It's so great when we can get on the internet!!!
Arriving at Dowry Creek Marina, mile 132 ICW, in Belhaven, NC. We exit off the Pungo River into this entry channel.
Cory immediately meets and makes friends with Cherie. They are inseperatable - mostly on Cory's part.
We take the courtesy car for a ride to town to restock. The area is described as "the old North Carolina, the way it used to be." We see many houses abandoned and falling down, houses with storm damage, and not much else. The courtesy car was an old Buick- you had to reach out the window to the outside door handle to get out of the car Linda was laughing so hard she could hardly open the door to get out!
The land is entirely flat here - farms are growing soybeans and seem to be the only thriving businesses.
Finally we're on a dock that doesn't make us look tiny. The floating docks are gone now because, according to marina owner, there are no more tidal ranges on the ICW - only water heights affected by the winds.
A look from our boat at the rest of the marina. Unfortunately, this marina has fallen on hard times because of the death of the husband. The wife is trying to keep it going until the boaters all make it north for the summer. It's very tragic, but a beautiful tranquil spot.
This is for Alison. Apparently we are staying right in the town where her boat is made. We saw many of the new models of Privateer boat - but they are all smaller than hers.
They're very proud here that their restaurant is "sanitary."
This 21 ft. C-Ranger tug was in the parking lot of the "Sanitary Restaurant" - Linda really liked it. Ken- not so much.
A picture showing how close we are to the banks - we are traveling in the middle of this canal. The edges are eaten away and stumps occasionally stick out of the water. You have to keep a sharp eye out for floating debris. Note the Carolina pine trees. They're EVERYWHERE!
We wanted to show the color of the water - it looks like tea. The natives say it is from the tannen in the trees being washed into the rivers. I believe them but Linda's not so sure.
A little fishing village. Linda liked the shrimp boats.
A sample of the conditions when we crossed Pamlico Sound - hot, hazy, and humid is a perfect boating day. The Sound could not have been calmer. It looked like this in all directions. The Sound has an easy channel to follow - out of the channel it is very shallow.
This is why Linda is not so convinced on the "tannin theory" of water coloration. These drainage pipes are visible all along the waterway. NC must know what they're doing with drainage with all the hurricanes they get, but these pipes make me want to call the EPA!
After we left Morehead City we entered this canal as we headed toward Belhaven. We got in the middle of a "Grady Whitefest" - it was the most traffic that we have seen on the ICW since we left Florida. We were very grateful when these boats all turned off en masse and we continued on.
Friday, May 11- Last night in Morehead City we ate at the “Sanitary Fish Market & Restaurant! It was recommended by several people, and with a name like that, you‘ve GOT to go there. It was OK. Today was a beautiful, calm, sunny day. There was LOTS of boat traffic for the first part of our trip today- several Grady Whites surrounded us and were not very courteous with their wakes in the no wake zones. We saw no dolphins today, so maybe we are now too far North for them. The scenery is ever-changing when you boat 80 miles in a day, and the Pamlico Sound was wide, smooth, and beautiful! It’s only about 19 feet deep and it’s HUGE! North Carolina has lots of pine trees, and I understand that the tannin they emit turns the water coffee-colored. Pretty interesting to look at, but I wonder if you swim in it, does it tint your bathing suit?!? We arrived at Dowry’s Creek Marina, a QUIET, rural place. Hardly anyone is here. We did meet a man from Wethersfield, CT with his Maltese “Cherie”. Cory really likes her! We took the courtesy car into “town”-let’s just say Belhaven is not scenic and not quaint. It’s hot & very humid- Alison would have melted long ago! Tonight we’ll go to bed early for tomorrow is Albemarle Sound- and it’s even bigger than Pamlico!! Love to all- Linda
Today we spent more time with the boat on plane than any other traveling day. We traveled 80 miles in a little over 4 hours. The ICW boats increased in number today but we think it was a Grady White boat-a-thon, or something like that. We passed many sailboats, all headed north. We have now officially traveled over 1000 miles since the beginning of the trip. We are at mile marker 131 and tomorrow we expect to be at marker ‘50’ in Coinjock, NC. We may end up there for a couple of days because the wind is predicted to pick up on Sunday. Today was, and is, hot and humid. It is 9:30pm and the temperature is 74 degrees, the wind is calm, and the water surface is likewise. Pamlico Sound was as flat as a mirror because we hit it early in the day. We’re going to try and do the same with Albemarle Sound. We have to go thru an 18 mile long narrow canal before we reach the Alligator River which will bring us to Albemarle Sound. It may be hard to pass sailboats in the canal, so we may arrive in the sound later in the day. The boat seems to be running fine and currently has 90 hours on the engine. More than I normally put on in a typical summer. Well, the water is gently lapping at the boat and is lulling me to sleep - see you all soon. Ken
Saturday - We left Dowry Creek Marina at 8:45am for the 82 mile ride to Coinjock, NC. The ride started with the 18-mile Pungo River to Alligator River canal. This canal is about 100 yards wide with the channel right in the middle. The depth was a constant 12 feet deep. On both banks you could see stumps that had fallen into the canal. We saw no debris floating and had no trouble. We only came off of plane to pass some sailboats. After the canal we were in the Alligator River for about 25 miles. This is the size of Lake George, about 5-7 miles wide and 25miles long. Out of the wide (several hundred yards) channel the depth is 3 feet. There is very little tidal change. The Alligator River leads to Albemarle Sound, the largest body of water we have encountered to date. We were traveling early to miss the afternoon winds and to beat a thunderstorm that dogged us all day. The Sound was relatively calm with a 1 foot chop. We cruised at speed across the sound for a total of 15 miles and then entered the North River and into the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal to the Coinjock Marina - home of the 32-oz Prime Rib Dinner! We ate dinner with Charlie and Terry, owners of Voyager, a 42-ft. Jenneau sailboat. We met them the night before at Dowry Creek Marina and talked with them over the VHF during the day to set the plans for dinner. They are enroute to Wethersfield and, after today, will be headed outside to the Atlantic for the rest of the trip to CT. They gave us a lot of excellent information on the upcoming route that we are taking. This is their 3rd roundtrip of the ICW, so they have a wealth of knowledge. While we were eating dinner a thunderstorm passed by and it rained most of the night. We went to bed hot (84 degrees in the boat) and woke up Sunday morning with the wind at 20 mph and the temperature, inside the boat, at 64 degrees. We will be staying put in Coinjock until Monday morning. The winds are predicted to increase from 20mph to 30mph during the day. Although our next stretch is short, 50 miles, we need to navigate through 6 bridges and a lock that need to be timed. A 30 mph wind is just too much. So here we are in Coinjock, NC. Ken
Linda here- Happy Mother’s Day! The marina owner’s at Dowry Creek told us from Morehead City -North- there are no more tidal ranges to worry about. The only change is due to wind -sometimes 2-3 feet. This is why we no longer have floating docks at these recent marinas. Cory has met several dogs here at Coinjock- my favorites are a reddish brown miniature poodle “Dickens”, and a miniature dachshund named “Rudder”. Today while waiting out the Small Craft Advisory, I plan to clean the boat and read and take a walk. More later- as soon as we can find wi-fi that works! Love to all, Linda
1 comment:
Cory and Cherie would have absolutely adorable children. Did you swim in that water?? Miss you, Love, Solveig
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