Riding the Mechanical Bull Blindfolded Across Albemarle Sound

Date:                                  April 30, 2013

Days on the Cruise:             36

From:                                Alligator River Marina, Columbia, NC

To:                                    Coinjock Marina, Coinjock, NC

Statute Miles:                    36.7

Time:                                4.2 Hours

Cumulative Miles:             1,182.4

On Board:                         Chuck, Susan, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut

We are in Coinjock, NC tonight near Nag's Head

Coinjock showing the Mid Atlantic States Position

Amanda and Ben and baby Charlotte are all doing well. Here is a picture of Mama and baby girl.

Today was a big surprise weather wise, and it affected our "short" trip across Albemarle Sound. We planned to leave at 10:00 this morning. It was partly cloudy at the marina, so we decided to leave early, and we got off at 9:40. By the time we cleared the marina and got out in the Alligator River, banks of fog rolled in and we were soon in a very reduced visibility situation. It took us a while to wind around the shoals at the junction of Albemarle Sound and the River. I turned the radar on and we poked along in 1/2 mile visibility. The radar would show red "targets" that we would watch and when we got close enough, we could actually see the channel markers and other boats. The AIS also helped identify the boats that were equipped with this technology, as was a big sailboat, "Mandalay", that decided to anchor outside the ICW and wait for the fog to lift.

We saw a bunch of red targets in front of us as we got out into the Sound, and when we got within a half mile of the targets, we found five sailboats all in a row cruising the channel across the Sound. So it went like this for more than an hour, maybe an hour and a half. We got into stronger winds and higher waves the farther out in the Sound we went. The autopilot was hunting back and forth as the waves built to 3', so I increased speed to maintain my course. Finally about half or sixty percent of the way across Albemarle, we broke into the clear to heavy overcast, but no more fog.

One of the five sailboats. Note the waves breaking on her bow.

The crossing in the fog was very rough. Because we were going into the wind and waves, we were bounced around instead of rolled. Not being able to see through the fog and being bounced like a mechanical bull, gave me visions of being an urban cowboy at Mickey Gillie's riding a bull blindfolded. In fact, Susan and I are still rocking from the ride this morning. As we ate dinner in Coinjock, we both had the rocking sensation. Sea Legs anyone?

Me and da boid are sick of these rough rides!

After Albemarle, we got into shallow winding creeks and a long canal that connects to Currituck Sound. We are staying at Coinjock Marina in Coinjock, which is along this canal. Anyone know what "Coinjock" means?

The marina is just one very long fixed face dock parallel to the canal. boats are packed in tightly. The five sailboats that we passed in Albemarle are all here, and the big sailboat, "Mandalay" with John and Debra from Annapolis on board who we were with last night at Alligator River Marina is also here.

Coinjock Marina

Coinjock Marina

"Blue Moon" at Coinjock

Coinjock Marina

Boats behind "Blue Moon" at Coinjock

Susan cleaned the Isenglass today!

The Coinjock Marina is famous in cruising circles for the Prime Rib at the waterfront restaurant at the Marina. It did not disappoint tonight. Susan had the Ribeye which was also very good. The portions are big, and we both have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. All in all, Coinjock is a great stop. The face dock is very easy to get onto and secure the boat, and the dock hands are hard working and professional.

Tomorrow we continue to Norfolk. We expect to enter Virginia and conclude the day's voyage about 7 miles from Norfolk. We have about a 5 mile slog up Currituck Sound with 15 mph winds from the NE forecast.

Oh, and "Coinjock" means Mulberry in the Native American  vocabulary!

Thanks for Reading!

Riding in the Rain then a Child is Born

Date:                                  April 29, 2013

Days on the Cruise:             35

From:                                Dowry Creek Marina, Belhaven, NC

To:                                    Alligator River Marina, Columbia, NC

Statute Miles:                    49.2

Time:                                5.67 Hours

Cumulative Miles:             1,145.7

On Board:                         Chuck, Susan, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut

Our location tonight as shown by the pink pin

Our location tonight as shown by the pink pin as relates to the middle Atlantic States

First off, congratulations to our son Ben and daughter - in - law Amanda on the birth of their daughter Charlotte today in Alabama. Everyone is doing fine. Charlotte weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz and was 19" long at birth. We have seen several pictures, and she looks like her Mama and has a bunch of dark hair.

We were out of cell phone contact for most of the day. We knew that Amanda had a doctor's appointment this morning and that it was likely that they would do a C-Section this week. We also knew that there was a possibility that Charlotte could come today. Today was the first time on the entire trip that we have been without cell service for an extended period of time, so we could not follow this morning's events with Amanda and Ben. It drove us crazy to not be "in the know". We broke out of the silent mode around noon and started getting texts about what was happening. We did not get voice contact until shortly before we got here to the marina. So we are both very excited about the third granddaughter's arrival, and are thankful that everyone is OK.

Other than the baby's arrival, there is not much more to elaborate on. We ran in the rain for all but about an hour of our trip. And it was hard rain from the time we untied the lines this morning until it quit. Visibility was very poor all day long, with it dropping to less than half a mile for periods of tome. We drove from the fly bridge and the plastic (Isenglass) windshield had so much rain on it that it was still hard to see. Binoculars worked to cut through the rain and to see the channel markers. I relied on my three chartplotters to guide us. I followed the sailing lines on the plotters from mark to mark, and Susan kept a visual on the markers with binoculars. This was really similar to instrument flying through the clouds, as it was very difficult to see outside.  The wind was calm until we got to the Alligator River and headed North, then it came from behind us and and pushed waves on our stern. The Alligator is 4.5 miles wide in most places, so it provides a lot of water area for waves to build.

A view out the front door this morning on the Pungo River coming out of Dowry Creek Marina

Sailing through the Pungo-Alligator Canal which joins the Pungo and Alligator Rivers

Visibility is better looking back at our wake through the canal

Sailing down the Alligator River toward Albemarle Sound

We had to have the Alligator River Bridge open for us. The road goes to the Outer Banks and Nags Head, about 20 miles away

I was dreading the marina at which we are staying tonight. I had heard so many negative things about the staff and how you are treated. I could not be more pleased with this place. Prompt and courteous docking assistance. Courteous check-in assistance. A Welcome Bag-the first we have received on the trip. And a restaurant and store (even if it is in a Shell gas station) that served us some great burgers and fries for dinner. We both have been craving a common cheeseburger and tonight we got it! We are in a protected harbor with good docks and not a lot of other boats. We met another couple, John and Barbara, in a little bigger Mainship than ours, who came in to spend the night also. They are from Texas, are friends of some folks we met next to us in Oriental, and are on their way to the Rendezvous where we are headed. So, tonight, life is good!

Alligator River Marina

Alligator River Marina

Alligator River Marina at the Shell Station

Tomorrow, we go about 30 miles up to Coinjock, NC. We will cross the last big water before the Chesapeake when we travel about 15 miles across Albemarle Sound.

Thanks for Reading!

North Carolina Big Water

Date:                                  April 28, 2013

Days on the Cruise:             34

From:                                Oriental Marina and Inn, Oriental, NC

To:                                    Dowry Creek Marina, Belhaven, NC,

Statute Miles:                    52.2

Time:                                5.75 Hours

Cumulative Miles:             1,096.5

On Board:                         Chuck, Susan, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut

Tonight we are in Belhaven, NC at Dowry Creek Marina as shown by the pink marker

Today was all about navigating some of North Carolina's big water as we transited the Neuse River, Pamlico River, and Pungo River along with some other smaller rivers and creeks. We got an early start from Oriental, leaving about 7:10, and got out onto the Neuse River to try to make distance before the winds picked up and the wave action started. We were moderately successful in this, as we ran faster today at 10-11 mph. We started picking up bigger waves about an hour into the trip, and these waves rocked us quite a bit. For most of the trip on the Neuse, the river was about 6 miles wide.

This is the pink hull sail boat that I posted a poor picture of yesterday

Look at the forest of sail boat masts in this marina across the bridge from Oriental!

Early morning on the Neuse River heading directly into the sun

It's a long way to land on the Neuse River

Keep going this direction on the Neuse and you will end up on the Outer Banks

We got off the Neuse about two hours after we started and got into Bay River and Stonewall Creek. Once we got off the Neuse, we throttled back for a more economical fuel burn at 8-8.5 mph. The sea conditions were calm in the creeks and small rivers.

Finally getting off the Neuse River as we go into Stonewall Creek

Mayo Seafood Company docks right at the Hobucken Bridge

Cool name for a shrimp boat, the "Dawson Blaze"

We entered the Pamlico River which flows into the huge Pamlico Sound, about three and a half hours after we left Oriental. It took us about 45 minutes to cross this five mile wide river. The waves were very manageable, and the rocking and rolling was not nearly as bad as on the Neuse.

Another big body of water, the Pamlico River which flows into Pamlico Sound

We turned North on the Pungo River which flows into the Pamlico. The Pungo is also very wide and can be nasty in the right wind conditions, but today the wind was from behind for the most part and we had what I thought was a following sea.

Belhaven is not much to look at from the Pungo River. Our marina for the night is about three miles East of town out in the middle of nowhere. We turned into the entrance channel that leads to Dowry Creek Marina, and arrived at 12:50 PM, much earlier than I anticipated. It was still a 52 mile trip.

The Dowry Creek Marina is highly recommended on the cruising websites. The main attraction is the care which the staff takes with its customers, and we can attest to this. Fueling was easy and the dock master gave us our choice of where to dock. The docks are wood fixed docks that appear to be fairly old. Mary, who is the marina owner, was very nice and helpful.

Coming into the Dowry Creek Marina

The view from our stern at the Dowry Creek Marina

Dowry Creek Marina

Dowry Creek Marina

Looking back out to the Pungo River from our slip at the Dowry Creek Marina

Tonight we ate dinner on board, and it is really dark out here. The lights on the long wooden dock back to the shoreline are very sparse, and when we took Maggie out for her final walk of the night, it was very hard to see. We also don't have cell service on our phones and iPad, but we do have good wi-fi from the marina. Well, we are out in the country!

Tomorrow is another fifty some odd mile day where we go to a marina on the Alligator River just short of Albemarle Sound, which we will cross on Tuesday. Tomorrow's big water is part of the Alligator River which looks to be a mile or two wide in some places. I think the wind will be behind us again on this big stretch, but it is supposed to rain pretty much all day.

Ben and Amanda go for her appointment at 8:30 in the morning. Their baby should be born this week, and maybe tomorrow or Tuesday! Exciting times, and we hate that we are 800 miles away.

Thanks for Reading!

Dragons and Azaleas in Oriental, NC

Date:                                  April 27, 2013

Days on the Cruise:             33

From:                                Oriental Marina and Inn, Oriental, NC

To:                                    Oriental Marina and Inn, Oriental, NC

Statute Miles:                    0.0

Time:                                0.0 Hours

Cumulative Miles:             1,044.3

On Board:                         Chuck, Susan, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut


It was a beautiful Saturday in Oriental. Today brought out many people to special events in this small town. We walked the town for about 4 hours, and we saw art exhibits, plant sales, wine tasting, and partying at our marina. 

We visited several marine stores, two local and West Marine. We picked up supplies that have come up as being needed during the trip. At West Marine, we bought two 15" round "ball type" fenders to use at docks and in the hundreds of locks we will go through. We have needed these already at some of the marinas in which we have tied up.  

We found a marine consignment store that had rooms filled with old and used marine equipment and supplies. Susan found some connectors that we have needed to connect our 30 amp shore power cords to the 50 amp to 30 amp pigtail that we use to connect at the shore power pedestals. When we got to the boat, we put them on and they worked perfectly! Great find!

Lunch was at the Oriental Food Emporium that was a quaint local place in an old house. It was good.

We visited an art gallery across the street from the marina. They were having a show and a silent auction. There were several neat things that we wanted, but since we have started the trip, with VERY limited space, we have not been in the buying mode. So, we will save this for another time.

An art gallery that we visited across the street from our marina

There was another local marine supply store next to the marina. It is called "The Provision Company", and they have a little bit of everything. We bought some needed supplies here to use for cleaning and organizing. The prices weren't bad, and certainly better than West Marine.

We found Oriental to be a beautiful, basic, unpretentious town. It is much smaller than I envisioned. The azaleas are in full bloom, and we finally caught up with the flowering shrubs and bushes as Spring and "Blue Moon" both head North!

The town dinghy dock at the harbor

This sailboat has a purple hull....Yuck!

A harbor walk

This is a huge rose bush along the harbor walk

A scene in the harbor at Oriental

We found the azaleas in bloom!

This is the main drag in Oriental

An old home in Oriental

This is not Mobile, it is downtown Oriental

This old home needs a foundation!

Azaleas in full bloom 

A beautiful Spring scene in a yard on a side street in Oriental

A little known fact about the town

We learned that Oriental is famous for their Dragon Mascots. Why Dragons? Good question! We asked a local shop owner and he explained that Dragons are a sign of "Oriental" culture, so Oriental, NC adopted the Dragon as a symbol of the town. All around town we saw these rocks that are painted like dragons and other animals. There are "official" signs at each of these rock scenes that declare them as natural Dragon Eggs. Imagine, painted rocks that are Dragon Eggs.

A metal sculpture of a dragon in a yard on the main street

Sign announcing location of Dragon Eggs

Dragon Egg at a store in town

Closeup of Dragon Eggs

Dragon wind vane thingys

Another Dragon Egg location

Another Dragon Egg

When we got back to the boat from walking around town, we found another Mainship docked next to us. It is a Mainship 390 named "M/V Freya", and we met the owners, Maryanne and Ozel from Rockport, TX. They are doing the Loop with their two Portugese Water Dogs, and we are excited to be traveling in the same direction. 

Dinner tonight was on board. Tomorrow we are off early to Belhaven, NC. It is about a 50 mile day, and we have maybe 30 miles across big water. I am looking forward to the trip!

Thanks for Reading!