10/29/13

We left Oriental at 8:10 a.m. heading for Swansboro.  Just after passing Beaufort, who do we see off our bow?  Pat and Jack on "Meant to Be".  I know they think we're stalking them now.  They asked us to take the lead, which John gladly did.

We decided Swansboro was not far enough so we decided to push on to Mile Hammock Bay anchorage.  13 other boats anchored there, including Pat and Jack.  The anchorage borders Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base.  We anchored at 3:00 p.m. and for the next three to four hours we had to listen to the Marines doing bombing exercises.  The Marine Corps Commandant called to apologize for the noise and gave us an honorary flyover of Ospreys and big, noisy helicopters.  Thankfully, they stopped at dark.



Camp Lejeune Osprey

Jack and Pat came to our boat by dinghy... and guess what... we had Happy Hour... again.  This is getting to be a habit.

The Marines were at it again the next morning and we left around 8:30 a.m., heading for Wrightsville Beach.  But, on the way, we decided that wasn't far enough, so we pushed on the Southport, NC.

10/27/13

We left Washington at 8:40 am, travelling to Oriental, NC - 56 miles.  Just before 1:00 p.m. we were hailed by the Coast Guard and asked "when was the last time you were boarded?"  John told them he didn't remember and with that, they said "take it out of gear Captain, we're sending two people to board you".  It was a little nerve wracking but they were very nice and a half hour later we were on our way with no deficiencies, which is a good feeling.

The Coast Guard Boat that boarded us.
 

A short time later, we saw our first shrimp boats in Hobucken, NC.

Shrimp boats in Hobucken, NC

We pulled into the 48-hour free dock in Oriental, NC, and guess who's there.  Jack and Pat on "Meant to Be".  They probably think we're stalking them.  Ha Ha!  We shared a potluck dinner with them on their boat after cocktails.  The next morning they headed to Beaufort after spending four days in Oriental.  

l. to r. Pat, Jack, Debbie, John at Oriental, NC

  On Monday, 10/28/13, John took a bike ride to West Marine to get a replacement cockpit light.  I think we've been to every West Marine in every town we've been in.  We've spent more there than we have in fuel.  LOL!  Later we took bikes to go shopping for thank you cards and stamps.  Hopefully I'll get them written and mailed soon.

Oriental claims to be the Sailing Capital of North Carolina.  Actually, there were a lot of sailboats in the town, but I'm not quite sure it's the sailing capital of the state.  The town was originally known as Smith's Creek but in the 1880's the local postmaster's wife thought that name was lacking.  She had the nameplate from a Union boat that sunk during the Civil War, named Oriental, and hence, the name was changed.  Oh, the power of a woman, especially one married to a postmaster.

In the 1970's or 80's, the town decided they needed something "Oriental" to go with their name, so they adopted a town mascot of a dragon.  Today they have "dragon boat" races annually, as well as parades featuring a real live dragon costume from China that takes about six people to carry.

10/24/13-10/26/13

We pulled anchor at 8:00 am, heading for Washington, NC.  We docked at Washington Waterfront City Marina at 12:30 pm, having travelled 38 miles.  Without a doubt, Washington has been the nicest place we've been so far.  Such a nice little town with the friendliest of people.  We went to dinner in downtown and were heading back to the boat when a couple on the street said we should go into this little place and listen to the music.  It was a kind of art gallery but in the back there were approximately 15 people jamming.  They were all sitting in a circle passing the mike around.  When the mike came to them, they would play whatever song they wanted and the rest of the group would join in with their instruments.  There were guitars, fiddles, mandolin, spoons, etc.  It was the coolest thing I ever saw.  We stayed there for over an hour listening to them.  It was such a good time.  I've never been to a jam session before.

The next day we got our new bikes down off the hard top and rode to the laundromat.  I haven't ridden a bike to the laundromat since I was 12 years old when my mother would pay me a quarter to go do the laundry.

This is Debbie in case you can't recognize her with the ball cap.

 

After getting the laundry done (thanks John), we rode to West Marine and bought a new GPS to replace our backup GPS.  The chip on it ran out when we entered NC (it was so old they don't make chips for them anymore) and John didn't feel comfortable not having a backup. 

That afternoon, we did the walking tour of Washington where we saw the only three houses that survived the War Between the States (I'm not allowed to call it the Civil War).  Those of you that know John will understand this.  Two of the three houses each had a cannonball imbedded in them from the War of Northern Aggression.  The rest of the town was burned by Union troops. 

Washington is a very historic town with a beautiful new waterfront.  It was the first city in America to be named for General George Washington.  Today it is referred to by North Carolinians as "Little Washington".  They say you can still see the remains of the Union Army ship, Picket, jutting from the Tar River where it blew up in 1862, but we never saw it.

On Friday evening, we rode our bikes to Backwater Jacks for dinner (about 1.25 miles).  It was freezing cold even with our heavy jackets and gloves, but it was well worth the ride.  The meal was wonderful and they had a two-piece band that was outstanding.  Their motto is "a little less fast and a lot more fun".  While there, we got to talking to one of the locals outside.  After that, she would holler from one end of the restaurant to the other, "Hey Delaware, y'all doing okay?"  I guess the owners heard her because they took a liking to us and told us to stay as long as we wanted and when we were ready to leave, they would put our bikes in the back of their pick-up and drive us back to the boat.  Well, all we could say was, "I'll drink to that".  You don't get that kind of hospitality in the north.  In Delaware, the best they would have done for  you is call a cab and tell you to pick up your bikes the next day.  A great night was had by all.

John on the back of our boat at sunset in Washington, NC

 

 

We stayed on the boat most of Saturday doing chores and trying to get the internet to work.  After getting thoroughly frustrated with the laptop, we took a cab to the other side of town and bought a new one at Office Depot.  We haven't had any problems with the Internet since then (thank God).  But I didn't figure out how to post on our blog until a week later.  LOL!  That night we watched the Gamecocks beat Missouri in double overtime.  What a nail biter.

10/22/13

We left Coinjock at 7:15 a.m. crossing the Albemarle Sound without a hitch.  The water was actually pretty calm compared to the Chesapeake Bay.  We ran with three other boats most of the day, one of which was "Our Legacy" that I posted about yesterday.  We laughed a lot listening to them on the radio.  I told you they weren't very boat savvy.  At one point, we heard them on the radio say, "Hey Mr. Sailboater, we want to pass you.  Do you want us to go to your right or left?"  If you know anything about talking on the radio, you don't say "Hey Mr. Sailboater".  You call them by name, tell them you're coming up on their stern, and ask if you can pass and then ask if they would like you to pass on their port or starboard side.  LOL!

Anyway, we travelled through the Alligator/Pungo Canal (20 miles) and arrived at Pungo Creek where we dropped the hook at 5:00 pm, after going 78 miles, our longest day yet.  The friends we met in Coinjock (Meant to Be) called us on the phone asking where we were.  They ended up rafting up with us for two nights.  We only planned on anchoring for one night, but on Wednesday it was blowing a gale and we weren't going anywhere.

We had a great time, having appetizers and drinks on their boat the first night and homemade soup and homemade bread on our boat the second night.  We got to know them pretty well.  They're from Arizona and have never really boated before, except for little run-abouts on the lake.  They sold their house in Phoenix, bought a 40-foot Carver in Boston and are heading for the Keys.  They've been out for five months and still love it.  Pat is the navigator and Jack is the captain.  I have to give them a lot of credit.  I wouldn't have the guts to do that without any experience.  But, they've done very well.

10/21/13

We left Norfolk at 7:15 a.m. and headed toward Coinjock, NC.  We arrived at Dominion Boulevard Bridge with six boats behind us and had to wait 25 minutes for it to open.  By the time we arrived at Great Bridge Lock, we had nine power boats and one sail boat locking through with us.  Even though we were first in the lock, we let a Sport Fish that came in behind us lock through first since he travels much faster than we do.  The lockmaster said, "You can let him go ahead of you because he goes faster, but you'll all be waiting at the next bridge together."  Sure enough,  everybody waited at the bridge until the last one arrived before they would open.  We could hear the lockmaster tell the bridge tender on the radio that there were nine powers and one sail.  At each bridge opening, the bridge tender would tell the next bridge how many boats he was sending their way.  The Sport Fish would travel "all out" only to sit and wait until the rest of us caught up before the bridge would open.  They only opened on the half hour and hour, and if you travelled at 8 knots, you would arrive right on time for the opening.  We went through a total of four bridge openings and one lock. 

We crossed into North Carolina about 12:30 pm and arrived at Coinjock at 2:00, travelling a total of 43 miles.  We met several couples going south, one that we ended up spending two nights on the hook with that I'll tell you about later ("Meant To Be").  One boat came all the way from Buffalo, NY ("Our Legacy").  The man that owned it coerced every friend and acquaintance he knew to take turns helping him take the boat south.  His wife was still working in Buffalo and would eventually join him in Florida (smart woman).  This gentleman was very nice, but not very boat savvy.  He hit a boat and the dock when he docked in Coinjock.  But I have to give him a lot of credit... he brought the boat all the way from Buffalo and made it this far.

10/17/13 & 10/18/13

We left Calvert at 0715, headed for Deltaville.  Arrive at 1430 and anchored in Jackson Creek.  The dinghy came loose and we almost lost a bracket.  John was on the swim platform and when I went down the steps to help him, the second rung of the ladder broke and down I went.  Really?!?  I need a drink!!!!  How many more things can go wrong?

John wanted to take the dinghy to shore, but I didn't go.  I was shaking too bad.  When he came back, I had calmed down and we decided to go ashore for dinner.  We walked about a mile to Taylor's Restaurant in Deltaville.  The soup and shrimp were good, but the crabcake was full of filler and not very good.

The next morning we took the boat to Deltaville Marina to try and get the ladder fixed, but they couldn't fix it unless we removed it from the boat.  We tried to do that, but had no luck.  Imagine that.  John took their courtesy car to Boat U.S. and got some things to jury rig the ladder until we get to Zimmerman's in a week or so.  We left Deltaville at 1145, headed for Norfolk.

On the way, we passed a number of tall ships, including The Sultana.

 

And the Mystic Whaler

Got into the Elizabeth River and anchored off Hospital Point, Portsmouth, VA.  Pulled anchor the morning of 10/19/13 and went across the river to Waterside Marina in Norfolk.  We're staying there for two nights.  We've travelled a total of 199 miles.

10/16/13 -

It's a new day and we're back to being honeymooners.  Found John's glasses in the back of the pillow sham.  Apparently when he took them off and placed them on the shelf next to the bed, he missed the shelf and they fell into the pillow sham.  We tore that bed apart four times and couldn't find them.  Who would think to look in the pillow sham???

We also have TV, but no local channels yet.  I think we can live with that.  We have spotty internet, too.  Just eough to check e-mails.

We met Jerry and Janet Guyer on "At Last", a 37-foot Great Harbor.  They invited us for docktails at 5:00 and then gave us a tour of their boat.  It was absolutely beautiful.  They did the Loop on a 42-foot Carver last year and they gave us some good tips on it.  It was a very enjoyable evening.

10/15/13 - We left Annapolis at 0820, headed for Solomon's Island. A little over five hours, in very choppy water. We rocked and rolled the whole way. Got a great shot of Thomas Point Light, though. Anchored in Spring Cove and started the generator because the solar panels don't seem to be working. The generator overheated and we had to go to Calvert Marina to get a belt. They had to order it so we stayed two nights.

In addition to the generator belt breaking, John lost his glasses, the Direct TV doesn't work, and we can't get internet service.  Our frustation levels were very high and when frustration levels get high, anger gets higher.  If there had been a judge available, I think we may have signed divorce papers on the spot.

10/14/13 - We arrived in Annapolis around lunch time today. The Sail Boat Show was going on and Ego Alley was clossed, so we grabbed a mooring ball. There was only one other power boat in the basin. We snuck into the show but got busted after about 15 minutes and were asked to leave. We went to another entrance and snuck in again. Not a lot to see for a power boat. We met Chuck and Betty on Happy Hours II (37 foot Hunter sail boat). We ate at Middleton's, which was mediocre at best.

Hello everyone!

I left work at 10 o'clock this morning, never to return again.  I'll go back and visit from time to time, and make fun of the people that are still working.  I think that'll be my new four letter word - "work".  Next time I want to say F you to someone, I'll just say Work You!

John is diligently working on the boat to get it ready for our trip.  We couldn't have done it without all his hard work. 

This is my first page on this blog, and it's kind of a test to see how it will all look, so don't be disappointed.  I'm sure it'll get better as time goes on.  That's enough for now.  I'll post after we actually start the trip.