We had a great sleep last night and woke to a gorgeous day. Did a few chores onboard and then our water taxi arrived (Gilbert and Diana in their dinghy) to take us ashore. We walked and walked to the grocery store and West Marine (as well as a few other shops) and then had lunch outside in our shorts and T-shirts at a pizza joint.

The boats at anchorage in Wrightsville, N.C.

Jorge carrying the important stuff (beer).

Jorge, Gilbert and Diana.

Jorge, Kim and Gilbert.

 

We got back to the boats late afternoon, put the groceries away and then our water taxi picked us up again and off we went to the beach. Gorgeous, simply gorgeous and warm - mid to high 20s. I think we are already south!

Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

Jorge trying to be funny.

Surfer dudes.

Studying the ocean.

Sandpiper.

Hoping to catch supper.

Kim and Diana walking Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

Jorge's foot beside a jellyfish which washed up on shore.

 

Diana and Gilbert had happy hour with us after the beach and we planned our day tomorrow, leaving at 0900 and doing the inside route on this stretch of the ICW. It is much shorter inside as there is a huge shoal we would have to go around if we went outside, inside route 21 miles vs. 50 miles outside. Then we want to do another 20 miles or so after that for a total of some 40+ miles.

Today was a perfect day (although it did start early at 0430). We weighed anchor in the dark at 0500 and boy was it dark! Serenada and CS'ta Time stole quietly away however shortly after leaving the anchorage in Taylor Creek, Beaufort, N.C., we realized we were not alone. A very large and I mean very large, pleasure yacht was leaving at the same time. We moved to starboard to allow him to pass and as he was thanking us for doing so, he informed us that he had night vision (by instrument) and we could follow him out of Beaufort Inlet. As our night vision (by human) was far inferior, we gladly accepted. It was like having a personal pilot, certainly lessened my stress level.

After about an hour we were out of the inlet and into the Atlantic Ocean. Hard to believe the ocean was going to be less stressful than doing the secure route of the ICW. Out there we had no depth issues, no buoys and the sky was the limit for our masts. We had an awesome sunrise at 0730. Pictures do not do it justice.

Sunrise outside of Beaufort, N.C.

Shortly after breakfast we discovered we had further help in going south. A pod of dolphins decided to give us an escort. They danced and played around the boat (really liking the bow area) for about half an hour. Jorge got some great videos.

Dolphins on the way to Masonboro Inlet, N.C.

Later in the morning we heard Warship 94 on the radio. They were conducting "live ammunition gunnery practices". Oh how charming! Luckily for us they were aiming at the beach, unfortunately for ICW travellers, it was shut down for a period of time. If it's not crab pots we have to watch for it's warships!

The rest of the day was uneventful. The trip was wonderful. We had blue skies instead of overcast, warm temperatures, light winds, 2 foot waves and maybe 2 foot swells. We were able to motor sail until lunch time but then the wind really died and what was left came directly over the stern. One could not have asked for a better day. The guide book said the outside route was 73 nm while the inside route was 70 nm. We had the anchor set by 1650 in Masonboro Inlet, N.C.

We hosted happy hour shortly afterwards on CS'ta Time. Diana and Gilbert joined us as did Michel and Caroline (a French-Canadian couple who we first met in Elizabeth City) who also set sail offshore from Beaufort today. Vince and Marianne (the power boat people) were also in the anchorage, unfortunately they had a previously scheduled engagement so were unable to join us for happy hour.

It is going to be an early night, pooped from getting up so early but thrilled with our second Atlantic experience. Not sure exactly what we'll do tomorrow other than sleep in!

This morning was pretty relaxed after getting up around 0800. Jorge was catching up on internet news and I was reading the charts, weather forecasts, etc. for tomorrow. After deciding what I wanted to do, I put my suggestions to Jorge who then did his own research and concurred with my plan. We are leaving the ICW and sailing offshore tomorrow from Beaufort to Masonboro Inlet! It is supposed to be about the same distance but no shoaling and no bridges to deal with, about a 70 nm run.

Our speed over water indicator has not been working for the past little while. Jorge has been reluctant to pull the transducer to check it but decided today was as good a day as any to sink should he not be able to get the plug in. No wonder it had not been working! It was covered in well guck. Once cleaned he put it back in and I am happy to say, CS'ta Time is still floating!

Guck on transducer.

Ditto.

 

After lunch we got a call from Diana and Gilbert. They were just arriving in Beaufort. We told them exactly where we were anchored and gave them the most direct route to our anchorage. Jorge and I then had our last showers in Beaufort and met Diana and Gilbert once they were anchored. They were heading for the showers (priorities eh) and we accepted an invite to dinner on their boat.

En route to getting propane, Jorge met a local sailor who gave him the low down on the offshore sail. He also drove Jorge to and from the gas station for propane. We have been blessed with meeting very generous and helpful people here.

Dinner was wonderful and it was great to catch up on things with Diana and Gilbert. They supplied the appetizers and entree, we supplied the salad and dessert. They are in total agreement with the offshore sail tomorrow and will be joining us. Too bad they will miss Beaufort, it really is a quaint town.

Diana and Gilbert aboard Serenada.

Jorge and Kim aboard Serenada.

We plan on leaving Beaufort at 0500 to arrive hopefully during daylight hours in Masonboro (12 to 14 hour trip). The winds are supposed to be light and waves 2 to 4 feet, overcast but no rain. Hopefully all goes according to plan!

We woke up around 0800 and got out of bed shortly afterwards. The temp was much warmer this morning around 16C and we had a good night's sleep. We caught up on some emails, I packed a lunch and off to town we went. En route we encountered a few unique boats.

This one has definitely seen better days.

This one ungoing a facelift or

what????

And this one was just different!!

Really different.

 

We bumped into the couple from the restaurant last night (Vince and Marianne) in their dinghy today. They had decided to stay another day in Beaufort. It was a gorgeous day as the pictures show, blue sky and afternoon temps into the low 20s.

I needed to find a grocery store and Jorge was looking for a chart store so we parted ways after lunch, both walking as the marina would not allow us to borrow or even rent their courtesy car unless we were docked at their marina. Too bad but fair enough I guess. I was about 1/3 of the way to the grocery store when a 60-something lady stopped and asked if I needed a lift. Wonderful! As she drove me to the grocery store we got talking about our boating adventure. She also asked me how I was going to get my groceries back to the dinghy. I explained I was either going to walk back or take a taxi. She gave me her phone number and told me to call when I was done and she would drive me back. She was in the area visiting her mother. I called when I was done and she and her mother arrived a few minutes later, picked me up and drove me back to the dinghy. Amazing people. They were so happy to help me out and I was so grateful that I had bought them a sample package of four different kinds of cheesecake while in the grocery store. They even offered for us to stay at their house or to call while we were still in town if we needed anything.

I met Jorge back at the dinghy dock along with Vince and Marianne. The island across from town has wild horses on it so we decided to take our dinghy and cross the creek to see if we could spot any and we did, just one, which was grazing in the water.

Wild horse in Beaufort.

We dropped Vince and Marianne off at their boat and then moved CS'ta Time from Town Creek to Taylor Creek, a bit closer to town. As we were getting ready for happy hour on Vince and Marianne's boat, another couple pulled up beside us in their dinghy. They were from Toronto and previously had owned a CS 33 (CS'ta Time is a CS 36). Such a small world! We had an enjoyable evening with Vince and Marianne. They are heading out tomorrow but I think we are staying one more day.

(Shhh, don't tell anyone we are sharing happy hour with power boat people.)

It was a dark, quiet and calm night in Eastham Creek. We awoke to the alarm at 0600. Jorge was out of bed almost immediately but I was lazy and didn't get out until the boat had warmed up at bit by 0630. So much for leaving the anchorage at that time. I had to hustle and we got underway at 0645. It was 12C inside the boat with frost warnings on the radio for our area.

We maneuvered out of the anchorage under a bit of fog until the sun started to rise and burn it off. The run to Bay River was good, only a few early morning fisherman out.

Commercial fishing boats along Goose Creek tied up at a wharf.

Early morning fisherman as the fog was clearing.

 

By the time we got to Bay River was sun was up, fog was gone and the weather was good. We rounded Maw Point shortly after that, the best time apparently to do it. We then headed into the Neuse River. Wind was favourable so we motor sailed with the geneo reaching speeds of almost 7 knots. It was a great day! The sun was shining, skies were blue but it was cool.

 

 

We entered Adams Creek shortly before lunch, had to take the geneo down and just motor. We were ahead of schedule because of the good time we had made down the Neuse River.

As we were entering Beaufort around 1330 we saw dolphins or porposies surfacing. Unfortunately they were too fast and we missed them on film.

We anchored in Town Creek, Beaufort at 1500, had a relaxing drink and then lowered the dinghy to go into town. We wandered aimlessly into a few stores and then picked out a steakhouse restaurant for dinner. Tonight was HYC's commodore's ball so that was double the reason to go out for supper - arriving in Beaufort and participating (long distance) in HYC's dinner - we miss you guys. One of the couples we had dinner with in Elizabeth City saw us through the restaurant window and came in to say hello - small world!

Celebrating arriving in Beaufort and HYC's commodore's ball.

 

The dinghy ride back to the boat was in the dark, good thing it wasn't too far. We will be spending the day here tomorrow and maybe the next, not sure.

Brrrr, it was another chilly morning, 13C inside the boat when we got up at 0800 but within a few minutes of turning the furnace on, the boat warmed up. We had an enjoyable breakfast and then set about getting ready to weigh anchor. We were underway by 1000, destination Belhaven, 8 miles down the waterway. On reading the guide book, it sounded like an ideal spot to stop. We had decided to fuel up, pump-out, take real showers and do some shopping. The marina, however, was not in a good state of affairs. We neglected to ask the cost of the fuel and ended up paying the most per gallon anywhere along our trip! Oh well the pump-out and showers were free. It was great to have unlimited hot water. Shopping was not a necessity so we skipped that and continued on our way.

It was a very pleasant day although quite cool, sunny - no rain. We opened the geneo shortly after getting away from the marina and motor sailed down the Pungo River, met the Pamlico River and sailed across that. Once across, we entered Goose Creek. The chart showed shoaling close to a marker and well, you guessed it, I put us on the shoal! But in all fairness I was on the right side of the marker, it was just that the shoal was into the channel. Jorge got us off again and we carried on. Tow US is going to owe us money, we keep getting ourselves unstuck therefore saving them money. I'm sure that won't always be the case.

We anchored in Eastham Creek just off Goose Creek shortly after 1700, half an hour after going on the shoal. Darn, it was almost an uneventful day! The sunset was gorgeous, the night was pitch black and the stars amazing.

Tomorrow will be a very early morning. We are hoping to leave this anchorage at 0630 and it's Beaufort, North Carolina or bust tomorrow!

Too much socializing means no time for blogging! More on that later.

October 23, 2013

Jorge and I slept in this morning, no worries about anchoring, tides, currents, wind, etc. The morning was a little busy. We finished securing the dinghy on the davits as we did not want to tow it across the Albemarle Sound. Jorge transferred fuel into CS'ta Time's tank and the generator and then we walked to the gas station to fill up the jerry cans. We also stopped at a seafood market and bought fresh shrimp and tilapia for dinner.

After lunch we walked to the Albemarle Museum, a short two blocks away. We visited the exhibits of the history of the local region as well as their part in the Civil War.

I left a few fingernails behind in this relic.

Boy, we have come a long way!

Just a candid shot.

 

The city hosted a wine and cheese gathering for the boaters today so we attended. An oldtimer gave a brief speech on local sites including water hazards in the Sound. The ladies also got their roses.

The guy in white is the oldtimer.

I didn't have a vase for my rose, so a beer bottle had to do.

 

Diana and Gilbert (Serenada from our home port of HYC) had texted us saying they were waiting for the highway bridge to open before they could get into the Elizabeth City marina. Unfortunately they came at rush hour and had to wait an hour. The slip next to us was vacant and we helped them tie up around 1730. It was great to see them! They joined us on our boat along with a couple we had rafted up with at the Dismal Swamp for happy hour, hence it was too late to be blogging after they left.

Serenada on approach to Elizabeth City wharf.

 

October 24, 2013.

Jorge and I awoke at 0645. On my, we were supposed to leave at 0700. It was a scrabble to get going. We were crossing the Albemarle Sound and going to anchor in the Alligator River. The temp was quite cool, 12C inside the boat when we woke up however during the day the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, but the temp remained cool. The waves were about 3 feet at their greatest and wind gusts were to about 20 knots but the direction was good and sailing was great. Poor Gilbert and Diana, they must have felt abandoned when they got up this morning - about 6 boats left Elizabeth City.

 

 

 

Depths in feet (our keel is 5').

We had crab pots to deal with once again. Boy I will be sooooo glad to see the end of them! Once inside the Alligator River we had very shallow waters and dead heads to deal with again. As a matter of fact, we hit bottom twice before we bumped over whatever we hit. The third time we actually ran aground. We had to share the canal with a barge travelling north and because of his size, well we gave him too much room and came to a halt just off the channel. Jorge and the 46-hp got us unstuck and off we went.

Because of the direction of the winds predicted for tonight, we did not like the recommended anchorages and the one we did like, well we tried twice to get into it but again it was too shallow and we touched bottom both times trying to get into it. As there were no other spots to anchor in the canal we had no choice but to continue, into dusk and early night. Not an ideal situation with the dead heads and shallow waters but we had no choice. We really stuck to the center of the channel and watched the depth sounder constantly. It was 1930 when we turned the anchor light on having dropped the hook in an area hopefully going to protected from the winds. Needless to say, it was a very long day, some 66 nm or approximately 123 km, 12.5 hours. The canal was very calm so I was able to make dinner en route and just reheat it after we anchored. We did almost 2 days of travelling in 1 day, so Jorge say that calls for 2 bottles of wine!

Sunset in Alligator River.

 

Approaching the anchorage.

As a little girl, I remember my mother waking me up in the morning with the saying "rise and shine, it's daylight in the swamp". Sure enough some 50 years later, I was waking up in the swamp (albeit a little before daylight at 0630 today). For once, Jorge and I were leaders of the pack! Usually we pull up the rear. We were the first boat to pull out of the raft up and head towards the lock. We got underway at 0700. The lock was only 5 miles away and we made it there within the hour. The lock opened at 0830 so we were able to have breakfast first. I think the whole group from last night travelled today.

In the 2nd lock of the Dismal Swamp.

Ditto.

 

Possum Quarter Lodge (abandoned) on the Pasquotank River (reminded me of the Red/Green Show).

 

Travelling was very similar to yesterday except it was a little overcast today with light drizzle late in the afternoon and evening. We had the enclosure open but the clothes were layered and for the first time my feet were a little cold in the morning.

After getting out of the Dismal Swamp we were into the Pasquotank River, a bit wider and deeper than the swamp and extremely winding. We encountered more of the duck weed here. We also caressed a submersed log - better than the rocks in the Georgian Bay.

We got into Elizabeth City around noonhour and tied up to the Mariner's Wharf (the town docks.) They allow 48-hour free dockage time. Washrooms but unfortunately no other amenities (full washrooms including showers are under construction). Jorge and I took a short walk to the pharmacy before the wine and cheese gathering hosted by the city which never materalized. As it is run by volunteers and it is past peak boating season, well it's sketchy if it happens at all but that's okay because we all got together and made our own! Boaters always have a plan B and we are never denied our happy hour.

Sign at the town docks.

Jorge and me beside the rose bushes.

 

Jorge and I joined two other couples after the happy hour at a local restaurant for dinner. Great people, great conversation and great stories. Back to the boat by 2100. The weather is looking iffy for crossing the Albemarle Sound tomorrow, winds from the wrong direction and too strong. Think we might take advantage of the free dockage tomorrow.

 

(Thanks for tuning in Darlene!)

So the alarm went off again at 0700. We had some maneuvering to do in order to get the dinghy from the bow of the boat back to the stern and then to get CS'ta Time out from between the pilons. Good thing there was no wind!

We got into Norfolk/Portsmouth Harbour shortly after 0800 and after a scenic tour around the harbour (not paying attention to where we needed to go) we got on the right path down the Elizabeth River. And not a moment too soon - warships and aircraft carriers were on the move! The harbour was busy both with boat traffic and radio traffic.

Hey, south is the other way.

Warship in Norfolk.

 

Aircrafter carrier.

 

We got to the first bridge and had to wait approximately 25 minutes for it to open. While waiting a navy police boat kept all the waiting boats a specific distance from a navy ship in for repairs. We were in a group of trawlers all headed south. At the next bridge of course the trawlers were able to proceed but we had missed the opening by 7 minutes. The operator however said he had a bit of leeway and was able to open it for us, otherwise we would have had to wait for 53 minutes as it only opened on the hour. Phew - no fun waiting.

We passed under the last bridge before the Dismal swamp at about noonhour. Once we turned into the canal we encountered duck weed which we were warned about - a green, velvety floating stuff that has been known to clog the water intake system. Luckily we had no problems with it in our system. We arrived at the first lock (the canal only has two) at 1225 and had to wait until 1330 for it to open. Lots of time for lunch. Two trawlers and two sailboats went through but it took us 50 minutes to lock through. I think the lock filled with water through a drinking straw. The lockmaster was great though a little too chatty!

The next bridge was right after the lock, opened by the same lockmaster and after that the duck weed became much less evident.

The canal reminded me of the Erie Canal, narrow, lots of vegetation, a pretty straight line, dead heads and we even followed a sailboat with a burgundy enclosure (just like Diana and Gilbert).

Duck weed in the Dismal Swamp Canal.

Heading south.

Heading north.

 

We decided to stop at Mile 28 - the Visitor Center. There was a dock that could accommodate about 4 boats easily but the more the merrier. People were standing on their boats waving at other boats to raft up, so we did, in the end 3 boats wide! And as we arrived at 1700 we were in time for happy hour. All the boats took their drinks and appetizers to a picnic table under some trees right next to the welcome centre that served the highway and the canal. We had happy hour until 2000. We were one of the last boats to arrive so we have to be one of the first boats to leave. The boaters we are rafted up to want to make it to the next lock when it opens at 0830, 5 miles or about an hour travelling. Guess we will be up earlier than usual!

 

Dismal Swamp rafting.

Happy Hour.

 

Tomorrow's destination is Elizabeth City. There is a tradition in the city that if more than 5 boats arrive, the ladies are greeted with a rose and wine and appetizers are served to welcome the boaters. Got to love the hospitality!