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.

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: