TerBarb Part 11

Tuesday, April 22^nd we leave Southport and are heading to Surf City. It is sunny but windy. NOAA and the Weather Channel are both saying 10-15 mph, but I don’t think so!! It’s more like 15-20 mph. The Cape Fear River is a little choppy, but not bad. Bob’s brother, Butch, is with us and even he didn’t think the ride was difficult. Once out of the Cape Fear River, into Snows Cut it calms down quite a bit. We have light sprinkles on and off several times during the ride and we are stemming current the whole day. Just prior to Wrightsville Beach Bridge we pass a boat from Red Dragon, who we talk to on the VHF radio. John had spent the winter in the Bahamas and was returning to Cambridge, where he currently docks his sailboat. We are tied up at Beach House Marina in Surf City. Butch handled lines for the first time and did a good job!! Beach House Marina is one of my favorite places to stop. There is a food store close (1 block), several shops to walk around and best of all the ocean beach is only 1 ½ blocks east of the marina. We spent Wed on the beach as it is 75-80 degrees and the sun is shining. This is what this trip is all about – finding a great place to stay and to relax and enjoy. Later on Wednesday a friend (Jeannie) of Butch’s came over to pick him up and take him home. So we say Good by, at least for now.

On Thursday, April 24^th (Bob’s Birthday) we are up and moving at 7:30 am. So much for sleeping in on your birthday, but we want to make Beaufort, NC today and the winds are light out of the NNE at 5-10 mph. We just miss the 9:30 opening of the Onslow Beach Bridge and float around until the 10 am opening. Even Bogus Sound was calm. As we go around Radio Island a high speed fishing boat coming in from the ocean passes us really close and rocks the living daylights out of us. So much for courtesy on the ICW. Don’t know who he was trying to impress, but it sure wasn’t pleasant. Beaufort Town Dock is right in the middle of town, so there is a lot of places to walk around. Today was a 7 hour ride (at our speed).

On Friday, April 25 we again have a long day (almost 7 ½ hours). The Beaufort Hwy 70 Bridge opens on the hour and half hour so we make the 8:30 opening. At the entrance to Adam’s Creek we find some very thick water (marker is missing) and we find the edge of a very narrow channel. Oh well, sometimes things happen. We bi-pass the town of Oriental as the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound as the waters are calm and flat. (The last time we did this section is was extremely rough – 8 foot seas.) We pass RE Mayo Co and continue on our way and up Pungo River to Riverforest Marina in Belhaven. Even with a seawall and rock jetty we rock slightly. Everyone has good things to say about the restaurant at this marina that is the reason we decided to stay here. Food was good! We had winds out of the SW at less than 10 mph today. Thanks are offered for the great weather today. It was much appreciated.

Saturday April 26 finds us still heading north on the Pungo River and into the Alligator/Pungo Canal and then into a light chop on the Alligator River. We go into Alligator River Marina (which is just south of Albemarle Sound) for fuel and try to decide if it is a good idea to cross Albemarle today or wait until tomorrow. By the time we fuel up it is 2:30 pm (fuel is $3.99 a gallon – really $4.00/gallon) and we decide to stay the night at Alligator River Marina. Hope we made the right decision by staying, but the wash need to be done and we already have covered 54 miles today in 5 ½ hours. If we continued we would need to go at least another 3 hours to make Coinjock. The weather is again warm 80 degrees and sunny, just a little breezy.

We get an early start on Sunday as Albemarle is usually flat first thing in the morning. We are moving at 6:30 am with N winds at 5 mph as we start across Albemarle. We are more than half way across before the winds begin to pick up to 10-15 mph. We are taking them on the nose so it is not a bad ride. We have some spray on the bridge the last 5-10 minutes. Boy, am I glad we left early as it got rough later in the day as the winds picked up to 20-25 mph. We pass Coinjock at 9:30 am and continue on – it’s too early to stop. We have N winds at 15-20 mph as we enter Currituck Sound. But again we are heading directly into the wind and waves. Choppy, but not an unpleasant ride. The wind continues but the water becomes flat as we enter the North Landing River. We have a 15 minute wait for the North Landing Bridge and no waiting at the Centerville Bridge. We are tied up at Atlantic Yacht Basin at 2:45 pm. A long day (8 hours and 17 minutes). Both NOAA and the Weather Channel stated we would have rain in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon – so much for them being right!! Just to be fair – it did rain just before we left Alligator River Marina at 6:30 am, but the rest of the day was cloudy and temperatures in the 60’s. After 80 degree days, this seems a little cold. We go from t-shirts and shorts to long sleeve shirts and long pants.

Monday finds us traveling just a short distance. We leave Atlantic Yacht Basin and head to Waterway Marina in downtown Norfolk. We clear the dock at 9:50 am in time to make the opening of the bridge at Great Bridge. Just past the bridge is Great Bridge Lock. Three miles further is the Dominion Steel Bridge which only opens on the hour, so we float around for 20 minutes. We pass the cutoff for the Dismal Swamp Route (heading south) followed by a high rise (65 foot) bridge. Next is a railroad bridge (usually open), but it is closed today for a train. However the bridge begins to open as we approach. Next is the Gilmerton Bridge which is opening for us and a southbound tug and barge. The Southern Railroad bridge is next and they begin to lift the Jordan Bridge for us and another north bound fishing boat. And, lastly the Norfolk Portsmouth Railroad bridge (usually open). In 12 miles there are 8 bridges (4 need to be opened for us; 3 railroad bridge {usually open}; and 1 high rise bridge) there is 1 lock (rise/fall about -1 ½ feet). So this section of the ICW takes about 2 hours. It is raining on and off during our ride and of course it is raining as we tie up at the marina. We needed a short ride today after several day of doing long days, plus I think we will stay here again on Tuesday. We are tied up next to a boat (Surprise) that we met in both Fernandina and Titusville, so we get reacquainted. They keep their boat in Castle Marina on Kent Island. We also met Fred and Joanne (aboard Another Anne) who also belong to MTOA. (Marine Trawler Owner Association) Bob and I also belong to this organization. They keep their boat in North Point in Rock Hall. We walk around Norfolk during the day – library and mall before returning to the boat for dinner. It is pouring rain and we have tornado warnings. Several tornados did touch down in Suffolk, which is about 20-25 miles from us, destroying homes and businesses.