Outer Banks lighthouses

Sometimes good things result from a little adversity or inconvenience. By coming to the marina at Washington a couple of days early to clean up the rain water mess, we stumbled into a Friday night street fair with some very good local bands. One Friday each month, downtown Washington sponsors bands that are positioned on the sidewalk one per block over the 6 or 7 block downtown Main Street. Some of these bands were a little below average in ability, but two groups were very good. One was a group of perhaps 7 to 12 (it depended on who was around at the time) featured traditional NC hill country music. Along with the usual guitar and banjo were dulcimer and mandolin. Plus spoons. In the next block was a 5 man band that tonight was just a trio (two couldn't make the trip) that played R & B. The lead singer was well into his 70's and had all the energy and showmanship of Mick Jagger. Lead guitar guy was easily 60's. The youngster of the group looked 40-ish. Their energy drew a nonstop crowd. We also got to spend a day on the Outer Banks, driving from Kill Devil Hills to Hatteras and spending some time walking the beaches.

Photos:

Hatteras Lighthouse (2)

Bodie Lighthouse

Wright Bros. first flight memorial

Norfolk, VA to Washington, NC

The MAP link shows our progress during the past week. As you can see, we are not meandering back and forth across the Chesapeake anymore. Our progress is now more or less south. If you zoom in on the map you can see we have had a combination of canals, rivers and open sounds to travel lately. We have had some marvelous sailing days. The specials ones were from the North River to Manteo, then Manteo to the Alligator River anchorage and a wild downwind sail from Pungo Creek to Bath on the Pamlico River in strong wind on our stern and steep waves rolling up behind us who's crests we often looked at from eye level. These 3 days were bracketed by a day under power in a river/canal from Norfolk to Coinjock and another day under power from the bottom of the Alligator River to Pungo Creek. This last day was about 5 hours in a steady drizzle. We saw a bald eagle, but were too slow on the trigger to get a photo, so we are sending a photo of a crane instead. Bad joke, but it was that kind of day. Very dreary; one of those days that make you want to stretch out on the couch with a good book and fire in the fireplace. Yesterday, after the downwind ride from Pungo Creek we spent a relaxing evening at the little town of Bath. We stayed here last year and it was worth a repeat visit. Main Street is 2 blocks long and you can walk down the middle of the street at any time of day and the only risk you run to being injured would be if you tripped over the sleeping dog. We saw the same dog in the same spot when we were here 11 months ago. Today was a bit of a bummer. It started great with a walk down Main Street, a relaxing read in the cockpit and lunch at the little sandwich shop a block from the dock. Like an idiot, I did not close the deck hatches when we left the boat and while waiting on lunch the sky opened up and it poured. Not only did everything get soaked, the cabin sole actually had standing water; about 1/4 inch in some spots. We hustled up and motored to McCotter's Marina in Washington. Fortunately we had a car waiting for us there. So we checked into a hotel and spent the afternoon and evening washing everything made of cloth from the boat - cushion covers, bed linens, the towels we used to mop up the mess...plus our normal weeks worth of dirty laundry. Fortunately we had a small window AC unit in the trunk of the car, so we put that in the main hatch hoping it will dehumidify the boat interior and the foam cushions. No smiling faces this afternoon. What a mess. I can't imagine how we would have dried out the boat if we had been at anchor or someplace far away from a hotel, car and laundry. Tomorrow we try to put everything back together and make sure we get everything dry inside. We have worked very hard to keep mildew out of the boat so this little incident will create a challenge for us. We plan to spend about a week here doing some maintenance and sight seeing. We plan a day trip by car to the Outer Banks. We've never visited there and seeing the huge sand dunes from our slip in Manteo got our interest. In September, we plan to take the boat to town of Ocracoke on the banks for a couple of days, so we will get to see the northern banks by car and the southern banks by boat. This will probably be my last post until we return to the boat in late August. We will restock the boat and continue south after our visit to Ocracoke. Oh, before I forget, Maneto is on Roanoke Island near the site of the first English settlement. Remember the "Lost Colony" from American History class? Manteo is very remote but well worth the visit.

Photos:

1. The crane. Sorry we missed the eagle.

2. The captain planning the next day's itenerary.

More in August. Thanks for reading my blog.

Diane scores some crabs

At our anchorage at Ft. Monroe near Norfolk, the battle between the iron clads Monitor and Virginia occured. It took a week for the news to travel from Norfolk to Charleston; a distance of 500 miles. Today, at anchor at near the mouth of North River at the interection with Albemarle Sound, (60 miles south of Norfolk) Diane caught 10 crabs which made a tasty dinner. Within 30 seconds of the catch of crab number 10, our son 600 miles away and daughter 400 miles away knew about the catch via text message....and send a congratulatory reply.

Photo 1 - some uninvited guests for dinner

Photo 2 - what else, 10 crabs waiting to be put in the pot

Goodbye Chesapeake Bay

Well, it's goodbye to the bay. Tonight we are anchored in Hampton Roads near Norfolk. Two months is not enough time to spend here. In looking at the chart of places we visited last fall and this spring, it's clear we only touched the edges of the bay. Sounds like a reason to come back, but probably in another boat so we can take advantage of lower bridge clearances and faster speed. There are so many places to visit and explore. I think it would take a couple of years to see it all. We bypassed so many places. It was hard to choose, but we had to make choices and are satisfied with the ones we made. I hope to return some day to visit the upper reaches of the Potomac, Rappahannock, Pocomoke, Nanticoke, Wicomoco, James....the list of rivers and creeks seems endless.

Today as we entered Hampton Roads we saw an aircraft carrier leaving port and a guided missle cruiser arriving followed by 3 inbound commercial ocean going container ships. A busy place after spending so much time recently in the company of only a few cruising boats or no one at all. The navy vessels reminded me of the battle of the Monitor and Virginia during the Civil War. First battle between two "iron clad" ships. The battle happened about a mile from our anchorage.

Today's departure from the Chesapeake was nothing like our arrival last fall. Today started with zero wind and a smooth as glass York River. A sport fishermen headed north on the glass threw a wake that in the morning sunlight looked like a silver ribbon fluttering from his stern. We did catch a light southerly that allowed us to sail for an hour or so before cranking up the "iron jib" to take us to our anchorage.

I know I've sent several pictures in the past month or so. Here are a few of my favorites not yet posted.

The First Mate (she lets me think I'm the Captain)

The USS Constellation (which I identified in error as the Constitution earlier)

A 'crabber' working his trout line off our stern near Oxford, MD

A neighbor in a snug anchorage on Dividing Creek off the Wye River.

The MAP shows where we have been the last few days (not far). Next stop Manteo on Roanoke Island home of the "Lost Colony" and a grocery store.

Williamsburg

We took a break from the boat today and visited the reconstruction of the colonial village of Williamsburg. As you history fans know, Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia prior to the move to Richmond. As home to the Virginia colony government during pre-revolutionary war days, it saw many historical events and personalities that played a role in the formation of the United States. I visited here as a kid probably about 50 years ago (no kidding, 50 years!). Amazingly I remembered a few things from that visit.

The photos are:

The capital building where the king's representatives and colonial representatives met.

The maze; a hedge of about 7' tall that can entertain kids (and some adults) for a very long time.

The front of the governor's mansion. Governor appointed by the king.

The back door to the mansion.

Tomorrow it's off again for a sail south; our last day on the Chesapeake. We should be in Norfolk tomorrow night (Wed). Then through the Great Bridge lock and Virginia Cut canal to Albemarle Sound North Carolina. AND...crab cakes and home made potato chips at Coinjock, NC. So special we decided they are worth a second visit. I'll post a map and some Chesapeake photos in a couple of days.

Solomons, MD to Deltaville, VA

We left Spring Cove on the afternoon of May 30^th.  In some respects it felt like leaving home.  We enjoyed the hospitality and friendliness of the marina staff and the friends we made.  We will miss them.  A couple of days ago we visited the site of the first English settlement in what was to become Maryland.  The town of St. Mary’s is now an 800 acre outdoor museum with recreations of many of the buildings on their original sites.  There is also a recreation of one of the ships the 140 settlers travelled in from England. The town is sited on a high bluff overlooking the St. Mary’s River and is without doubt one of the most spectacular views of any anchorage we have visited.  The bluff is also the location of a church, cemetery and small college (St. Mary’s College; what else).  All this is located in St. Mary’s County.  One of the most unforgettable parts of the museum is the St. John’s Site Archaeology Museum.  It is a completely enclosed and air conditioned building covering a 1700’s house under excavation.  It is truly a fascinating and informative display.  I can’t think of a better anchorage than St. Mary’s, but I also can’t think of any “bad” anchorages we have had.  The really good ones are always the quiet ones with only a few farm houses or no houses at all.  Just trees and maybe a cultivated field.  Lots of birds.  Some anchorages, like Annapolis, are entertaining because there is so much going on.   Tonight we are in Deltaville, VA at anchor in Jackson Creek.  We took a dinghy ride to the town dock so we could find someone to check Diane’s blood pressure.  She is just fine, but we were concerned about her being a little light headed the other day.  Turns out, it was dehydration.  The local volunteer emergency response station was only a mile walk, so that’s where we went.  I was concerned about not being locals and taking up valuable time for a non emergency.  Well, the 4 people manning the station were so professional and so inquisitive about us, that I think we could have stayed there all afternoon and provided for their entertainment.  We were able to escape after about 45 minutes.  Not one call came into the station while we were there.  They must have been so bored.  According to one of our guide books, Deltaville has 800 residents and probably 4 times as many boats.  There are 20 marinas listed in the guide.  Diane had no luck crabbing while in Maryland.  One day after a couple of hours of unsuccessful crabbing we went for a dinghy ride and noticed this nice fat crab hanging on to our rudder.  I guess all the crabs were hiding under the boat that day.  Well, better luck in Virginia.  Tomorrow we are heading south toward Yorktown.  We will play “car shuffle” and also visit Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown the site of the first English settlement in Virginia.  Check the MAP for our travels this week.

Photo 1 - One of the 2 ships that brought the first settlers from England to St. Mary's. 

Photo 2 - Sunset at St. Mary's (just after we had been hit with the nastiest thunderstorm we've experienced on our trip)

Map of last week's travels

Since my post of last night, not much new to report.  We are at Spring Cove Marina tonight.  This afternoon we did our chores - laundry, grocery shopping, etc.  Tomorrow it's off to the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake in search of crab dinners.  With luck we will  get to visit some historic sights on the Virginia western shore.  Click on the MAP to see where we have been lately.