Great Visit with my friend, Mike Loch in Wilmington, NC

Ryan sent me a text that Jazzy's "passport" arrived from the Bahamas, so he's mailing it to our friends, Chrissy and Carl in Stuart, in case we decide to cross to the Bahamas.

Before leaving Swan Point Marina, I went up to the bath house and saw they had a good-sized laundry facility. Wish I had thought to throw a load in yesterday. We don't have a lot, but it crowds the bathroom. Darn!

We pulled out of our slip @ 7:15. Much of the ICW was canal-like today. We were looking @ houses to our starboard and the back of houses that were facing the ocean to our port.

We were moving @ 7.5 SOG. At SM 260, we saw the bridge open. It only opens on the hour and we missed it. So we waited for the 10 a.m. opening. Next was the Surf City Highway Bridge at 11 a.m. We arrived at the Figure Eight Island Bridge at 12:35 and it opens on the hour and half hour, so we went through @ 1 p.m. The current was against us and really slowed us down. We were 3/4 of a mile away when we saw it open @ 12:30.

The Wrightsville Bridge was our last for the day, with a 2 p.m. opening.

My friend, Mike Loch, an old printer friend of mine from my days @ Atlantic Cape, had made us a reservation at Joyner Marina. After he got off work, he came and sat on our boat and chatted for an hour. Then we all went to dinner @ Gibby's, where we had fried shrimp. Mike took us to Food Lion, where I did some major shopping. Thanks for your hospitality, Mike. We hope to see Joan on our way back.

Tomorrow:  Barefoot Landing, Myrtle Beach

Going through another swing bridge.

One of the many beautiful homes on the ICW.
What do these people do for a living?

Another neat bridge.

One of the many inlets to the ocean.

Joyner Marina where we stayed overnight.

It was great to see Mike again!

Provisioning at Food Lion.
And I found room for it all!

New Owners at Swan Point Marina in Sneads Ferry, NC; MUCH Better!

The captain let me sleep in until 6:50 a.m.  I was grateful for the extra sleep, but hate having to rush. I made coffee, took Jazzy for a little walk and trash run, came back and made breakfast and we pulled out of Beaufort, NC, at 7:20 a.m.

We planned on anchoring in Swansboro, but arrived there at 11 a.m., so decided to keep going. Our SOG was close to 10 knots, but when we made the turn as Casper’s, we were fighting the current and slowed down to 5.9. We decided to make a reservation at Swan Point on the south side of Camp Lejeune.

We saw several pods of dolphins while going through Camp Lejeune.

At 2 p.m., we called Swan Point for fuel and our slip number and it’s now under new ownership by Evelyn Hobbs and her daughter, Tina Turner.  They have owned the marina for a year and a half. Prior to that, it was closed for a year (we stayed here last trip in 2009). They no longer sell fuel, so we went next door to New River Marina, got fuel, then turned around and went into Swan Point. The current was swift, so the skipper had to “gun it” to get into the marina. Tina and her sail repair person, Robin, took our lines and got us settled in.

Evelyn and Tina have made improvements to the bathrooms (I got locked in the last time we were here!) and have spruced the place up quite a bit. I was dreading coming here because of our experience last time, but I'm glad we came back. They are doing a nice job of cleaning the place up. They have free WiFi and it's fast! Tina even stopped by our boat to see if we needed anything when she was leaving for the day and left her cell phone number in case we need anything. Now THAT's service! If we come south again, we’ll be sure to stop.

We split a porterhouse steak for dinner with home fries and cucumber salad (my first attempt and it was pretty tasty!)

Tomorrow: Wilmington, NC

This morning's sunrise.

Another pretty shot.

Going down the ICW this morning.

A military boat in Camp LeJeune.

One of the many pods of dolphins we saw today.

The skipper waiting for fuel at New River Marina.

The new owners have spruced up the Swan Point Marina.

This homemade sailboat pulled up next to us. Pretty neat!

Left Anchorage; Fueled up in Oriental and Pushed on to Beaufort, NC

Last night I added Sirius Internet Radio while in our anchorage in Belhaven, so I can get it on my phone to listen to the Notre Dame games while we’re anchored out without running the boat battery down. It’s a good thing I didn’t upgrade my phone before we left. I still have unlimited data and will lose that when I upgrade. Chuck was happy to listen to the game last night.

Brrr. It was cold this morning….just 59 degrees. We pulled anchor and by 7 a.m. were on our way to Oriental, NC. We were hoping to anchor there. The forecast was for 65 degrees and cloudy.

We left the Pungo River at 9 a.m. and entered the Pamlico River, which led to a canal. We went through Goose Creek and Bay River to the Neuse River. There was 14 knots of wind in the Neuse River, so we sailed for a while. We saw lots of shrimp boats, both docked and heading out.

At 1:30 p.m., we pulled into Oriental Marina and Inn for fuel. We stayed there last trip. But it was early, the sun had come out and it was beautiful. I wanted to keep going, so we called Beaufort Docks to make a reservation, fueled up and pulled out for Beaufort.

We saw several pods of dolphins today, but I didn’t get a good picture. I read Chuck Barris' book titled, Della, A Memoir of My Daughter. Sad, sad story, but a good book.

Chuck put on Sirius Radio and we listened to the Eagles game, then switched to the Patriots game.

We arrived at Beaufort Docks at 5:20 p.m. We saw wild horses on Carrot Island while approaching the harbor.

I took Jazzy for a walk to check in. Then Chuck took her for a longer walk, while I took a shower. I walked to the little grocery store (not much there) while he took a shower. Then we walked up and had dinner at Ribeye’s. I had an a la carte grilled boneless pork chop and the unlimited salad bar. Chuck had two skewers of grilled shrimp with baked potato and Texas toast. Delish!

Tomorrow:  Camp LeJeune, NC

One of many shrimp boats we saw today.

Another shrimp boat. Wish I had some fresh shrimp!

Oriental Marina where we got fuel and left for Beaufort, NC

My Marilyn passed us on the water. They are docked here too.

Look real hard and you'll see the one dolphin picture that I (almost) captured.

AIWW Railroad Bridge, next to the
Beaufort Channel U.S. Rt. 70 Highway Bridge. 

A large tanker docked.

Renegade...neat looking boat.

Beaufort Docks restaurants and shops.

Anchored in Pungo Creek, SM136 on ICW

I woke up at 4 a.m. to the sound of pouring rain. I catnapped after that until the alarm went off at 6:15 and handed the VHF radio to Chuck to listen to the weather.

We booted up the computer and looked at a few weather sites. There was a big band of rain coming through, but it looked like it would be gone by 7:30 a.m., so we put on our rain gear. I ran to Miss Wanda’s store and grabbed two breakfast sandwiches, while Chuck disconnected the electric and got ready to go.

We pulled out at 7:20 a.m. and requested an opening of the Alligator River Bridge. A trawler was a few mile markers back, so the bridge tender held up the opening until he got near the bridge.

I opened the dodger because the skipper couldn’t see with all the rain. It was going to be a wet morning.

There was lots of debris in the river and canal. We saw a few trees floating and Boat U.S. was actually towing a tree out of the river.

I read The Bridges of Madison County (great book!) I had never seen the movie, so I really enjoyed the book.

We had planned to anchor at Pungo River SM 127.5, but pushed on to Pungo Creek at SM136 and anchored at 3:30 p.m.

Since it was such a damp day, I’m making homemade chicken soup for dinner to warm us up.

Tomorrow: Oriental, NC

Tonight's anchorage

Anchored in Pungo Creek SM 136

Miss Wanda's Alligator River Marina

Friday, Oct. 18:

The alarm went off at 6:15 a.m., Chuck pulled the kellett and the anchor and we were off by 7 a.m. We pulled out the main sail at 8:20 to take advantage of the 16 knots of wind. Near Coinjock, at marker 116 the opening in the ICW was very narrow and it looked like you were entering a little creek. Strange.

At 9:50 a.m., we passed Statute Mile 50. Only 34 more miles to go to Alligator River. I called to make a reservation, which wasn’t needed, because we were only the third boat in the marina when we arrived.

We entered the North River at 11 a.m. Winds were 9 knots from the North and it was COLD! We entered the Amermarle Sound at 11:45 a.m., SM 65.

We pulled in Miss Wanda’s at 3 p.m. for fuel, then into slip #8.

The other Sheet Music that we had heard hailed on the radio was there! It’s a beautiful 45’ Morgan, blue hull. I LOVE blue hull boats! We talked to Mike, the owner, who is moving her south with his wife’s uncle. Then his wife and kids will fly down and take her to the Bahamas.

When he named her Sheet Music, he looked on the Coast Guard site and there was only three other documented boats called Sheet Music, us being one of them. What are the chances of two of them being in the same marina at the same time?!

Mike is from Havre de Grace, but his boat hails from Oriental, NC.

I made ham steak with crushed pineapple, mashed potatoes and green beans from my brother’s garden that I had in the freezer.

I finished reading Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs. What a powerful book. I have one of his heartsongs books that my friend, Kathie Clark, gave me many years ago. I think it’s the first one.  I knew he was a special young man and a peacemaker, but I was unaware of his severe health struggles and all he accomplished in his short life. It should be required reading for everyone.

We took advantage of hot showers in the bath house, had a drink on the back deck and walked around the grounds. Jazzy got to play on the grass where she played with her buddy, Sailor, last trip.

Tomorrow: Pungo River anchorage at Mile 127.5

The captain taking down the radar ball so he could open the head sail.

Miss Wanda's Alligator River Marina

The other Sheet Music, a 45' Morgan from Oriental, NC.

Anchored at Pungo Ferry bridge; Alligator River Tomorrow

I made banana-nut pancakes for breakfast before we readying the boat for launch. We left Norfolk at 8:25 a.m., expecting to make the Gilmerton Bridge opening at 9:30 a.m. That was to be the first opening of the day and it would open every hour thereafter. So if you miss it, you have to wait another hour. It was 5.8 miles from our marina and we go 6-6.5 miles an hour under motor, so we should have arrived with time to spare.

We reset the odometer to Mile Zero, which is at red lighted buoy 36 in Norfolk. We watched the Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad Bridge, which is “almost always opened” close for a long train to go over it. Damn. Not a good way to start the day. There were about 15 boats waiting with us. I guess the bridge tender at Gilmerton Bridge works with the RR bridge tender, because he let us all through when we arrived at 9:40. Things were looking up!

I read online reports of cruisers having overheated engines and clogged strainers in the Dismal Swamp this week, (thanks to the Waterway Guide updates and my friend, Mike Loch, thanks Mike!) and there was lots of bantering on Channel 16 about it, so we opted to go through the Virginia Cut. We did see two sailboats head to the Dismal Swamp, but the rest of us chose the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal Route to the Virginia Cut.

About 15 boats all lined up on the walls of the Great Bridge Lock. I held the bowline and the skipper held the stern line while the water lowered a foot and a half. Then the gates opened and we cruised on through. There was another sailboat called “Sheet Music,” but they were forward in the line and we never did catch up to get a good look. We did see they were a blue hull though.

Chuck wanted to anchor tonight and not push it to Coinjock, so we’ll try to stay there on the way home. The wind picked up a little before the last bridge for the day, so it was a little harder to “hang” waiting for the bridge opening because the wind was trying to push us sideways. We were near the back of the “line” so it wasn’t too bad though.

We went under 13 bridges today!

We’re anchor at marker 42 just south of the Pungo Ferry Bridge, where the water is 4 ft. at low tide. There isn’t much tide differential. We only draw 30” with the swing keel up, so we’re good. There are two other boats anchored here. One gentleman rowed his homemade dinghy over to speak with us. He’s on a beautiful sailboat that he also built and is moving it to Oriental for the winter.  The other is a retired couple. They have a miniature poodle onboard. Too bad Jazzy didn’t get to meet her.

Chuck rowed around the anchorage, while I read. I made panko pan-fried chicken cutlets, mashed potatoes, corn and salad for dinner.

Tomorrow: Alligator River

Waiting for the railroad bridge to open.

Finally! We could go through. Now the race to Gilmerton Bridge.

The turnoff to the Dismal Swamp Canal. 

Entering the Great Bridge Lock.

Leaving the lock after being lowered a foot and a half.

Tonight's anchorage.

Norfolk Overnight; Laundry Done; Tomorrow: Virginia Cut

Chuck started hauling the anchor and kellett at 6:35 a.m. I made breakfast and coffee. At 7:15 a.m. he pulled the second anchor and we were off for Norfolk. While we were letting the dinghy line out, we saw dolphins dancing behind the dinghy. By the time I grabbed a camera, they were too far away.

The sun peaking through the clouds this morning.

Reseating the fuel filter.

He checked the engine when we left the Jackson Creek anchorage and all seemed fine. He checked it a half hour later and the fuel filter was leaking. I turned off the engine and Chuck reseated the filter. Still not good. Turned the engine off again. So he tried reseating the O-ring gasket and it was good that time.

I realized that I never called State Farm to suspend our insurance on our vehicles, so I called and made it effective when we left. That will save us 40 percent on our insurance premium.

Today was the first sunny day that we had since we went through the Delaware 10 days ago. It was a beautiful day on the water. I took a shower while we were underway, then was in short sleeves and capris. It was 72 degrees when we arrived at Norfolk.

One of many ships passing us.

We had planned on anchoring at Hospital Point, but we needed a few groceries, a pumpout, fuel and I had four loads of laundry to do. So at 11:15 a.m., I called Tidewater Yacht and reserved a slip.

Hospital Point where we would have anchored,
had we not needed so much today!

We pulled in at 3:45 p.m. for pumpout and fuel. Then we moved to our slip, F9, the second pier. They have three washers and four dryers, so it took me until 6:30 p.m. to get it all done. While I was making the trek back and forth to the laundry, I heard a good singer on the deck upstairs. So when the laundry was done and put away, Chuck and I went up for dinner and a few drinks.

Tomorrow we need to get to the Gilmerton Bridge for the 9:30 a.m. opening, so we’ll head out of here by 8:30 a.m.

Destination: Virginia Cut/Coinjock.