DelMarVa

The next area we are heading for is called the DelMarVa peninsula (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) and the Chesapeake Bay. Only problem is we got delayed in Norfolk/Portsmouth for a week due to bad weather! Arrived Monday afternoon, changed oil and did chores on Tuesday, putzed around Wednesday doing some sight seeing and waiting for a package to be delivered and planned on heading out Thursday morning. Woke up to a lousy forecast of rain and wind and decided to be wimps and stay another day. Then strong North winds and 3-5 waves predicted for Friday and Saturday. Damn!

But we did try to take advantage of the time and do some sightseeing. There is a small passenger ferry that runs between Portsmouth and Norfolk across the bay on a regular basis. A short walk from the marina and a quick (10 minute) ride and you are in downtown Norfolk.

Norfolk is a major Navy port and we passed these two large warships in dry dock on the ferry ride.

We toured this very large tall ship berthed on the waterfront, "Cuauhetemoc" from Mexico. It is 90.5 meters long (270'), displaces 1,800 tons, and has a crew of 186. It was leaving the next day for Dublin, Ireland. It was scheduled to travel through the Mediterranean and then back through the Panama Canal to the west coast of Mexico.

While we were there a group of visiting officers from another ship arrived; lots of gold braid!

And of course in the middle of it all, another cruise ship did a 180 degree turn at the stern of the ship.

The downtown parks are really neat, with plush sofas and chairs, tables with umbrellas and lots of grass and shrubbery.

And on the ferry ride back we had a good view of the Tidewater Marina; we almost grew roots there!

On May 24th we managed to free ourselves from the dock at 6:00 AM and head out the long channel past all the Navy Ships, headed for the Chesapeake. We heard a "securite" call on the VHF (this is usually a notification for nearby vessels) that a tug had a 'dead ferry' in tow. 

This is a disabled Staten Island Ferry from New York City that is being towed in for repairs somewhere in the Norfolk area; there are numerous facilities to choose from.

The Chesapeake is an enormous body of water: it stretches over 200 miles long and goes from 30 miles wide down to just 2.8 miles at it narrowest. There are over 150 major rivers and streams that flow into the Chesapeake, many with original native names such as the Potomac, Paxutent, Rappahanock, and Poquoson.

We were headed for Deltaville, a small town on the Virginia side. As you go up the wide bay you see these enormous lighthouses, fifty plus feet tall, miles from shore. This one is called the "Wolf Trap".

The morning started off great with the current in our favor but the winds gradually increasing to 17 with gusts to 21. So things started getting rolly and uncomfortable; this is not a sailboat with sails to help steady you! Reached Deltaville around 1:30 and got in the dinghy to see the town. As we were tying up to the town dock (not very good) a gentleman nearby called to us from his porch and told us to tie up at his dock.

So we met Virgil Miller, quite the character. As we started walking towards town, Virgil drove up, told us to get in his car and we spent the next hour or so on a personal tour of the town. Virgil married Mable when he was 18 (he's now 87) and they spent most of their life here in Deltaville. And it turned out Virgil spent most of his time running a successful boat-building company and buying up anything he could get his hands on. We got to see Miller's Marina, Miller's Boat Building, Cocomo's Restaurant, floating cottages for rent, acres of woodland, you name it. They live on Lover's Lane and Virgil said that the lovers got better as you went further up the road; he lives at the end! And of course I forgot the damn camera!

Off the next morning at sunrise headed for Solomons, MD, a 'boating mecca'.

Passed lots of crabber's hauling traps on the Bay in the shallow waters. 

And more lighthouses.

We anchored in the creek at Solomons. Nice little town with lots of restaurants, a fantastic marine museum and of course my favorites: a liquor store and a West Marine (this time in the same building, could you ask for more?).

Across the creek was this neat boat house, a sliding garage door to protect the boat on davits and a little apartment above. I've included this especially for my buddy Otto - perhaps he will build one of these someday!

This a shot of the museum and the Drum Point Lighthouse which had been moved and placed on the museum grounds. It was originally located about 150 yards offshore near the entrance to Solomons and the last light keeper raised five children in this house; it was pretty neat and cozy inside but it would have been tight for that many people.  You can't just tell the kids to outside and play!

Left Solomons at 5:45 headed to St. Michael's MD on the other side of the Bay. We had planned on going to Annapolis but changed our minds as the water and winds were so pleasant (hard to believe!).

St, Michael's is an historic town (founded in the mid 1600's) with quaint little brick/cobblestone sidewalks and streets. A bit touristy now but still nice. And of course it has it's own maritime museum.

Quaint historic homes.

With classic sailing boats for tours.

And some not so classic ones.

We had dinner at the Crab Claw restaurant (soft shell crabs - these are crabs that have 'molted' their shells and you can eat the whole thing, usually whole and deep fried, yummy!) while a thunderstorm rolled through. Gave us a nice rainbow.

Hauled anchor at 5:45 for the 19 mile run back to the middle of the Bay headed for Annapolis. West Marine is supposed to have four new chart kits (large books with maps and guides) for the Hudson River and the Great Lakes. So we worked our way up a small creek lined with marinas until we found a tight anchoring spot. Our guidebook said West Marine was a short dinghy ride away; not exactly. Eventually we talked to some fellows working on a boat at the marina and got directions. It required another dinghy ride and then a bike ride to get there. And of course they only had three of the four charts that I ordered.  Figures.

Back to the Bay and headed north towards the C&D Canal which links the Chesapeake to the Delaware Bay.

Passed this working lighthouse which is almost identical to the one at the museum.

The shores of the bay are lined with beautiful houses on large acreages and farms that go right down to the water's edge. You can see why it was settled so early and extensively; very nice country. The east side of the bay is much more rural while the west side is more industrialized and not as scenic.

Stopped at an anchorage called Worton Creek on the east side of the bay; it's getting narrower now - you can easily see the other side. Thunderstorms were brewing and we saw this blimp (a weather blimp?) being hauled down to it's base - it is the same as the one we saw two weeks ago in Elizabeth City.

The thunderstorms stayed south of us and gave us this spectacular sunset.

We were both tired from the last few days and decided to sleep in a bit and did not haul the anchor until 7:30. Our friends, Kathie and Werner, were ahead of us by 15 miles or so and they emailed that the weather forecast for the following day was not good and instead of staying in the C&D canal they were going to head for Cape May. When we left we had north winds and waves against us making for a slow ride to the head of the bay and the start of the C&D canal.

 On the way up we passed this little lighthouse perched on a cliff.

Entered the canal and of course were faced with a large barge coming right at us. Quick, move over!

Long boring ride through the canal and fought the current the whole way. Figures! Passed under this railroad bridge and then out into the Delaware Bay. For those of you who have driven the I-95 we entered just south of the Delaware Memorial Bridge where the NJ Turnpike ends (or starts, depending on your perspective).

The Delaware is not nearly as big as the Chesapeake and unfortunately offers very few places to anchor. Based on our late start and unfavorable currents there was no way we were going to make it to Cape May, even though we were doing 10 mph or more with the current.

Valerie found an anchorage about 35 miles from Cape May. Narrow entrance to a winding creek very reminiscent of Georgia complete with horse flies and a wicked current! 

Valerie even tried her hand at crabbing (you lower a weighted bait over the side and hope a crab decides to hang onto it) but the current was too strong.

At 5:00 in the morning we were literally rolled out of the bed by a passing crabbing boat going full bore out the creek. That was truly a rude awakening! Up and at 'em! It was a bit unpleasant going at first as we headed south down Delaware Bay, but then things settled down and we had a reasonable run to the entrance of the Cape May Canal. Had to circle around as a car ferry arrived at the same time we did. We took this ferry quite some time ago on one of our many treks from Nova Scotia to Florida; it takes you to Lewes, DL. Here it is docked and unloading.

And voila, welcome to New Jersey! Cape May is the very southern point in New Jersey, and mile zero of the Garden State Parkway.

We had called ahead and reserved a slip at a marina in Cape May. We need fuel, groceries, laundry and a break. Plus the weather is not forecast to be good for the next few days.

So that's the end of that section of the trip. Next up is the New Jersey coast to NYC. Apparently the inside NJICW is very shallow and hurricane Sandy has messed it up, yet the offshore route only has three safe entrances to get inside. We shall see.

North Carolina

The wind and currents in Calabash Creek finally agreed to cooperate and we had a peaceful night. At least until about 4:30 when the no-see-ums decide to attack. We don't have screens small enough to deter these pesky little buggers so decided to haul anchor and get underway by 6:15.

Plan was to catch the falling tide to Southport, the entrance to the Cape Fear River, arrive at slack tide and then catch a rising tide up Cape Fear River. Some smart, right?

We hit the entrance to Cape Fear about a half hour before low tide and thought we timed it right; nope. We ended up going against the current the whole time ( 15 miles) but the wind was light and the water was calm so we'll take it.

Just a little bit of traffic and the occasional passenger and car ferry.

Passed one opening to the ocean where the locals had there cars on the beach.

And passed this high and dry on the way to Wrightsville Beach; these boats looked like the slightest breeze would blow them off the rack.

Anchored in the basin where we had stopped back in 2011 only this time we had lots of room. We couldn't figure out why the place was crawling with young adults, enjoying the beaches and just hanging around; turns out this is also a college town. Jeez, should have gone there instead of Dal. I wonder if their parents know what they're doing. Valerie said there's lots of "candy-eye" - I wonder what she was looking at?

Some locals had this out for a pleasure sail. It's called a Sprit-sail Skiff; originally produced in Beaufort, NC as a work boat it is very shallow draft and stable.

Neat looking boat and rig.

Next morning the wind was blowing hard from the NE so we decided to wait a bit and go for a walk. Back to the boat and caught the 12:00 opening of the bridge (only opens on the hour). Picked up some tide in our favor and had an easy run to an anchorage surrounded by the Cape Lejeune Military Base.

Passed this house on the way - Big Pink! No wait, that was an album, right?

Had a couple of fly-overs with helicopters and some big guns going off in the distance. Nice big anchorage with 17 other boats.

Off early the next morning and saw these signs on the way. When the Marines are doing exercises they will temporarily close the ICW to traffic.

I didn't get this sign right but it says UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE and these were posted all over the place keeping you on the ICW.

Saw some locals raking for oysters.

And passed this large phosphate barge on the way through Beaufort, NC. 

We were having such a good run we decide to skip Beaufort and head for Oriental, NC and got a spot at the marina.

We thought we were late heading north but apparently we are with a wave of boats going the same direction. The marinas were full and we were lucky to get a spot on the face dock.

Oriental is a nice little town and calls it self the "sailing capital of NC". We took our little fold-up bikes for a a ride and went to a Wal-Mart Express! Oh boy! Wonder how many boxes of wine you can fit on a tiny bike rack? Sorry, didn't have the camera but it was impressive. Washed the boat down only to wake up with the damn thing covered in "fuzzy-bills"! Turns out they are small, non-biting midges that will swarm at will. Millions of them on all the boats! What a mess.

Off early the next morning, after washing the fuzzy-bills off, for a perfect crossing of the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound.

Motored through the Alligator-Pungo Canal; a 25 mile stretch of almost perfectly straight canal.

Although there was the occasional log to dodge; this is a nice clump of logs on the side of the canal.

Anchored in a bay at opening of the Albemarle Sound where we had protection from the SW winds. Forecast was for more of the same wind tomorrow so we should be good. Had a radio conversation with George who is on a unique 46' Nordhaven motor yacht, hull #1. Pretty cool. He's headed for Newfoundland and Labrador, single handed. Amazing at 70 years old.

Weather forecast wrong again! Winds clocked to the NW 10-15 knots. Those winds along with the shallow water across the sound (15 feet average) made for a rolly, uncomfortable ride for 10 miles with winds on the beam, until we got into the lee of the land. Everything getting tossed around in the boat; some fun! 

Anyway,we got through that in one piece and saw this blimp and hanger again, as we did on our trip in 2011.

I needed to google this and see what this is used for. Turns out it was originally built in 1941 for spotting U-Boats but it is now a manufacturing and test facility for dirigibles. That's what Google says. Question is: research for whom?

Got to Elizabeth City mid-afternoon; the free town docks are really narrow with just a short dock so we decided to go through the lift bridge and tie up to the Jennett food supply free dock. One other boat there, a Whitby 42. The owners had cruised Nova Scotia last summer and wanted to know if we knew Vince Purcell who runs a marina in Purcell's Cove. Nope, but I'm sure we know someone who does! 

This looks like a nice idyllic spot from this angle, right?

Not so much from this here! Right next to the bridge (one lift is under construction) and constant traffic all night!

Took the dinghy into town and went to the Potato Festival! Lots of stands selling deep-fried anythings (Oreo cookies, and cheesecake? Yuck!) and carnival rides for kids. Apparently, potatoes here are like what potatoes are to PEI. There were a lot of people there who should give up eating potatoes for their own good. Not us, of course, we had a big order of hand-cut fries! Yum!

Off at 5:45 to catch the first opening of the Dismal Swamp lock at 8:30. Boat behind us left first which made it easy for us to get off the dock.

Beautiful sunrise.

And dead calm as we wind our way up the Pasquotank River.

Locked up 8' with the other boat ("Hold Fast", Dena and Myron) into the Dismal Swamp. 

 Lock tender gets you through the lock and then drives to the lift bridge to open that for you.

Dismal Swamp was surveyed by George Washington and was dug by hand by slaves beginning in 1793 and was finally opened in 1805. It is the oldest operating waterway in the US.

It's pretty now, but can't help thinking what is was like back then for those poor people with the heat and mosquitoes, working in a swamp.

And eventually you cross the border into Virginia.

One more lock and bridge (had to wait for an hour so for lock to open, so made a quick trip to grocery store) and in about ten minutes, from wilderness, into the confusion of Norfolk harbor!

Lots of big boats, bridges, security police in boats, aircraft carriers being worked on, derelict Navy ships, you name it.

We got a slip at Tidewater Marine across the river from Norfolk in Portsmouth. Nice marina and close to the historic district. As we were getting settled a cruise ship decided to leave and did a 180 in the channel. Glad he wasn't doing that when we arrived!

We will spend a few days here doing chores. I need to change the engine oil and disposing of it is always the biggest headache. Hot hot hot, mid 90's - went for a swim in a floating pool at the marina to cool off - another first. Can hear the thunderstorms closing in on us.

Just watched a boat try to leave the dock, but they forgot to unplug their power cable. Some fun! Wonder what they say about us?

So we are finished with the Intra-Coastal Waterway. We have gone approximately 1,200 miles in just less that 4 weeks. We feel we can slow down a bit and start exploring the Chesapeake as we make our way north to New York and the trip up the Hudson River.