Annapolis to Beaufort, North Carolina

After being held up in Annapolis by freezing-ass cold, wet and windy weather for 3 days, it finally let up.  It was time to make a break for sunshine and warmth.  It sounded like we had a 2 day weather window before it got really windy again.

So, we made a run for it. 

We were up before sunrise and under way as soon as we could see well enough to spot crab pot floats.

We were just joining the Chesapeake Bay when we spied a boat we thought we knew:  the Great Catsby with Rich and Carol on board.  We had first met these people when travelling South on the Stray Cat.  They seemed to pick up a lot of strays (people needing friendship, help or guidance), so it was appropriate that they befriended us and gave us a lot of very helpful tips.  They are truly wonderful people.

Bev called them on the radio.  They did not recognize our boat (they did not know we had moved from sail to a trawler).  They recognized Bev’s voice, however, but could not remember the name.  Just the night before, they had looked at pictures of the Stray Cat.  Talk about timely coincidence. 

Had our paths not intersected just as we left the harbour, we would likely not have met that day since they were taking a path to maximize wind and we were taking a path to minimize waves.  We were, however, headed for the same anchorage at Reedsville.

Another interesting lighthouse near Annapolis. 

It is amazing that you can almost  be out of sight of land but hugging the shore at the same time.  In spots (e.g. the mouth of the Rappahannock), the sand banks extend about 5 miles out from shore.

The Great Catsby

Rich and Carol - You will never meet nicer people

The day was pretty uneventful and the following morning, we both headed for Norfolk.  They suggested  that we anchor up the Lafayette River.  We did so and invited them to dinner.

The harbour at Norfolk is always busy.  In this case, we were following a tug.

The display of Naval weapons of war is truly amazing.  It is hard to know which ships might be mothballed and which are ready for action, but the sheer number was impressive.

Our path diverged from that of the Great Catsby in the morning.  They were taking the Coinjock route; we were taking the more scenic but slower Elizabeth City/Dismal Swamp route.

The lock to enter the Dismal Swamp Canal was incredibly full.  We were stacked 3 abreast.  There was room for 2 more boats, but that would have been it.  The speed limit in the Canal is 5 knots.  There is no point in going any faster as there are only 3 openings per day and the timing is set to exactly match the speed limit.

The canal is really beautiful.  The only problem is that after about an hour of seeing the same stuff it starts to get pretty boring.  After 2 hours, it is really boring.  After 3 hours it is insufferable.  After 4 hours, you are pretty well ready for anything to break up the monotony. 

We had hoped to make it from Norfolk to Elizabeth City in one day.  This was a bit ambitious.  We could have made it in the dusk.  There was one problem, however.  Elizabeth City offers free docks which is great.  Unfortunately, they were sure to be full if we arrived at the very end of the day.

Therefore, we opted to anchor very close by and to go there first thing in the morning.  This way we had our choice of docks to use while we grocery shopped, did laundry and picked up other things which we needed.  The town even offers a free wine party to visiting boats.  If figure that if they support boaters, then boaters should return the favour.

After staying one day, we left Elizabeth City early in the morning. We made it across the Albemarle Sound, up the Alligator River, through the Alligator – Pungo Canal and anchored at dusk in a little bay in the Pungo River about 5 miles further South than Belhaven.  It was your typical  90 statute mile day.   Our only delay was when we paused to pull a sailboat out of the mud in the Alligator – Pungo Canal.  Damn sailboats!  Sometimes they go aground right in the middle of the channel, blocking it off and making it difficult to get past.

Alligator Swing Bridge

 

The next day, we made it to Beaufort, North Carolina.  While the trip was pretty straightforward from a navigational perspective, it was pretty wet.  The day started out sunny and windy and got worse from there.  We only had a few actual showers, but the spray heading up the Neuse River was extremely heavy (like having buckets of water thrown at you) – even on the flybridge.  Tuk tried to hide by crawling into the cubby-hole housing the VHF radio on the flybridge.  There was enough water getting blown through the seal between the flybridge and the flybridge enclosure that eventually he got soaked.  Unfortunately, our flybridge stereo proved not to be as waterproof as it should have been and it never worked again.

Tiesha had a different approach, preferring to curl up on my floater coat at the tail end of the flybridge.  She stayed drier and warmer.

There is one Bascule Bridge under which one must pass in order to enter Beaufort.  There were also a number of fisherman.  One of these was anchored exactly in mid channel.   When the bridge opened, we had to go.  They did not move.  We had to stay in the channel.  So… we passed them at about 7 knots about 3 feet away.  Normally, I would feel really badly about waking someone like that, but, … well… these people really asked for it.

Wild Horse at Beaufort.