Catching Up

 

May 27:

Not for nuthin’ but Mile Hammock anchorage sucked. 8 boats on the anchorage and several dragged - Apropos included. We re-anchored about 9 pm then stood watch the whole night. We alternated getting up every hour to check position. Neither of us really slept. 

The sign pictured above represents ICW Mile Marker 230, meaning 230 statute miles to Norfolk, where the ICW begins. 

Onslow bridge was a non-issue, despite all the ICW chatter about it. We sailed through the 7 am opening without any problem (called the bridge 15-20 min prior to give heads up).  We were headed to Oriental, where Scott would meet us and we stayed a couple of nights.  The marina is sort of quint, they also have an inn on property. The ‘guard cat’ is J. Edgar…he sometimes tolerates attention. We dined at the attached restaurant both nights, food was good enough. 

5/30:

Passed a ‘sister ship’ en route to Belhaven, NC - the only Camano we’ve seen on the trip. 

Belhaven is a nice town, nice marina - free towels, moderately clean restrooms/showers, free laundry. 

We had dinner at a local farm to table restaurant, Spoon River Artworks and Market. We both ordered duck breast, which was excellent!

5/31:

Sunrise in Belhaven

We left early from Belhaven to arrive at anchorage in Alligator River early. We were not going to attempt the albemarle sound with this day’s forecast. To get to the alligator river you take the pungo river to pungo river alligator river canal (interesting naming standards - more on that later).  Our friend Chris sent this pic the next day from his trek through the canal - be sure to zoom in!

We had more than enough wind in the alligator - my guess would be 12-20 with higher gusts. It took two tries to set anchor but then held through the night. 

6/1:

Perfect seas and weather for crossing albemarle sound, we definitely timed this right!  Arrived at Coinjock Marina early afternoon and once topped off with fuel and water we were able to relax.  Chris, on Side Trip, arrived a few hours later - he had travelled with us from Southport and met again in Mile Hammock (he dragged, too) and Belhaven. We dined together - prime rib for Chris and me.

We met Judy and Bob on hinckley from Jerusalem, RI “Second Act”. Also Chris and Tom on Southern Cross, Rhodes ketch.

6/2:

North Landing River looks so peaceful…but it was surprisingly awful getting there!  Very unexpected and unpleasant water to cross before we could get into this protected area. Along this river I’m amused by the fact that, in short succession, one passes under the The Great Bridge, The Great Bridge Bridge and through The Great Bridge Canal!  They do slow things up quite a bit. We managed to get through it all and then made last minute decision in Norfolk to continue on to Hampton where we could get a slip for $2/ft - very clean heads and showers and right in downtown Hampton. We had a good dinner at Market 20, a few blocks from the marina.

Apropos at The Docks in Downtown Hampton

6/3:

Off again shortly after sunrise.  Original destination was an anchorage a bit north on eastern side of the Chesapeake. While underway I read about an MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners Assoc) rendezvous in Onancock and decided to register and head that way - we were going to go there next day anyway.  We arrived at the anchorage in time to join the group for ‘docktails’  met a few nice folks, seemed like everyone was local from Chesapeake area.

Onancock is nice, peaceful anchorage, downtown has restaurants and a hardware store - where we picked up a new nozzle for the salt water anchor washdown hose.  

Sunset looked a lot like sunrise!

6/5:

From Onancock we crossed back to the east side of the Chesapeake and spent a night on a mooring on Solomons.  Long wait go get to the fuel dock but we eventually got there and topped off fuel and water. 

6/6:

En route from Solomons to Cambridge we encountered a rare sighting - a giant floating shoe of some type!  Not something one sees every day!

The water was nice and flat for the trip back to east side, very few bumps. The marina in Cambridge is quite large…we were way out near the end, so hike in to heads/showers was probably 1/3 mile. Several restaurant options in walking distance, we apparently did not choose the best!

Choptank River Lighthouse (replica)

I had discovered in Onancock that my go-to credit card was worn out- it would no longer read, so I had the bank overnight a new card to Cambridge yacht basin. Unfortunately, they didn’t put Cambridge yacht basin on the address and the street address published for the marina in Dockwa app was incorrect. My card ended up being delivered to city hall!  I didn’t discover this until Saturday but a call to Mike (dockhand) resolved everything - he called the financial manager for the city and met him at city hall (closed on Saturday), picked up the enveloped and delivered go my boat. Incredible service at this marina!

We stayed 2 nights in Cambridge - met Larry and Candy on Savannah Blu. They gave us dinner for the following night - they’d ordered more than the could eat - delicious!

6/7:

Apropos at st Michael’s Marina

We had intended to anchor in St Michael’s but the Marina was empty so he gave us a discount. It was still more than twice what Cambridge charged but 1/2 what their regular office would have been.  Astrid opted to pay for the Marina rather than mess with anchoring (and taking dinghy in) in the rain.  Went for a stroll through town and picked up some ‘screaming necessities’.  Had dinner at the restaurant adjacent to the marina - steamed muscles were excellent.

6/8-9:

We’re now caught up…we had an uneventful ride up the remainder of the Chesapeake to Veasey Cove in the Bohemia River.  Very quiet place, pretty but bugs are in abundance today with little wind.  There is a sailboat anchored next to us and we saw one other anchor in the river.  Today will be a lay day, then an early start tomorrow to get through the C&D Canal and down Delaware Bay to Cape May.  Forecasts are good for next few days but we’ll have to wait and see what’s in store from the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound!

That’s all for now - probably just one more update when we make it to Groton.