge and Mike on Avalon, and this is one of their favorite stops due to the friendliness, charm and hospitality of the whole town. If you are carrying a bag and look like a boater, you will get plenty of ride offers. Carol on s/v Miranda lives here now and passed us in her sporty red convertible and pulled over and took us to the Town n’ Country Market and then we got a ride back from Doug at West Marine. Cindy at the funky Marine Consignment store, which looks like the cluttered attic filled with “treasures” at the Bayfield Yacht Club boathouse, gave me a ride to the boat to pick up some treasures that Bob was willing to part with—we are still working on decluttering.

We stayed at the Oriental Marina and the dockmaster Tom knows how to do docklines. The marina has a pool, complimentary towels (do we love that) and a tiki bar where you can meet the locals and fellow boaters (bomba Shack, Jet Lag, Moondance) and here’s a picture of Pegge and Sam Spade aboard Avalon. This is a great walking town and there are historical walking tour pamphlets for Midyette and Broad Streets. The Oriental History Museum is only open Friday to Sunday. I’ve shown you a lot of pictures of houses but this Evinrude motor mailbox caught my attention. Oriental also has a free dock big enough for 2 boats and you can check out if there is space by going to the webcam at www.towndock.net/harborcam.

We had planned to have almost a whole layday here except for changing the oil and transmission fluid but then we noticed ooze seeping out of the anchor well and that definitely got our attention. Our anchor chain and rode was clogged with black sludge that the washdown pump did not get so we had to empty it all out, wash it down again, unpack the V-berth and scour the anchor well—4 hours, but since it was overcast and raining, it wasn’t so bad. We ended the day with a great fish dinner at M & M’s and toasted our anniversary of 40 years. My ruby is spending the best year of my life doing the Great Loop with my Skipper Bob.