Just kidding!! We took a dinghy cruise along this lovely cove and saw some beautiful homes, significant boat houses and an osprey nest or two. We are NOT planning a move.
The Tides is full of wonderful staff. Very helpful in getting a package sent (be on the look out Roger and Will!!) and getting us to “town” to pick up meds. We eavesdropped on a future bride making arrangements for a wedding TWO YEARS OUT!!! Her time frame plus the patient recitation of what every extra thing (bellman to deliver gifts to rooms, amenities access, shuttle to golf course, etc. etc.) would cost was distressing. Sure glad we are out of that game!
Mission accomplished in Kilmarnock. I got meds and Cliff replenished our wine supply. He explained that I was getting my medicine and he was getting his:-)
Spa day tomorrow? Or maybe a bike ride into Irvington? We’ll see.
Beautiful morning. Gentle wind from a favorable direction. Let’s go!
The people we’ve met along our trip have given us lots of tips about places to stay, where to eat and an occasional warning about crossings (Albermarle!!) and shoals. None of them have mentioned how choppy the Chesapeake is. Our Lake Michigan sailing friends will know what we mean about chop — and the chop on the Chesapeake is worse than it is on Lake Michigan. That’s the good news and the bad news. Good because we are reassured that Dot Calm will do just fine when we get her to Lake Michigan. Bad because we will need to deal with Chesapeake chop for much of the rest of our trip.
The Tides marina is attached to the Tides Inn, a posh and polished cousin of Greenbriar and the Gasparilla Club on Boca Grande. Not so much chintz or green and pink fabrics, but swank just the same. There is a spa….ooooh that sounds good.
But, alas, the weather gods say we need to leave tomorrow in order to have reasonable distances between stops to make it to Washington DC to catch our plane to California.
Morning update…we are staying extra days for another weather window…because I ran out of a critical med and there are absolutely no pharmacies at the next two stops. That means we will be on a very tight schedule from Thursday on. One of the bromides in sailing safety school is that the most dangerous piece of equipment on a boat is a calendar. The other is a patient who doesn’t have the sense to check pill supply.
It’s all about the view….view from our table at dinner.Treated to a beautiful sunset as we walked back to the boat.Rain boots are the “city” symbol in these parts. Statues like these are found all over town with openings in the back to invite photo subjects inside!
Here are a couple of past event photos to share!
Just six of the 18 different cup cakes offered in the pastry case at The Gray Goose where we had lunch in Hampton.
One of the displays at the Virginia Air and Space Center.
Cliff was able to contact a local generator specialist who, amazingly, agreed to come look at our generator on a Sunday. His name is Rich and his company is Atlantic Generators….just in case any of you find yourself in need of a generator fix. Turns out that our impeller disintegrated somewhere along the line. The forensic part of the job was figuring out where all the pieces went. Using instruments that looked like they came from a dentist’s office, Rich was able to extract 10 3/4 of the “missing” 12 pieces and, most importantly, fix the generator.
Since we were stuck in Hampton for another day we decided to make the most of it. We took the marina tender across the river and commenced on a very l-o-o-o-n-g walk to find the Emancipation Oak on the Hampton University campus. We walked a bit more than 4 miles in all and did find the oak which was not nearly as impressive as I’d hoped. And not nearly impressive enough to convince Cliff that the walk was worth it:-)
This is the Emancipation Oak. It is neatly fenced and there is a plaque telling the story of the first slaves to be read the proclamation. Unfortunately, the undergrowth around the tree really obscures it!
We were treated to a spectacular thunder and lightning display and even got a double rainbow. Surely that portends good things for the remainder of our trip!
Do you think the pot of gold is over there? Or maybe a leprechaun or two?
We are off to the Tides tomorrow weather permitting.
A perfect day for cruising, but, alas, some mechanical problems aboard Dot Calm. Thus, we spent another day at Bluewater….and because it is Saturday….and because there is a major tuna fishing tournament….we could not get anyone to help us with our problem today. We’ve got a promise for assistance tomorrow.
I was determined to use up the food I’d planned for our anchoring out….a delicious caprese salad complete with fresh basil. We ate it before I thought of taking a picture:-( See basil story below.And the wine…..The only basil we could get in Hampton area was a live plant. I’ve revived this poor thing and it is doing fine. And it was perfect with the tomatoes and mozzarella!
We’d hoped to be on our way to an anchorage at Williams Wharf about 30 miles away. We only made it to Bluewater Yachting Marina — about 10 miles from where we started in Portsmouth. A combination of high winds and tide created a Gulfstream-like chop and we turned back after the first 5 footer slapped us over the bow. This trip is supposed to be fun and that water was definitely NOT fun. So we’ll try again tomorrow. Wind direction is supposed to clock around and that “should” make all the difference. Stay tuned.
Bluewater Yachting Marina is in the Hampton Roads area home to Langley Air Force Base. We took the tender from the marina to Hampton and enjoyed walking around the city, finding an off-the-main-street restaurant called The Grey Goose and deciding to take in an IMAX movie about the Hubble telescope at the Virginia Air & Space Museum. The museum is terrific. In addition to the Hubble movie, we “took” a trip to Mars, watched a movie about how airplanes stay aloft and how pilots are trained in emergency procedures and looked at a display of hundreds of model airplanes and ships which dramatically showed their relative sizes.
Let me also report on Portsmouth and Norfolk. Great little towns. Lots of old buildings that have been restored. Many large and striking churches. Downtown areas of both towns that are, if not vibrant, certainly working at thriving.
Portsmouth Church.Courtyard at church chapel in Portsmouth.
We went to lunch in Norfolk at an Irish pub (Grace O’Malleys) and learned that the interior and storefront had been crafted in Ireland. Shamefully, the first thing I noticed was that there was an area complete with a uniformed teddy bear featuring the Cubs’ W Flag along with banners for the Bulls, the Blackhawks and the Bears. Our friend Dwain immediately protested that there wasn’t a banner for the White Sox. I suggested he take it up with Grace. Or maybe somebody stole it?
Flying the W in Norfolk!Not lunch — just a snack. Nachos…a big snack. At a hole in the wall going for the No Name Pub post-a-dollar thing going in Portsmouth. The day BEFORE Grace O’Malleys:-)
Norfolk’s symbol is the mermaid and we saw mermaid statures all over town along with some other interesting public sculptures.
Norfolk’s mermaid symbol is seen in artwork all over the city.I liked this one best!Public sculpture of the world along Norfolk street.This one reminded me (vaguely) of our George sculpture that United Van Lines “lost” on its way from Chicago to Coral Gables.More “interesting” sculptures.
Cruising north has left us in virtually a perpetual crape myrtle blooming season. We missed azaleas in Charleston. There were a few magnolias still blooming. Most of the gardenia blooms were going brown and the crape myrtles just beginning to bud there. Here the streets and yards are filled with glorious pink and white flower clusters. The trunks of these trees are nearly as interesting as the blooms.
The cruising guide warned us about Portsmouth, our destination for today. The wording went something like “if you think NY harbor is busy, you ain’t seen nothing” compared to Portsmouth. The words didn’t disappoint.
This morning’s navigation session was a bit more complicated than we’ve had before. In addition to noting day marks along the way, we also needed to pay attention to low bridges and a lock.
The cruise from Coinjock offered more beautiful scenery and a couple of striking homes.
Didn’t get a chance to take any pictures as we went through the locks. We were both busy holding lines and making sure the boat was secure as the water rose about 2 feet in the lock. Bridges were frequent as we neared Portsmouth.
I did get a photo of the lock master’s building!Swing bridge starting to openThis relatively new bridge comes just before the lock. Seemed like all of the bridges had better paint jobs than the ones we see in Chicago!Railroad bridge which seemed to be out of service and raised permanently.Lift bridge — the center portion is lowered for rail traffic.Highway bridge. Note the height! We could tell we were heading into big ship territory. Most fixed bridges have vertical clearances of about 65 feet high.We encountered this barge in an area on the ICW with lots of curves. The pilot obviously had done this trip before, taking the turns at more than 10mph!
When you are cruising, you keep your VHF radio tuned to channel 16. Normally we hear various Coast Guard announcements and hailing from one boat to another (and some chit chat which is frowned on). Today, we heard from WAR SHIPS! Yikes. Double yikes in that the voices announcing some maneuver or information were little girl voices. Really. I think if a young girl listened in, she might think that being in the Navy on a war ship would be pretty cool.
Portsmouth is a busy Navy harbor. A lot of the activity we saw seemed to be dismantling out of date ships that had been mothballed. But there were active ships in the area as well — a fact we were reminded of by Navy Police boats, one of which turned on his blue lights and informed us that we were too close to the restricted area. We happily (and hurriedly) moved to the center of the channel.
Ship in dry dock. Couldn’t tell whether this one was being refurbished or dismantled. The white plastic wrap suggests that it had been “mothballed.”Ships being dismantled — we think based on the grinding noises we heard as we passed.Another ship being dismantled….or refurbished?Could you read this safety message if you were standing on the deck??Does anyone know the purpose of this type of ship? There were at least a half dozen of them in the harbor.
Dinner at Fish & Slips, the restaurant at the Tidewater Marina where we are staying. Taco night! It is kind of weird to be back in a big city. We plan to stay for a couple of days and will wander down Portsmouth’s High Street, a shopping and historical district within a short walk of the marina. There is also a ferry that can take us across the river to Norfolk.
Crab and prime rib tacos — delicious.
While we were at dinner a terrific storm arrived — no rain, but incredible winds! Strong enough to move the crowd at the bar over to the windows to watch as sailboats on anchor swung from side to side, canvas flapped on cruisers and flags flew straight out. Plastic chairs in the pool area (an unusual floating arrangement) ended up in the pool!
Storm rolling in. As it arrived, it looked like a dust storm. Must have been a construction area along the way.Post-wind storm. This pool area is pretty cool — it is floating in the marina!Flags at attention in the wind!
I consider this long stop a bit of R&R. I know that this whole trip sounds like R&R, but there is really a lot to do each day and the getting in and out of moorings is definitely not relaxing! Then there is all that laundry that needs to be done…..
With considerable trepidation, we decided to head out into Albermarle Sound. Winds at 7mph sounded reasonable given our 10mph warning. The weather forecast showed no threatening storms — though as we were underway, the clouds to the east sure looked threatening to me!
Does that look threatening to you?
The sailboat contingent managed to get out of our marina before us, so we knew we’d have to slow/avoid them starting out. That part turned out to be pretty easy, as the water is wide and provides plenty of depth. The water was ruffled up even as we left. Based on our experience on Lake Michigan, we know that “in the middle” waves can kick up 2 and 3 times the size at shoreline. Of course, the route across Lake Michigan is 80 miles and here we were only dealing with about 35 miles.
Sailboats ahead — but plenty of water to get around them today.
Winds were out of the southwest….the cruising guide notes that either east or west winds can stir the shallow waters of the sound “into a nasty, short chop.” “Even a light wind can quickly create rough, confused seas.” Check. Not too many crab pots, though we kept a sharp eye out for them. I think our experience in the Keys where there are thousands and thousands of lobster traps in the water was a benefit. And I think the crab potters are a little smarter about where they place their traps — mostly well outside the ICW canal. The Keys lobsetermen could take a lesson from them.
The water really didn’t bump up too much — more like being in a washing machine. Sailor friends who’ve crossed the Playpen in Chicago know the experience of wakes kicking up waves (small ones!) in every direction. That’s what this crossing was like. Dot Calm likes CALM water….so we did a bit of wallowing as we navigated from day mark to day mark.
Once we were out of the sound, we got our wish for calm waters. Beautifully calm, with clouds and the shore gorgeously reflected in the water.
So calm that day markers reflected on the water with just a hint of distortion.
Our next stop was Coinjock Marina located about mid-way along a straight canal that connects the North River off the Albermarle Sound to the Currituck Sound which we’ll tackle tomorrow. It gets much fewer warning notes!
Coinjock Marina ahead — all docking on the headwall. How nice!Deckhand Ann at the ready as we approached Coinjock Marina.Lots of huge yachts filled the dock here — sort of like a mini version of Charleston’s Mega Dock!All dressed up for dinner.
Tonight we’ll dine at the Coinjock Marina Restaurant. Our found friends Tim and Debbie told us we’d need to reserve a slab of prime rib ahead of time…and so we did!
Prime rib dinner was delicious. I saved room for some hummingbird cake for dessert. YUM!
What a surprise to end our cruise today at a teeny-tiny-itsy “marina” in Columbia NC on the Alligator River and run into a couple we met in Knoxville, TN when we first bought Dot.Calm (which was named Dealership then). I put marina in quotes because this place is really a gas station with a some docks. The customer comments for it included “the chicken at the gas station is pretty good.” You get the idea.
Don’t let the lighthouse fool you….this is a gas station!
At any rate, Tim and Debbie remembered the boat even with its new name — particularly our dinghy davit as they had come aboard in the spring of 2014 to get a closer look at it. This was during the time that Cliff and I made trips to Knoxville to visit the boat between my chemo sessions and we learned that Debbie is also a cancer survivor. Both of us are going strong!! Nice couple with a different boat than they had in Knoxville — they traded up from a Cruiser to an Ocean Alexander and it’s beautiful. They came over for a glass of wine and we pumped them with a zillion questions about crossing Albermarle Sound, a difficult piece of water that we face tomorrow.
Meet Debbie!Meet Tim!
Their advice is to stay put if the winds are 10mph or above. The sound is very shallow and even that little amount of wind kicks up pretty big waves. AND the waves also make it difficult to spot crab pots which apparently are plentiful.
Our trip to Alligator River was a bit tedious. Not much navigating and the straight-line canal we were in was, alas, filled with sail boats which we had to slow up for. What could have been a 15-16mph jaunt turned into a trip that alternated between getting up some speed (maybe to 10mph) and then slowing to nearly nothing as we passed sail boat after sail boat. Turns out this was a group on its annual week long cruise — 28 of them.
If you enlarge this photo, you will see 6-7 sailboats ahead of us. We slow for smaller power boats too, but the power boat you see in this shot didn’t care about leaving wake apparently.This is what looking at all those sailboat masts ahead of us felt like:-)
There was a big of navigating….these day marks have the tiny, postage-stamp-sized ICW decal that tells us “act like this red mark is a green mark” and “act like this green mark is a red mark.”
Off across the Albermarle tomorrow, I hope.
P.S. We didn’t take a chance on the chicken. Dinner aboard — lamb chops, rice pilaf and a green salad. Yum.
Trip from Oriental, NC to Dowry Creek was completely different than what we’ve experienced on the ICW so far. Instead of narrow channels and frequent daymarks across wider spots where you had to watch the depth constantly, we were in wide, wide, wide open water with plenty of depth. Day marks were far apart and our destination at Dowry Creek required that we leave the ICW and head into the marina.
Look how shiny and clean our boat is! This shot was taken as we departed Oriental. By the time we arrived at Dowry Creek you could have made a margarita with the salt crust all over the boat. Cleaning Dot.Calm was the first order of business. She looks beautiful again.
Often the cruise felt like we were on Lake Michigan — endless water to the horizon. Bit difference, of course, is that we could see land even if at a far distance for the entire trip. I’ve mentioned our electronic charts before and the “magic” magenta line that keeps track of where the ICW is. For today, it was less important to be “on the line” than to know what day marks, often placed at quite a distance away, you were passing. And, of course, there were those tricky changes from Red Left Leaving to Red Right Return and a couple of day marks sporting both red and green. You gotta pay attention even when you’ve got plenty of water!
Wide open water reminded us of crossing Lake Michigan….only on this trip we could always see a bit of land.
Boats all in a row amidst miles and miles of water….we’re all heading to the imaginary magenta line that designates the ICW on our charts. I wondered what would happen if we all insisted on being exactly on the line!Switching navigation areas — note the small yellow triangle that tells us we should treat this green marker as though it was a red one.Pelicans pose on top of a red/green mark. What this means is that it will show up as a red day mark on our charts, but that you can pass it safely on either side.
We took a dip in the marina’s salt water pool after we finished our cleaning chores. It is hot here and the cool water felt wonderful. This marina is relatively new and everything is in great shape. The marina store is fully stocked….including Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey ice cream. We’ve resisted (so far).
Dowry Creek Marina is VERY rural. It’s got the best wifi we’ve had so far….we guess that some millennial run the place. It’s quite nice.
It is near Belhaven. Lovely name. Skip it. We ended up dining (I use the word loosely) at a Chinese place in a grocery store mall. The person at the counter seemed surprised that we didn’t want take-out and whose grasp of the English language was pretty iffy. C’est la vie.
Chinese food for dinner. The food was pretty good….the restaurant, not so much. Got a lousy fortune in my fortune cookie too:-)
Boat names are interesting (or not). Lots and lots of girl names (Laura Belle, Lady Gina, Anastasia Rose, etc. etc. etc.). One I really liked was “Winterlude” — on a 68 foot cruiser. I, alas, did not get a photo of it, but will be on the look out for clever ones to share on the blog!
Cloud Nine is a nice name for a sail boat I think. I also liked the subtle graphics on the side of this boat.
And, of course, there are houses grand and quirky to look at along the way. In this stretch of the trip, we were pretty far away from shore. These were taken with Cliff’s telephoto lens.
So….a day off the cruising circuit also means a day to get stuff done. Like laundry. Like grocery shopping. Like cleaning the boat.
We went grocery shopping at the Piggly Wiggly (can you believe there is a grocery CHAIN named that??) about a mile from the marina where we are moored. Armed with our trusty canvas boat bags, we left the store fully loaded for the trudge back to the boat. And it started raining. And it was still hot. And putting on a plastic rain coat was painful. AND an angel pulled over and asked us “are you boaters?” We no sooner said yes, than offered us a ride back to the marina. A lovely lady….and we never got her name. I intend to send a letter to the local newspaper praising her and perhaps she’ll see it and our thanks. Our other thought was that we should have bought more wine:-)
Checking out at the Piggly Wiggly!
Oriental, NC is definitely friendly. I decided I desperately needed a haircut. So I walked to a salon that had a friendly “walk-ins welcome!” sign. Have you ever watched a Paula Deen cooking show? I felt like I was getting a haircut from her. Every “move” was described along with the reason why…. the monologue included everything but “bless your heart.” Actually, I think it did include that phrase at least once. “They” say that the correction to a bad haircut is only 3 weeks away. My haircut isn’t really bad. It was the hair sprayed “big hair” look that she was going for that got me. I smushed my hair back onto my head a couple of blocks later and think that it is going to be okay.
After that haircut, I definitely needed a glass (or two!) of wine. I think it will look better with a hangover.
We had dinner tonight at M and M Inn. It was terrific. We were stunned about how many special appetizers and dinners were offered. And completely happy about how delicious our meals were. I had soft shell crabs and Cliff had a Cajun meal of shrimp, andouille sausage, black beans and rice. There are only 800+ people in Oriental….but we learned there are 1200 boats and apparently that combinations keeps this restaurant (and others) going. Our waitress was the owner’s daughter and she told us that her dad refuses to close the restaurant during non-tourist season so they depend (apparently somewhat successfully) on locals to keep them going. Amen to that.
This sign on a local business says way too much about Oriental, I think.
Note the missing word….”breakfast” seems to have been painted out.
Off to Bellhaven, NC tomorrow. Staying at Dowry Creek Marina which is in a secluded area along the ICW. They have gas grills, so maybe we’ll go for the lamb chops that are in the freezer tomorrow night. Sounds yummy at the moment!
