The voyage from the Solomons to Annapolis was uneventful- 10 knot winds, so we put up the jib and main and put the prop in high pitch, giving us fast (8.5-9 knot ) motorsailing.  Nothing much in the way of  pictures to take.  We arrived in Annapolis at 1 pm, backed into the new slips at Yacht Haven, and started contacting the various folks we have scheduled to work on Abacus – North Sails for canvas, Kato for davits, Passport for odds and ends etc.  Debbie bought a dock bike that folds down to 17”x35”x 27”.   She now finds reasons to run errands that lets her put in 10 miles or more a day.  I’ve been taking the opportunity to fix a few things on the boat that I’ve put off over the months.

 

In the slip next to ours is a new Passport 47 being commissioned- doesn’t even have a mast yet.  Next to that, a new Passport 51 fresh in from Fort Lauderdale.  The Passport staff are busy installing equipment.  

 

We expect to be in Annapolis until the 28^th, so blog postings will be lean until then.   As we return to our journey north, we hope to be rejoined by Ben and Karen, and Ollie!

We refueled and enjoyed a quiet evening in the Tidewater Marina in Norfolk.  Saturday, we left Norfolk at 7 am, and motor sailed to the Great Wicomico River, and then several miles up into Mill Creek to a quiet anchorage surrounded by private homes with large yards and lots of trees.   Sunday morning at 7:30, we returned to the Chesapeake to find,  instead of 10 knot winds as predicted, 20+ winds from the north and bumpy waves on our nose.  While it was a nice enough day, our progress was slowed considerably.  Instead of pressing on to Annapolis, after 40 miles we pulled into the Patuxent River at 4 pm, into Solomons and up Mill Creek to a crowded but, again, quiet anchorage. 

The Dismal Swamp is quite a change from the bridges and canals of the Virginia Cut alternate route we took 3 times last year.  We couldn’t transit the Dismal Swamp last year due to forest fires in the area which were fought with the lake waters which supply the canal, making it unnavigable.  Rains this year have replenished the water supply and now Congress has allocated funds to improve the ICW, including the Canal.

 

Expected severe storms dissipated during the night.  We rose at 5:00 and left very hospitable Elizabeth City (did I mention that the dockage was free?) for the Swamp, joined by Bruce and Letta of Buon Giorno, a 45 ft Hardin.  The Elizabeth City swing bridge opened for us immediately and we proceeded up the Pasquotank River, which became increasingly more narrow and scenic.  The trawler Growler (solo driven by John) had anchored at Goat Island and joined us as well.    We transited the lock (an 8 foot lift) and traveled 22 miles to the next lock to drop us down to the level of the Elizabeth River.   The depth meter was not much help.  Readings were often under 5.5 feet.  Occasionally we would bump on a deadhead log on the bottom, but no damage done.  It was more important to watch for overhead limbs which might catch the spreaders!  The canal is narrow, room for 2 boats to pass each other slowly.  Cypress swamp lines the sides.  The water is brown from the tannin from the trees, but considered otherwise clean.  The effort to dig this canal during the 1800s is unimaginable, given the heat, bugs and snakes.  (We saw an early morning water moccasin swimming alongside Abacus).  We cleared the second lock around 1:30 and made it into Norfolk before the scheduled 3:30-5:30 closing of one of the railroad bridges.    We are settling in at a marina tonight in Norfolk and plan to make it half way up the Chesapeake tomorrow.

Well, June 10 was a busy day.  We arose at 5:45 for coffee and started to pull anchor at 6:00.  The windlass couldn’t raise it because it had been buried so deep in the mud during the storms last night.   After 20 minutes of coaxing, we finally raised it and started for Elizabeth City, about 70 miles, or 12 hours away.  As we entered the Alligator River – Pungo River canal, we left our mast head wind instruments on the Wilkerson 65 (NOT!) foot bridge.   The canal connects to the broad Alligator River from which we transited the Albermarle sound, and up the Pasquotank River.  An enormous hangar appeared on the shore, being  “One of eight remaining huge dirigible hangars built by the Navy during WWII, currently used by TCOM, an airship manufacturing company, as manufacturing and test location. The massive corrugated steel on frame structure is 1,040 feet long, 150 feet high and 296 feet wide, constructed before the war effort made steel a limited commodity.”

 

At the city docks, we were greeted by none other than the Mayor of Elizabeth City, Stephen Atkinson, who helped with our lines and briefed us on the City happenings.  .  Restaurants, free wifi, grocery delivery service, museum, walking tours, parties- call him if we needed anything.    We were persuaded to stay for a day to sight see and shop rather than press on through the Dismal Swamp canal first thing in the morning.   I’d be glad to vote for him.  Probably could, too. 

 

So we decided to stay another day and explore.   The local Fresh Market (upscale brand of  Super Valu) 5 miles away offers a free shuttle to the docks so we restocked, went to the local museum, which was very interesting – a great collection of artifacts covering hundreds of years of development through about 1900 in the Pamlico/Arbemarle sound area.  Elizabeth City is the southern gateway to the Dismal Swamp canal, which was built in 1805.  The Canal linked the sounds and rivers of northeastern North Carolina with the port of Norfolk, allowing area planters and lumber companies a safe and quick method of transporting their goods to market.  This was important during the Civil war, as the ports on the east coast were blockaded.  We walked the town, noting the houses and buildings of various periods (mid 1800’s, 1910-1930’s, etc).

 

Many locals come to the docks to visit the boaters transiting the area.  We particularly enjoyed meeting the man from Colorado, who arrived with to parrots. 

 

Big storms coming again tonight.  Due to the opening times of the Elizabeth City Swing Bridge and the locks in the Canal, we are going to leave at daybreak tomorrow

Leaving Oriental at 8 am, we worked our way up the ICW rivers  - The wide Neuse, Bay River, Goose Creek, across the Pamlico River to the Pungo River.   We had intended to travel about 60 miles and anchor in the Pungo 8 miles north of Belhaven, but we could see sever thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail and lightning forming in front us.  Like several other sail and power boats on the same course, we diverted into Pantego Creek at Belhaven, which offers some protection.  At about 3 pm, we dropped anchor in 8 feet of water in 20 knot southerly winds and watched storms circle around us.  The first squall line struck at about 4 pm with 35 knot winds from the north.  Belhaven’s tornado siren sounded.  A ketch anchored to our north had its roller furling jib open up by accident, and we watched as the crew wrestled to untangle the sheets and drop the sail.  Then, a 30 foot sailboat to our west dragged anchor nearly into the wooden storm barrier marking the bay entrance in 3 feet of water.  He managed to drive his boat into the wind, dragging his anchor behind him, back to where he could reset it.  He was fortunate (or skilled enough) to avoid tangling his anchor rode in his prop during this maneuver.   The next cell struck about 90 minutes later, again from the north with high winds, lightning and rain.  By 10 pm, another front arrived, this time blowing from the south.   Anchor watch was required during the night as storms continued to form and reform along the front and we ride our anchor chain back and forth in the wind.  We are looking forward to the mild high pressure system following behind the storm front.

We transited the shallow Shallots and Lockwood Folly inlets without a problem, but skidded through a sand bar at Carolina Beach - we got through but the boat behind us (Frere Coyote) didn't.  Fortunately for him, the tide was rising and he soon was off.  We stopped at the Bridge Tender Marina and organized to go "outside" in the morning.  Departing at 6:15, sunrise, we exited the ICW through Shinn Creek to the Atlantic - Onslow Bay, bound for Beaufort NC, 63 nautical miles to the NE.  We were greeted by easterly winds at 15-20 and seas around 4 ft , pretty much on our nose for most of the day but diminishing in the afternoon.  While slow, it was not a bad passage and our only mishap was sailing into the perimeter of the Camp LeJeune live ammunition firing zone that stretches 10 miles off shore (we wondered what those yellow bouys were for- Coast Guard confirmed the area as dangerous!).  Who knew that we would be at risk for "friendly fire" in Oslow Bay?!  

We pulled into the Beaufort Docks in quaint "downtown" Beaufort.  The fishing boaters were out in partying in force (pretty busy for a Sunday night) with blue lights illuminating their multi-level flying bridges. 

 

This morning we pulled out at 8:30 (after retrieving a lost fender) just in time to make the  9 am opening of the Beaufort draw bridge (opens every 30 minutes- actually, we were late but the bridgetender was kind enough to keep it open a few extra minutes for us).  We arrived in Oriental NC at noon, working our way into a very narrow creek and slip at  Deaton's, a working shipyard.  No frills, but they can recharge our refrigeration compressors.

 

 

 

 

The replacement transmission arrived Friday, June 5 at 10:30 and was installed by 12:30.  Not too bad.  The Hague Marina had few facilities (due to a fire last year) so we left immediately, arriving in Little River by 4 pm in time to do laundry, get water etc.   We are going to leave at daybreak tomorrow morning for Masonboro.  There are two areas with severe shoaling (Shallotte Inlet and Lockwood Folly) which we hope to transit during high tide. 

We left Georgetown at 9:30 a.m.  so that we could arrive at the nearby Layfayette Bridge (65 fixed height) during the low end of the falling tide.  This enabled us to get under the bridge without touching our antenna on it.  We have been experiencing transmission trouble -the forward gear would only engage completely if the engine was revved up, resulting in a loud, hard "thunk" (a technical term). 

 

The Waccamaw river is a beautiful, winding river lined with wildlife reserves and riverside homes.  Ospreys make their homes in the channel markers and eagles nest in the trees.  We also saw geese and turtles  but no alligators.   We pulled into the Hague Marina, an authorized Yanmar dealer, just south of Myrtle Beach.  Ben and Karen decided to return to Bluffton pending repairs.  Their son Greg and friend Marissa who reside in Myrtle Beach came by to pick them up.  It was fun to have them aboard, and we are sorry they had to leave early.  We hope they will join us later in the trip!

 

Thursday morning, the Marina techs pulled the transmission and called Yanmar.   It seems that the replacement transmission which was installed in Coinjock NC last year (see June 4, 2008 transmission burn out) was not the right model for our turbocharged engine.  Replacement under warranty is enroute for delivery and installation tomorrow, June 5.  We hope.