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Well, here we are in the middle to late November already. How time flies when you're having fun! We stopped in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area for a couple weeks. The first week was in the Town of Hampton, anchored next to the Hampton River. When we got up there the area was filled with boats, mostly sailboats. We looked around and found an area, which we later found was an old marina and the docks had just been pulled out, leaving just enough room for a couple boats to anchor. We expect the new docks will be going in soon and that spot will no longer be available for anchoring. So many places are using anchorage spaces for marinas, condominiums, etc.
Oh, different subject. While in Hampton, my son mentioned the word, wifi, so I pulled out our wifi card and sure enough Hampton had a free service, so the Internet is available occasionally now.
Anyway, one of the reasons we spent so much time in Hampton was locating a surveyor and getting the survey accomplished. We did the in-water portion in Hampton and then motored down to Norfolk where the boat was lifted for an hour or so to accomplish the bottom inspection. The survey was completed and the boat was categorized as "above average" with no safety defects. Since we were now in Norfolk, we anchored right off red buoy #36 (Hospital Point, otherwise known as Mile Marker Zero for the ICW). The survey was sent off to several insurance companies for quotations. For info, our previous insurance company was charging only $385 annually for Great Lakes sailing area coverage ($300,000 liability, and $40,000 boat evaluation). They extended our area to Virginia and up to 100 miles offshore, which effectively meant that if we we to leave Virginia we'd be uninsured.
We wound up using IMIS and their Jackline Program (Al Golden, President). We now have similar coverage but including all of the east coast, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the West Indies, for $1,788 annually.
So, it's on to North Carolina. The first few miles of the Virginia ICW are extremely busy, with many tugs, barges, ships, etc., and of course, what we call water pushers (large power boats, usually at full throttle). Soon enough we reached the turn for the Dismal Swamp Canal portion of the ICW. It's similar to the Erie Canal, except shallower (it's narrow, lots of stumps, trees, etc., but quite scenic although we didn't see much wildlife). The first night we spent docked at the North Carolina Visitor's Center, which services both a highway and the waterway. The next morning we had ice on the toerail and the canvas covers. No heater onboard, just good snuggling weather. There are a few bridges and locks, but they're basic and simple in relation to the Erie Canal locks, just that some have restricted openings and that has to be planned to avoid major waits.
Elizabeth (Roland's granddaughter is named Elizabeth!) City, NC is a renowned stop for cruisers, with free docking for 48 hours, wine and cheese parties, etc., sponsored by several locals. A couple we met back in Waterford, NY, came in during our second day there, and we renewed friendships and caught up on the summer activities (they re-decked the complete deck on their 37 O'Day center cockpit sloop, among other tasks). We were walking back to the boat after a trip to the grocery store and a lady stopped and gave us a ride to the dock. Not all towns are as cruiser friendly, but Elizabeth City seems unusually so.
Continuing on down the ICW, we anchor overnight in creeks and rivers, which offer some shelter from the wind, stopping in towns for shopping, etc. We sail whenever possible, and as an example, yesterday we got a late start (8 AM) but made 48 miles in 8 hours, sails up all the way with wind between 10 and 20 mph. The reason we got a late start? The night before we pulled in a bit too close for shelter behind a stand of trees and overnight the wind changed 180 degrees, which put us on the bottom. Fortunately, we were able to wiggle our way out of the mud, using the power windlass (keeping chain tight, but not forcing it too much) and using the propellar. Steering from port to starboard and back again, retightening the windlass rode, and repeating the process was successful. Otherwise we would have had to get the dinghy down and kedge an anchor or two and pull from either the top of the mast to tilt the boat and float on the side, or pull the boat in using the jib sheet winches.
Today, November 18th (Friday), we're anchored in Oriental, NC, which is labeled the capital of sailing in North Carolina, where approximately 950 residents have 2,000 sailboats (must be people from outlying areas keep their boats here, too)! Ray and Gayle Massey will join us here for Thanksgiving and they're even bringing the turkey. So, we'll be here for a week and a half before moving southward again.
Friday evening we attended a play at the local Pamlico Cultural & Arts Center, local actors, funny play in a theater reminiscent of the theatre productions at Daemen College that we used to attend. The audience was made up of pretty much the same demographics as a Daemen audience! The "mature adult" crowd!!
The next stop will perhaps be Beaufort, NC (NC is "Bofort", while SC is "Buefort"). There we need to get the standing rigging inspected, as the surveyor mentioned it and naturally the insurance company picked up on it and they want it too. We suppose it's a good thing although the marina we asked here said $62 an hour, plus a helper, and it "might take all day". To us this means about $1,000.00, which is untenable, so we'll try to find another less expensive source.
Soon we'll try to add more pictures, now that we have wifi Internet coverage, at least here in Oriental. Hey, we heard about the 2 feet of snow in Hamburg and other southtowns!! Two days ago it was 80 degrees here in Oriental, but we missed it (might've been in the 70's where we were). Supposed to be sub-freezing in the morning. Hang in there, all.
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