1-14 June 2006
New River Inlet, NC to Colonial Beach, VA
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| Date | Location | Log and Pictures | |
| 1 June | Beaufort, NC | A pleasant night at New River. We got underway at 9 am for Beaufort, NC. The bridges, no wake zones, and shallow inlets slowed the trip, so we just relaxed and enjoyed the travel which ended at 3 pm in Beaufort. The harbor was crowded and several tries at an anchorage spot were unsatisfactory. We found a mooring buoy after learning about small town politics. We called a local marina and asked about the empty mooring buoys and were told that they were private, so we moved further up river trying to find a good anchorage when a dinghy pulled along side and said he had a mooring buoy to rent. He explained that the town would not let the marinas advertise the rental moorings but that the marina operators alert him of prospective customers. However, there are good things here also. The local museum has loaner cars for visiting boaters. Friendly people and a nice jeep to go to the store. | |
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| 2 June | Oriental, NC | Up and out to the store in our loaner car from the local museum. We did our shopping and got underway at 11:30. It was an easy trip to Oriental, only 24 miles. We decided to anchor in the same spot I had last year. However, shoaling had occurred and we touched the bottom, the first time in 2200 miles. Luckily a boat traveling by took a line and pulled us off. Tomorrow we'll find out if we did any damage. The short distance we moved to the safe anchorage didn't indicate any damage so we're hopeful we're ok. We took Sophie into town and enjoyed a two mile walk to pick up our mail and enjoy the heat and humidity. Now we're settled onboard ready for an early bed time. We're on the Neuse river and the wind is expected to be up tomorrow so it probably be a nice bumpy ride. | |
| 3-8 June | Dowry Creek Marina, NC | Up this morning to 15 knots of wind but we
decided to move on to Dowry Creek. The wind and 3 foot waves were on
the stern so the ride was pleasant up the Neuse River, and we smiled as we
determined there was no damage from touching the mud the night before.
After proceeding through a land cut and onto the Pamlico River the wind died and we had a beautiful sunny afternoon trip. We arrived at Dowry Creek Marina at 2:30 pm noticing a strong carbon smell in the engine room. Turns out the exhaust hose on the port engine gave out and we're waiting here for the part. It's a great place to be stranded. The night of our arrival the marina owners served up a buffet with beer can chicken as the main course. A great meal as we visited with a host of other boaters en route various places. At left below is one of the shrimp boats from Oriental and to the right is a picture of Dowry Creek, where we will be until the exhaust hose is fixed. It's Tuesday and we're expecting the part for the exhaust system tomorrow. We decided to replace the same part on the starboard engine as it will surely fail in the near future. We're enjoying our stay and getting some work done on the boat and relaxing. It's Thursday and the part arrived and we're up and running. Tomorrow we head out towards Colonial Beach. |
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| 9 June | Midway Marina, Coinjock, NC | Underway for a beautiful travel day to Coinjock, an 80 mile trip thru the Alligator River and Albemarle Sound. We decided to bypass the Dismal Swamp and travel the Virginia Cut. Lots of boats traveling this way. We stopped at Midway Marina and had a superb dinner at their restaurant, Crabbies. What a name ... the food was better than the name. A special treat was the 80 foot Trumpy that moored just ahead of us. A gorgeous boat! |
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| 10-11 June | Norfolk Sailing Center, Naval Base Norfolk | Underway from Coinjock, we made the 60 mile trip to Norfolk and moored for free at the Norfolk Sailing Center at the Naval Base. Windy day but we moored safely and Carey smiled as she fixed dinner. Harbor Fest was happening downtown and as we moved through the area it was crowded. We slowed down to enjoy the sights and sounds. The weather Sunday morning, the 11th, was windy and the Chesapeake was predicted to be very rough so we stayed another day in Norfolk. |
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| 12 June | Back River, VA | Normal underway with wind and seas predicted to be favorable for a trip up the Chesapeake. Once out the channel we saw CVN 71 coming up the channel and called the USCG protection group for instructions to pass her en route the Chesapeake. Initially they did not answer so we moved into the channel and headed out the Elizabeth River. Once in the channel we had a SH-60 helo hovering directly in front of us at water level and a USCG speed boat at our side. We wished we had the presence to take some pictures. They were very professional and pleasant but had quickly moved to the boat to ensure we stayed 500 yards away form the Carrier. Once past the Carrier we moved into the Chesapeake and found the weather man wrong; seas 3-5 feet on the beam and winds up to 25 knots. We diverted to Back River and enjoyed the afternoon and evening in a peaceful anchorage. We'll see what the water is like tomorrow. | |
| 13 June | Point Lookout Marina, Maryland | After a peaceful night, we woke at 8 am and headed up the Chesapeake. The weather forecast for Wednesday was strong winds so we continued into the Potomac to Point Lookout Marina. We walked a mile to a nice seafood restaurant and enjoyed the walk and fresh Rock and Flounder. The trip is about over. We'll be in Colonial Beach tomorrow. | |
| 14 June | Colonial Beach, VA |
Underway at 9 am we started our last day of the trip. A rainy but
pleasant day on the Potomac. We arrived at 1 pm and moored the boat at
Colonial Beach Yacht Center. We'll go back to the townhouse and plan
our next trip.
A great adventure ... we really enjoyed the trip ... and were a little sad that it is over. |
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