The Battleship Wisconson, 888 Feet
Fort Monroe Courtyard
Dismal Swamp, Waiting for the lock
Rose Buddies in Elizabeth City
MM and Honey in Oriental, NCJune 3, 2010
As noted in the last post we were headed to Beaufort, NC. We arrived there and had a pleasant walk around of the City and the various shops etc. That evening, we met up with another couple that had done the loop in 2005, Capt. Bob & NanRae Hanold on “Bonas IV” as well as Ross & Nancy Hiner on “Oddysea” whom we had met last fall on the Tennessee River.
The next day took us to Oriental, NC. Oriental advertises itself as the “Sailing Capital of NC”. It is a sleepy little town of some 500 people and 5000 boats. It must get really crazy on the weekends or when they have sailing regattas. They had a nice little Tiki bar at the marina.
After Oriental it was on to Belhaven, NC. We anchored out, had a quiet dinner and went to bed early. The next morning we had a very early start on a very nice day and were planning to stay on the southern shore on Albemarle Sound just beyond the Alligator River swing bridge. We arrived at the bridge earlier that anticipated and, because it was such a nice day, we decided to cross the Albemarle and go to Elizabeth City, NC. Elizabeth City is the southern tip of the “Great Dismal Swamp” that starts in Norfolk, VA and goes south to Elizabeth City.
We arrived around 4:30 and were greeted by “Potest Fieri”, “Karen Ann”, and “Monks Vineyard”. They had all arrived on Friday, we arrived on Saturday and they were moving north on Sunday. We elected to stay another day and left on Tuesday.
Elizabeth City has to be the most boater friendly place on the entire east coast. Every evening, weather permitting, they host a free wine and cheese party for the boaters that are tied up to the city provided, free docks. The mayor comes out and thanks everyone for coming, the chamber of commerce gives a pitch for the local merchants, and an old duffer named “Dave” (NOT ME) gives everybody the hot skinny on the Dismal Swamp Canal, its two locks, history etc. They also give each of the ladies a single rose, the group that hosts this is called the “Rose Buddies”. It really was a lot of fun and interesting. Joe and Joyce invited us aboard Takitez II for cocktails
Tuesday we headed into the swamp with a man we met named Merritt Walker and his friend “Fritz” Melsheimer. Merritt’s boat, “Bonny IV Rover” is a custom built steel 40 footer that was of his design. Come to find out Merritt is a boat designer and had designed several steel schooners that sail off the Maine coast in the summer. But of even more interest, he designed the “Pilgrim Belle” paddle wheeler that sails out on Plymouth Harbor and was the boat that our daughter Jessica, and then, her fiancé Sam Chun had their wedding rehearsal dinner and party on the night before they got married. A REALLY SMALL WORLD!
We spent Tuesday night at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center after a very shallow trip in the Canal. The boat behind us was a 46 Bavaria Sailboat from Oslo, Norway that drew 6 ½ feet. The canal is now a bit deeper in spots as there were places that were less than 6 feet.
On Wednesday we continued to Norfolk and anchored out and had the obligatory cocktails with two other couples we met in Elizabeth City. Richard and Tiki aboard Tadpole was just starting the loop from Tampa. Jack and Linda from New Attitude, a sailboat was returning to Maryland after wintering in the Bahamas.
The remainder of the week called for high winds so we elected to stay at the Norfolk Waterside Marina for three days. We rented a car and explored Fort Monroe in Hampton Roads, went to the Museums in Portsmouth, and drove to Smithfield and bought overpriced Virginia ham and some slab bacon and green tomato pickles. It is a very pretty town.
From Norfolk we proceeded up the York River to Yorktown. We did the usual tour of the battlefield, had some Ben & Jerry’s at the stand and lazed around at anchor for two days on the Memorial Day weekend.
We left Norfolk and went into Mobjack Bay up to the East River pass an anchorage called “Put In Creek” to a very secluded spot further upstream. We did some dinghy exploring, which is always fun and after supper, we sat on the flybridge in a quiet steady rain and watched as thunder storms went by on both sides of us. Nice.
On June 2nd we went up the Piankatank River to Jackson Creek in Deltaville, VA. They had a courtesy car and we went and picked up our forwarded mail, went to grocery store, and the obligatory trip to West Marine. It has been “very, very hot” and the afternoon lying around the pool was appreciated by all. Today we are in Urbanna, VA a pretty little river town on the south shore of the Rappahannock River. Again it is hot and humid. I can only imagine what it must be like on the Chesapeake in July and August.
We will be taking our time exploring this great sailing area looking for neat places to anchor and explore. According to our trusty cruising guide there are “300+ Secluded Anchorages, 400+ Marinas and 200+ Waterfront Restaurants”. I think we will not get to see them all in the next two weeks but we shall give it a valiant try.
As noted in the last post we were headed to Beaufort, NC. We arrived there and had a pleasant walk around of the City and the various shops etc. That evening, we met up with another couple that had done the loop in 2005, Capt. Bob & NanRae Hanold on “Bonas IV” as well as Ross & Nancy Hiner on “Oddysea” whom we had met last fall on the Tennessee River.
The next day took us to Oriental, NC. Oriental advertises itself as the “Sailing Capital of NC”. It is a sleepy little town of some 500 people and 5000 boats. It must get really crazy on the weekends or when they have sailing regattas. They had a nice little Tiki bar at the marina.
After Oriental it was on to Belhaven, NC. We anchored out, had a quiet dinner and went to bed early. The next morning we had a very early start on a very nice day and were planning to stay on the southern shore on Albemarle Sound just beyond the Alligator River swing bridge. We arrived at the bridge earlier that anticipated and, because it was such a nice day, we decided to cross the Albemarle and go to Elizabeth City, NC. Elizabeth City is the southern tip of the “Great Dismal Swamp” that starts in Norfolk, VA and goes south to Elizabeth City.
We arrived around 4:30 and were greeted by “Potest Fieri”, “Karen Ann”, and “Monks Vineyard”. They had all arrived on Friday, we arrived on Saturday and they were moving north on Sunday. We elected to stay another day and left on Tuesday.
Elizabeth City has to be the most boater friendly place on the entire east coast. Every evening, weather permitting, they host a free wine and cheese party for the boaters that are tied up to the city provided, free docks. The mayor comes out and thanks everyone for coming, the chamber of commerce gives a pitch for the local merchants, and an old duffer named “Dave” (NOT ME) gives everybody the hot skinny on the Dismal Swamp Canal, its two locks, history etc. They also give each of the ladies a single rose, the group that hosts this is called the “Rose Buddies”. It really was a lot of fun and interesting. Joe and Joyce invited us aboard Takitez II for cocktails
Tuesday we headed into the swamp with a man we met named Merritt Walker and his friend “Fritz” Melsheimer. Merritt’s boat, “Bonny IV Rover” is a custom built steel 40 footer that was of his design. Come to find out Merritt is a boat designer and had designed several steel schooners that sail off the Maine coast in the summer. But of even more interest, he designed the “Pilgrim Belle” paddle wheeler that sails out on Plymouth Harbor and was the boat that our daughter Jessica, and then, her fiancé Sam Chun had their wedding rehearsal dinner and party on the night before they got married. A REALLY SMALL WORLD!
We spent Tuesday night at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center after a very shallow trip in the Canal. The boat behind us was a 46 Bavaria Sailboat from Oslo, Norway that drew 6 ½ feet. The canal is now a bit deeper in spots as there were places that were less than 6 feet.
On Wednesday we continued to Norfolk and anchored out and had the obligatory cocktails with two other couples we met in Elizabeth City. Richard and Tiki aboard Tadpole was just starting the loop from Tampa. Jack and Linda from New Attitude, a sailboat was returning to Maryland after wintering in the Bahamas.
The remainder of the week called for high winds so we elected to stay at the Norfolk Waterside Marina for three days. We rented a car and explored Fort Monroe in Hampton Roads, went to the Museums in Portsmouth, and drove to Smithfield and bought overpriced Virginia ham and some slab bacon and green tomato pickles. It is a very pretty town.
From Norfolk we proceeded up the York River to Yorktown. We did the usual tour of the battlefield, had some Ben & Jerry’s at the stand and lazed around at anchor for two days on the Memorial Day weekend.
We left Norfolk and went into Mobjack Bay up to the East River pass an anchorage called “Put In Creek” to a very secluded spot further upstream. We did some dinghy exploring, which is always fun and after supper, we sat on the flybridge in a quiet steady rain and watched as thunder storms went by on both sides of us. Nice.
On June 2nd we went up the Piankatank River to Jackson Creek in Deltaville, VA. They had a courtesy car and we went and picked up our forwarded mail, went to grocery store, and the obligatory trip to West Marine. It has been “very, very hot” and the afternoon lying around the pool was appreciated by all. Today we are in Urbanna, VA a pretty little river town on the south shore of the Rappahannock River. Again it is hot and humid. I can only imagine what it must be like on the Chesapeake in July and August.
We will be taking our time exploring this great sailing area looking for neat places to anchor and explore. According to our trusty cruising guide there are “300+ Secluded Anchorages, 400+ Marinas and 200+ Waterfront Restaurants”. I think we will not get to see them all in the next two weeks but we shall give it a valiant try.
No comments:
Post a Comment