Let’s finish up the trip north in the late spring/early summer of 2023.

Looking back at my blog posts, I realized I’m much farther behind than I thought. I hadn’t even finished our last trip north! I looked back through photos and the old posts to refresh my memory and it all came flooding back. So here we go. Heads up: this is a long post. You’ve been warned.

After our cold, wet, splashy trip through the Alligator-Pungo canal so we could grab a very brief weather window to cross the Albemarle, we found ourselves with several days before we needed to be in Norfolk for the next decent weather window. We typically take the Dismal Swamp north and south, and the length of time we spend along that route is dictated by our next weather window. In this case, we had time to spare so we decided to stop at the Janette Brothers free dock for a night and wander about.

We weren’t that crazy about Elizabeth City the first time we visited, but it’s grown on us somewhat. It’s still not one of our favorite stops, but it does have a top-notch BBQ joint called Currituck BBQ. That alone makes Elizabeth City worth the visit.

Since we started making this trip in 2018, Elizabeth City has added a brewery and several restaurants and coffee shops. A section of restaurants are found along Pailin’s Alley, where you can dine in the alley under the lights.

Elizabeth City also has a lovely historic district with gorgeous houses from the 1800’s along the street that leads to and from Currituck BBQ. I foolishly didn’t take pictures of the houses, but I did take it of the BBQ! Priorities, you know.

Pulled pork for Jeff, burnt ends for me.

We thought “The Kraken” was a cute name for a coffee house:

And this was a great poster to have in the brewery:

We had hoped to scoot along the Dismal Swamp and head up the Chesapeake right away upon arriving in Norfolk, but it was not to be as strong northerly winds had everyone pinned down. Heading straight into a strong wind up the Chesapeake is not our idea of a good time. We did that once heading down the Chesapeake, and it was the closest I’ve ever come to selling the boat. Never again.

Another nice trip up the Dismal Swamp, finally making it into Virginia:

However, making lemonade out of lemons (as we try to do), we discovered that the last day we would be waiting in Norfolk was also the first day of the annual Harborfest. This is the United States’ largest, longest-running, free maritime festival, and we were psyched that we’d have this entertainment right off our cockpit while we were anchored.

Although we were only able to watch the first day (travel conditions were good for the second day of the Harborfest and we were still trying to make it to Connecticut for the summer), we did get to enjoy the tall ships parade and a Coast Guard Search and Rescue demo. There was also supposed to be a drone show that evening, but unfortunately it was cancelled.

When we woke up the morning of Harborfest, we looked out the port and saw that this guy had snuck in during the night:

The Tall Ships parade started with this tug spraying its hoses. It’s always fun to see how high the water can go!

More boats spraying water:

Then the tall ships started coming in:

Then this guy came in to show off:

And after lunch the Coast Guard rescue demonstration began:

It was a fun day, and we certainly wouldn’t mind being in Norfolk for Harborfest again if the timing were to work out.

Finally, finally, the wind settled down so we could make our way up the Chesapeake. We had just enough time to make it to Annapolis where we would have to wait again, but that wasn’t a hardship given how much we love it there.

With no wind, why didn’t we just motor outside from Norfolk to Connecticut or New Jersey? Because, unfortunately, our Pelagic autopilot was on the fritz again. Having hand steered our first year from Norfolk to Groton, Connecticut, we knew there was no way we were going to do that again. Our goal was to get the Pelagic replaced while we were in Annapolis so we could once again have an autopilot when we didn’t have enough wind for Bob the Monitor.

When we arrived in Annapolis, we contacted Scanmar about replacing the Pelagic. This was the second one we had trouble with, and they were happy to replace it with another one as long as we sent the old one back first and paid for the shipping. Looking at the weather, we had a solid window to make it the rest of the way up the Chesapeake, down the Delaware, and up the New Jersey Coast as long as we sent the old Pelagic back via overnight shipping and had the new one sent to us the same way. The shipping costs were almost the same as buying a new Pelagic, but the clock was ticking and we really needed to grab this window to get to Connecticut.

So we shipped off the Pelagic and then spent the rest of that day and the next day enjoying Annapolis, knowing the new one would arrive on the third day. Not so fast. But first, some scenes from the charming city of Annapolis:

Sailing is SUCH an ingrained part of the culture here. Kids sailing camps are ubiquitous during the summer:

Boats under 35′ can take a mooring in the Spa Creek mooring field for only $25/night – buy six nights, get the seventh night free. It’s so much more protected than the front 40, and it has a very nice view of the school and the bridge.

The Maryland State House is the oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, and is the only state house ever to have serviced as the nation’s capital:

We explored the Old Fox Books and Coffeehouse bookstore for the first time. It’s a great local bookstore right in downtown Annapolis:

So now it’s day three and our Pelagic is scheduled for delivery at the Annapolis Harbormaster’s office by noon. Then, a message popped up saying it had been delayed until the next day. Wait! What? We called FedEx and they said they had tried to deliver the package but the office was closed for the Juneteenth holiday. This was complete B.S. The dockmaster’s office is open every day. We knew they hadn’t tried to deliver it at all. Could we take an Uber to the Fed Ex distribution center to get it? No, they said. It was still on the truck. It would be delivered the next day. Grrrr.

Day four. The Pelagic is scheduled for delivery at the Annapolis Dockmaster’s office by noon. Then, a message popped up saying it had been delayed until the next day. WHAT???? We called FedEx and they said the driver couldn’t get to the Harbormaster’s office because the street was closed for the Juneteenth parade. This, again, was complete B.S. The street was GOING to close, but wasn’t closed when the Fed Ex delivery guy claimed he had tried to deliver it. AAAUUUGHHH!

By now our frustration was through the roof. We had been fighting the weather for six weeks trying to get back to Connecticut. We had paid several hundred dollars for overnight delivery of our Pelagic which had now failed to be delivered for two consecutive days. And after day five (assuming the Pelagic showed up), our weather window was slamming shut again. Fuck. This. Shit. We were angry. We were frustrated. We were done. We were throwing in the towel and going to spend the summer in Cambridge, MD instead (where we spent Covid summer.)

Once the decision was made, we relaxed for the first time in six weeks. We booked a slip for the summer at Cambridge’s Municipal Marina, waited out some weather, and motored across the bay with our new Pelagic (which was working – yay!) to our slip.

As we left Annapolis to head to Cambridge, we were passed by Aphrodite which is well known to boaters in Southern New England. We wouldn’t be seeing her in Connecticut during the summer, so it was nice get a last glimpse of her again. Lucky captain.

The new Pelagic – hopefully the third one will be the charm:

It’s taken four years, but we’ve finally learned to slow down and relax.

So far this has been our best trip along the ICW – even though it’s been more chilly than we would prefer! One of the things we talked about last winter was slowing down on the boat and taking our time. Don’t rush unless weather is forcing our hand. There will always be another window. While this comes naturally to Jeff, it was much more of a challenge for me. But I think I’ve finally got it down. We’ve been poking along, riding the currents whenever we can – even if it means a shorter day – and all in all it’s been working out great.

We knew leaving Norfolk that it would be four or five days before we had a good window to cross the Albemarle, so we poked along the Dismal Swamp.

404154B6-6FFC-4FF3-9946-FE2A8AA82889 — Another state down – goodbye, Virginia, hello North Carolina!

We had a short, ten mile day to Elizabeth’s Landing where we spent the night after stocking up with groceries at Food Lion. Then it was another quick eight mile day to Taylor’s Landing (another free dock on the Dismal).

5BD6B07C-B90E-4BBF-BA05-96262BA5551C — Cruisers leave their boat name on the wall as you wait to enter the lock. It fades pretty quickly. We couldn’t find our name from 2018.

3C044233-3AD3-45BF-B6FC-34B60FDDDE3D — Waiting for the lock to close to exit the Dismal Swamp. The green is from duckweed.

70EF2F71-EF9C-494C-8A40-52BC73756808 — The stretch between the Dismal Swamp and Elizabeth City is quite scenic.

After exiting the Dismal we had a slightly longer day to Goat Island, and then a quick six mile trip to Elizabeth City where we did laundry and had the best barbecue we’ve EVER had at Currituck BBQ.

Our patience was rewarded with a smooth as glass crossing of the Albemarle Sound and down the Alligator River.

0B8DCEAF-BF33-42FB-894E-ED1471B97D10 — THIS is how we like to see the Albemarle Sound!

Normally I find the Alligator-Pungo canal to be pretty boring, but this time Mother Nature entertained us. In the first few miles we approached a fog bank:

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After the fog we had some rain showers, followed by this beautiful rainbow:

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To top it off, we saw a deer swimming across the canal almost directly in front of us, but I couldn’t get a good picture of it. I really need to get a real camera.

We had originally planned to skip Belhaven (gasp!) for reasons that I can’t remember any more. Fortunately common sense prevailed, and we remembered we were taking it slow this time, so we made a spontaneous decision to anchor for two nights in one of our favorite small towns. From there we had a short day, stopping at RE Mayo for the first time.

RE Mayo has the cheapest diesel in the area, the freshest and cheapest shrimp straight off of the boat, and VERY rough docks where you can tie up for 40 cents/foot. We go by every year saying we’ll stop next time, and finally next time arrived. I don’t know if we’d stop overnight again (the barges going by overnight kick up quite a wake, even though they are moving slowly), but we’ll definitely pull up in the future to top off our diesel tank and buy more shrimp!

0AC39334-0957-4371-9D52-B235E0D9D78A — That’s a dockage fee you won’t see often, but honestly it wasn’t worth more than that.

Waking up the next morning, we were keeping our eye on a strong weather system coming in a few days that, combined with a very late hurricane/Tropical Storm, was going to make things pretty snotty for awhile. Keeping that in mind, we made a reservation for a week at St. James Marina near Southport, NC and put the hammer down.

We skipped Oriental and as we were crossing the Neuse, I saw “Aphrodite” pop up on our AIS. It was going over 25 knots, and I said to Jeff, “Could that be THE Aphrodite?” I’ve blogged about Aphrodite before. Basically, anyone who boats in Fishers Island Sound knows Aphrodite. She’s stunning. We decided it couldn’t be – we were a LONG way from Southern New England – and a few minutes later we discovered we were wrong:

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Apparently she heads south to Florida every year. Lucky delivery captain!

We were hurrying, but we still enjoyed the scenery along the North Carolina ICW. It’s a stretch I really enjoy because the inlets are so short, leaving you with a great view of the ocean every time you pass one. Of course the flip side is that you fight the currents part of the way, no matter when you leave.

9C1B6F2E-CE89-4F2D-BF6A-0B880ED45793 — You can tell the current is against us from the direction the can is leaning.

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97A3BB43-CB90-4180-A72E-55818A66C1DC — Given the amount of liquid gas this cargo ship was carrying, we thought the size of the “No Smoking” warning was appropriate!

A few short days later, we arrived at St. James Marina. We’ve stopped here a few times before, always for weather-related reasons. It’s the most protected marina in the area – a true hurricane hole – and we’re glad we planned so far ahead because they were sold out by the time we arrived.

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We spent a week barely feeling a breeze as the wind honked at 25-30+ knots. Our fingers were crossed that once the weather passed we could get a window to hop outside to Georgetown or farther, but the window was much too sporty for our taste. Time to continue down the ICW!

And just like that, the weather turned.

We had been at the marina in Belhaven for a week and had a one-day window to get up the Alligator River and across the Albemarle. If the weather was accurate, we’d be in Elizabeth City by the end of the day. If not, we’d be at the Alligator River Marina for at least three nights – if not longer.

Albemarle Sound is 50 miles wide (from east to west) and anywhere from 5-14 miles long (north to south). It’s deepest water is only 25 feet, but the route cruisers follow to get to Elizabeth City or Coinjock is generally about 10 -15 feet deep and 10 miles across. Because it’s so long and so shallow, any wind over 15 knots creates a nasty chop and tends to be a no-go for most boaters. On our first trip south we had 15-18 knots from behind and we surfed our way across, making a note never to cross it in winds over 15 knots (although we’d be willing to bump it up a tad once again if the wind was on our stern). Our forecast was for 15 knots from the northeast and dropping throughout the day, so with a reservation in hand at the Alligator River Marina in case it proved necessary, we set off with all of our fingers crossed. Continue reading “And just like that, the weather turned.” →

A no-brainer.

After leaving Oriental we made steady progress north. We reluctantly decided to skip our beloved Belhaven, which is the first time we’ve missed it. Unfortunately Covid cases were increasing in North Carolina and from what we could observe on Facebook, Belhaven residents weren’t fans of masks. Sadly, if that attitude remains Belhaven will have to be a pass for us until Covid is somehow resolved.

**Looks like there’s no point in swimming for respite on the Pamlico Sound in late June – the water temperature was 100 degrees!**

We had a sporty ride across the Albemarle (it’s a large, shallow body of water so every time a gnat farts a nasty chop kicks up), spent several days sweating it out in the Dismal Swamp Canal, and rode out the Fourth of July weekend anchored at Hospital Point by Portsmouth, VA.

**The Saharan dust cloud turned the sky steel gray crossing the Albemarle.**

**Wandering on a path at the Dismal Swamp park.**

Continue reading “A no-brainer.” →

It’s true what they said.

As we talked to various cruisers about our plans for heading north, everyone assured us that it would take much less time than the trip south. The weather would be better, and with the additional daylight we could make more progress each day. Well, they were absolutely right. Going north is MUCH faster.

Granted, we’ve done a few passages in order to get some miles under the keel, but there’s no question that this has been a quicker trip for us. There have been very few weather delays, and the warmer temperatures leave us less fatigued so we can put in longer days.

Readers of this blog know that typically we move along very slowly. We like to take our time and poke along. So why the big hurry? Well, we would like to spend some time this summer cruising in southern New England again. But before we can do that, we have a few projects that we want to do on Pegu Club, we have some medical appointments to take care of in Connecticut, and we want to visit family in Rochester and the west coast. We also want to leave to start heading south much earlier this time – ideally by mid-August. Between all of those things, if we want to have ANY time to cruise our home waters we need to put the pedal to the metal and get north. If we went at our usual slow pace, we’d have to turn around and leave as soon as we arrive!

Honestly though, this pace is working out just fine for us. We wouldn’t want to do it both ways, but we do think that we’ll stick with this strategy in the future – take our time going south while moving quickly north.

Continue reading “It’s true what they said.” →

The Dismal Swamp and Elizabeth City, NC.

After enjoying a peaceful night with the dock to ourselves, we were able to sleep in a bit before untying the lines and continuing our journey down the Dismal Swamp Canal. All of the people we had entered the first lock with on the previous day had traveled farther than we did, allowing them to make the 8:30 a.m. exiting lock. With 14 statute miles to go there was no way we could be there in time, so we puttered down the waterway enjoying the feeling of having it all to ourselves.

**The tannic acid from the bark of the trees in the Dismal Swamp Canal give the water a distinctive coffee color.**

We arrived at South Mills Lock around 10:30 a.m. so we tied up to the wall just before the bridge and relaxed for a bit. This also gave us a chance to leave our mark, which is apparently a cruiser tradition. Continue reading “The Dismal Swamp and Elizabeth City, NC.” →

Two months later, we’ve passed mile zero.

I forgot to mention in the last post that on our way from Deltaville to Hampton, a yellow warbler came and joined us for a little while. The winds were in the high teens and all of a sudden this cute little bird landed on our coaming next to where I was sitting. We figured he was looking for a break from the wind. He hopped off the coaming and onto my leg, and then onto my arm. I don’t think he realized that I wasn’t a piece of furniture, and I stayed stock still.

He flew inside the cabin, much to our dismay, but then a few minutes later he flew out and tried to land on the engine shift lever. That didn’t give him enough grip, so he headed for the other coaming when – WHOOSH! – he got a bit too close to the wind and he blew away. Poor little thing. I wish I had my camera. He was really quite cute. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

We had a good trip to Connecticut, albeit a long drive. Jeff received a six month reprieve from the cardiologist assuming nothing changes, and we had a great time visiting my aunt in Charlottesville and several friends in Connecticut. I was a little concerned that after sleeping in a queen size bed, enjoying daily unlimited hot showers, and hanging out in something larger than our Pegu Club we might be reluctant to go back. That didn’t happen though. We missed her and the lifestyle that we are rapidly adjusting to, and were quite excited to be heading back on Tuesday. After spending one additional day in the marina, we were off bright and early on Thursday to officially begin our journey down the ICW. Continue reading “Two months later, we’ve passed mile zero.” →

Solomons and south.

There wasn’t as much VHF chatter on our way from Annapolis to Solomons as there had been on our previous leg. At one point on our way to Annapolis someone (presumably a fishing boat) was calling for a radio check and when no one responded he asked, “Am I all alone out here?” “I can hear you. You’re not alone” came a response. After a few beats someone else came on and said in a solemn voice, “We’re all alone.” That cracked us up.

Anyway, after motor sailing for 45 nm from Annapolis, we were happy to drop the anchor in Solomons, MD. Solomons is an extremely popular destination for Chesapeake boaters, but being late in October we didn’t get a real feel for it. It’s kind of like being on Block Island after Labor Day compared to the height of summer. A lot of places were closed for the season, but it was o.k. because we knew we would definitely be coming here again.

One place that wasn’t closed was the Calvert Marine Museum. The museum had several great exhibits, including many fossils, an outdoor habitat for river otters (so cute!), the Drum Point Light (which had been relocated from its original location), and indoor aquarium exhibits. Continue reading “Solomons and south.” →