Norfolk - Here We Come!

Tuesday, 30 April – Wrightsville Beach to Swansboro, North Carolina – 55 Mi.

Cloudy, 62 degrees. Paddle boarding seems to be pretty popular here. Saw a few of them today.

We waited for a 12 ft swing bridge to open with several other boaters for over an hour. We docked at Casper’s Marina. The Coast Guard and the US Marine Corp showed up, docked, said hello, then left. Wonder if they were looking for someone else? We biked about. Swansboro is a cute little town. We had a beer and soup at the Pub, then dinner at the Ice House, both recommended by our harbormaster.

The Pub had an extensive sandwich menu, including a liverwurst sandwich that wet my appetite, so I bought some liverwurst at the deli counter. It made great sandwiches for a couple of days.

Wednesday, 1 May – Swansboro to Oriental, North Carolina – 47 mi.

Cloudy, sun peeking out, 62 degrees. Oriental is the sailing capital of North Carolina. We biked a bit.

Saw a house being moved, all up on blocks.  Also saw a recording studio! Who would think in such a small town? We met Rowland and Alexandra Harrison on Tosca II – also loopers. The Oriental Marina provided towels, soap, and shampoo, and a hair dryer in the ladies room – that was a nice touch.

Thursday, 2 May – Oriental to Belhaven – 46 mi.

Cloudy, 62 degrees (will it ever get warm?). The Neuse River was really rough, with 3-5 ft waves splashing over the flybridge. Charli got a mouthful and said it was salt water. We followed a boat called Mazel Tug for a while up the Pamlico and Pungo Rivers. We docked at River Forest Marina

and found Tosca II and After 4. We took advantage of the free golf cart and went to the grocery (for chicken parmesean makings), hardware store (for rubber gasket material), and General Dollar (for some
small bowls).  Had dinner with the Harrisions on our boat.

Friday, 3 May – Belhaven to Alligator River anchorage – 31 mi.

Blue sky, 59 degrees. We left with After 4 and Tosca II up the Alligator-Pungo River canal. It was very windy, so much so that the swing bridge at the top of the Alligator River was closed due to high winds. We pulled into a sheltered spot and anchored to wait out

the windy conditions. It was still very windy, but the water was less lumpy. We had trouble anchoring, but the third try seemed to catch. With the wind blowing at 22 knots, we moved deeper into the Alligator river inlet to find some more protected waters. That was a struggle – setting the anchor in such winds, then resetting it when we discovered that it was slipping. We all hoped that the winds would calm down by morning and the bridge would open. So we settled down for the night, generator on, but no cell phone service, no wifi, no TV, and apparently suddenly very loose steering. We took turns staring at the GPS all night to see if the anchor was holding. In the morning we woke to a beautiful sunrise.

Saturday, 4 May – Alligator River Anchorage back to Belhaven – 27 Mi.

Partly cloudy, 57 degrees, winds at 12 knots, then turned cloudy and windier. We heard the bridge was still closed. Our generator crapped out.  And we had a steering problem, so I was working the twin engine joy sticks. Without the option of spending another night on the hook, we returned to Belhaven for repairs, staying this time at the Dowry Creek Marina, since it was closer than the others. Nicer bathrooms, but no cell phone service! They did have a happy hour and afterwards people put their bottle on the bottle tree, which was lit up at night.  

 We took the courtesy car into town to find a spot where AT&T cell service was available. Found the River Forest Shipyard and a mechanic available to fix our steering. Turns out we just needed to add steering fluid and bleed the system of air.

Sunday, 5 May – Belhaven to Alligator River Marina – 48 mi.

Cloudy, 53 degrees, winds at 6-12 knots. We decided to rise early and go for the bridge, since we heard that they opened about 2 PM yesterday. Once on the water, we found cell service (for about 2 miles). Called the bridge, and they were “ok so far.” Called the marina, and they had a slip available. Headed back north with steering that worked. Got a call from another boat who thought they saw us going south yesterday and wondered why we were headed north. Didn’t know people paid such close attention to our travels, but the name of the boat caught their attention. When it started raining, we moved to the lower helm inside. It was much more comfortable out of the wet wind. 

The river got rougher further north. We did make the Alligator River bridge, it did open for us, and we refueled and spent the night at the marina. The marina office is in a gas station, so is the restaurant. But the food was not bad, southern style. We heard that Tosca II had made it through the Alligator River bridge yesterday and left the Alligator River Marina today and made it to Norfolk by way of the Great Dismal Swamp Wildlife Refuge.  They left at 6 AM, traveled across the 3-4 ft seas across Albemarle Sound at 12 knots, just in time to make the first lock by 11 AM. If they didn’t make that schedule, they would have missed the second lock’s opening and would have had to stay overnight in Elizabeth City.  Albemarle Sound is one of the most challenging bodies of water south of Norfolk. The 14-mile crossing can be very sloppy because winds from almost any direction tend to funnel either up or down the long, straight sound.  Even a light wind can create rough, confused seas. With winds calming down tomorrow, we thought we might try as well.

Monday, 6 May – Alligator River Marina to Norfolk – 84 mi.

Cloudy, 60 degrees, rained earlier. We decided to get up early and go for Norfolk.  We wanted to attend the AGLCA rendezvous. Several boats left the marina with us, some that were waiting four days for a calm day.  The sky started to clear by sunrise, and it turned out to be a really nice day.  Winds died down. No rain in sight.  Rather than the Dismal Swamp route (although very scenic), we chose the Virginia Cut, since the lock and bridges did not have fixed openings, giving us a more forgiving schedule. And there were two marinas along the route, so we had more flexibility. The seas were only 1-2 ft. The sun was warm, and we almost made it across the sound at about 10 knots without incident. Charli shouted from below “Al, check out the dinghy!” The eye bolt came out of the port davit, and the dinghy was being violently dragged through the water, outboard motor in the water. We stopped to replace the bolt and hang it back up.

But lost at sea were the seat, the bailer, the extension handle, and the motor cover.  We were glad we chose the alternate route because this delay in itself would have made us late for the first lock in the swamp, and we would have had to spend the night in Elizabeth City.  We made it through all the bridges (some opening on the hour, some on the half hour) and through the lock (with six other boats) and
through the last bridge for its last opening before closing for rush hour traffic. Approaching Norfolk is a shock, with the sheer volume of boat traffic, the intense industrial activity on both sides of the river, and the huge US Navy ships under construction or

repair. Norfolk is the world’s largest naval base. We were the second
from the last boat to pull in to the Waterside Marina, followed by another Mainship trawler. We were greeted by Mazel Tug, Tosca II, and other loopers we met along the way, all glad to see that we made
it in time for the reception and dinner (and the introduction of loopers in progress).

Tues to Thurs, 7-9 May – America’s Great Loop Cruiser’s Assoc. Rendezvous

This three-day “conference” is a great opportunity to network with fellow loopers and learn about the upcoming waterways from experienced travelers. Seminar topics included the Chesapeake, Delaware Bay, NJ, NY, Hudson River, Canada’s triangle, Great Lakes, Trent-Severn Canal, Georgian Bay, North Channel, and the western rivers. We did not find anyone selling charts of Lake Champlain (our only missing charts, not due for publication until late May and too late for us).  “Looper Crawls” allowed everyone to tour boats “open house” style. We met several other Mainship owners who were comparing their custom mods. Meals were served at the rendezvous, except for Wednesday night – to give everyone a chance to explore Norfolk. We took the ferry across the Elizabeth River to Portsmouth

and dined at the Café Europa with Owen and Mindy Irvine and Randy and Vicki Stacy, St Pete area folks, who invited us to join The Unsinkables, an informal drinking club with a boating problem
who meet monthly at the St Pete Yacht Club.  The waterside location is ideal for watching every kind of boat, ship, and barge imaginable float by.

This was also an opportunity to get an oil change and look for outboard motor parts.