Update 10/16/2011 - Dismal Swamp to South Carolina

We are now in South Carolina.  We’ve pushed a bit this last week to get caught up and avoid the worst of the weather. From Elizabeth City we made a long run down the Alligator River after an easy crossing of Albemarle Sound, Which can be very nasty. We anchored that evening in a nice cove at the end of the Alligator-Pungo Canal with Summertime and 4 other boats.

The following day was predicted to be cold windy and rainy and it was but later in the day. We traveled a whole 4 miles to Dowry Creek Marina where we used the loaner car to go to lunch and do some shopping.  That evening we enjoyed the marina’s happy hour with 10 or 12 other boats.

This was followed the next day by another longer run to Oriental which included easy crossings of both the Pamlico River and the Neuse River. With the Neuse behind us, we have very few larger bodies of water between us and Florida. We got a chance to walk around town a little and had a nice dinner with Ray and Linda and their friends Bill and Jean.

Mile Hammock Bay, which is part of the US Marine’s Camp Lejune, was our next destination.  It was another 50 mile day but we made it no problem. Loopers Rick and Betsey from Rick and Roll met us there for a short visit. The Marines were active for much of the evening with helicopters seemingly circling the 15 boats or so in the anchorage for several hours.  The wind came up very strong during the early morning hours and we were up to make sure we did not drag.

Motoring through the fishermen at Lockwood's Folly

We started out early that morning not sure how far we might go that day. We made good progress through the morning and checking the current in the Cape Fear River, we determined it would be with us that afternoon so we kept going. The river current was in fact strong and we traveled down it at 10 or 11 knots the whole way.  We wound up at St James Plantation marina having put almost 70 miles behind us.  We were tired but took time to do a nice walk at sunset.

The pool at Barefoot resort

A shorter day was in order so we traveled about 40 miles to North Myrtle Beach, SC where we stopped at The Barefoot Resort Marina.  The pool was still open so we enjoyed the pool and the hot tub that afternoon.  We than walked over to Barefoot Landing and looked at the shops and the entertainment facilities. Both the House of Blues and Alabama have large facilities there. We then did something unusual and had pizza for supper.

This morning, we took another walk over the bridge and then took a leisurely 20 mile trip down the waterway to Osprey Marina where we took on fuel and tied up for the night.

scene from the Waccamaw River

 We are now in the Waccamaw River which is one of the prettier sections of the ICW.  The weather is warm during the day, and it’s great to be back in South Carolina.

Still having a great time!

Steve & Jean

Update 10/08/2011 -greetings from North Carolina

Its definitely fall! The leaves are turning, the nights are colder and we’ve been forced to wear long pants a few days!

In our last update,  we were on the free dock in Chesapeake City, MD. We had a nice the next day through the rest of the canal to another free dock in Rock Hall, MD.  Rock Hall is quite a boating center with the harbor ringed with marinas. We tied up next to a local crab boat whose engine was being worked on and went for a short walk. We found there was little within walking distance but it was good exercise.

The following day we had an easy run down the Bay to Knapps Narrows where we met up with our friends Lee & Carol on Carol Ann. We all had a nice dinner that night at the Bridge restaurant. Our plan for the next day was to go to an anchorage near Oxford, MD but once again the weather interfered and we wound up going into the marina in Cambridge instead.

That afternoon, we took a car tour of Cambridge and then down the peninsula all the way to the end of Hoopers Island where we found a nice restaurant and enjoyed more MD crab. We had planned on another day in Cambridge but the weather for the next few days looked threatening so we went to the Solomons where we wound up spending 4 days waiting for the wind to quiet down. While at the Solomons we used to the courtesy car to do some shopping and worked on the boat. I managed to fix both heads! We also cleaned all of the fenders which had gotten very dirty as a result of passing through over 100 locks this summer.

We had a good weather window the next day so we were off at daybreak and headed down the bay. Our original plan had been to go to Yorktown for a couple of days but the weather was forecast to be bad so we went all the way to Hampton, arriving at 1645.  This was a long 90 mile run but the conditions were right and it put Chesapeake Bay behind us.

French cannon used at Yorktown

We spent 3 nights at Hampton.  On our first day there, we rented a car and drove to Yorktown and Jamestown.  The Yorktown battlefield and visitors center was quite interesting. We watched a movie that described what happened and then took a tour with a ranger who explained the events in more detail and showed us some of the battlefield.  Among other things, we learned that the war was all but lost for the colonies until Yorktown and it took quite a gamble on General Washington’s part to pull off a victory there. We also learned how certain events set the stage for victory including a battle between French and English fleets off the mouth of the Chesapeake that gave the French Navy control of the Chesapeake at that moment. This was a major battle in which no Americans were involved in the fighting.

A "dig" and some findings

When we left Yorktown, we then drove to Jamestown. We took another Ranger tour and learned a lot about the colony there, including their criteria for choosing the Jamestown location.  We also saw the partial recreation of the fort and more interesting the archeological digs that were  taking place there. We even talked to the people doing the digs.  Later we toured the museum there, leaning more about the history and seeing some of the artifacts that have been recovered. Then it was back to the boat for supper after a shopping trip that turned into an adventure to find the store.

An actual dig - a church

The following day we toured the Virginia Air and Space Museum.  Hampton Roads had been involved in all of the early naval aviation research and training and Newport News is the only yard that builds aircraft carriers for the US Navy.  Langley AFB in Hampton was also a major center in the research and training for the US manned space program and the ongoing programs today.  We saw actual and replica planes from the Wright Brothers up through modern jets. Among other things they had a number of simulators one could try. I didn’t do well either landing the shuttle or landing the lunar module but a few (lot??) more practices ( and better understanding of the controls and instruments) might make a difference.

An F-4 Phantom Fighter

From Hampton, we had a rough trip across Hampton Roads to Portsmouth where we filled up with fuel at a very good price and then went on to Chesapeake where we stayed at a marina near the entry to the Dismal Swamp.  This marina was brand new and had a deal where the cost of your meal at the restaurant would count against you dockage. We had planned to eat out anyway since it was my birthday so we effectively wound up with a free nights dockage and had a very nice dinner out.  We were a bit surprised however to find ourselves the only boat in the entire marina.

Our trip down the Dismal Swamp started with passage through the Deep Creek lock which raised us about 10 feet. The motor through the Swamp was at no wake speeds so it took almost 2 hours to reach the free dock at the North Carolina Visitor’s Center and the Dismal Swamp Park.  We arrived in time to tour the museum and walk the boardwalk through the swamp, seeing 4 deer in the process.

Today we finished the run through the Dismal Swamp and tied up at the free dockd provided by Elizabeth City. We walked around town trying to find a barber shop and some ice cream and were unsuccessful with both. We did however have a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant with Ray & Linda from Summertime.

During the past week we’ve been saddened by the news of the loss of two of our friends, one after a bout with cancer and the second with a blood clot. Its been a grim reminder of how quickly things can end and how lucky we are to be doing what we are.

Steve &  Jean