October 30, 2006 to November 12, 2006

Time to Move On ….

On Monday, October 30th, we bid farewell to Annapolis and headed south for Solomons Island, MD. We’ve been having some trouble with our mainsail outhaul so we decide to have the rigger at Zahnisers take a look when we arrive. Along the way, Dave brings up the computer to get a weather update. Suddenly, the computer keeps shutting down. We strongly suspect the software for the new Cingular PC modem card we just installed is the source of the problem. Looks like we have another headache to deal with when we get in. We arrive at Zahnisers marina at 2:00 p.m. Dave heads over to the office to set up time with the rigger. Fortunately, we only needed to replace the outhaul line, replace a few bearings, and tighten up on our topping lift to fix the problem. If only the PC issue was that simple to resolve. On Tuesday, Dave spends the majority of his 52nd birthday on the phone with a customer service rep from Cingular. After several hours of changing this setting and that, the rep finally agrees that the software must be bad. Dave takes the PC to the office and uses their WiFi connection to download a new software version from the Cingular website. So far, this seems to have resolved the problem. To soften the frustrations of the day, we enjoy fabulous steaks for dinner that we bought at Woodburns Grocer this morning.

On Wednesday, Nov 1st, we left Solomons Island. Flat seas and light winds made for an easy day’s motorsail to Fishing Bay in Deltaville. Today we spot our first pelican of the trip. When we arrive, we top of the fuel at the fuel dock and then anchor out for the night (position N 37 32.4, W 076 20.2) along with several other southbound sailboats.

The next morning a strong cold front is predicted to blow through the area but the winds are out of the North so we set out anyway hoping that 25 kts on the stern would make for a good ride south. When we round the corner of the point, the winds are actually 25-30 kts with higher gusts, big seas, and huge white caps. Since we have no set schedule, we mutually decide its best to return to the Fishing Bay anchorage and try again tomorrow.

Friday morning the winds are still pretty strong but the seas have subsided. We head for Norfolk with N winds at 20 kts and following seas. Today it is absolutely freezing on the water; can’t be more than 35 degrees. The day seems mighty long when you can’t get warm. We arrive at Waterside Marina in Norfolk around 4:30 p.m. and head over to Hooters for a big plate of buffalo wings, sandwiches, and a few cold ones before calling it a day.

On Saturday we take a taxi to the U-Haul facility to refill our propane tank. We then head over to the mall to buy a new DVD player and a few additions to our movie collection. So far, the Lonesome Dove series gets two-thumbs up.

At 7:15 a.m. on Sunday, November 5th, we start our trek down the ICW. We were expecting an easy day since the bridge schedule restrictions don’t apply on the weekends. Unfortunately, we were delayed at the lock because of a red flag barge that had to lock all alone. This little event set everyone back about 1-2 hrs between the lock and the bridges. We didn’t make it to Midway Marina in Coinjock until after 4:00 p.m.

Monday, we left Coinjock and made a short 34-mile trip across Albermarle Sound to the Alligator River Marina. On our last trip we anchored at Tuckahoe Point further south but since there was no good place to land the dogs we decided to try this marina instead. The marina is adequate but the area surrounding it is really quite desolate. In any case, it worked out better for the girls.

Tuesday morning we head out early with a flock of sailboats and trawlers to catch the Alligator River Swing Bridge opening. Today it is much warmer and we are grateful for the sun. We have a leisurely passage through the Alligator River Pungo River canal but the cloud cover is moving in and a storm is fast approaching. We make a mad dash for the Dowry Creek marina in Belhaven. We are fortunate to get tied up just before the skies open up. We have strong winds and rain throughout the night.
This is our first time staying at the Dowry Creek marina and we really like the feel of the place. The marina facilities are very clean and the owners are friendly and helpful. We decide to hang out another day and make use of the courtesy car to pick up provisions.

On Thursday, November 9th, we leave Belhaven bound for Oriental, N.C. Today’s trip has us crossing the Bay River, Pamlico Sound, and the Neuse River. We have a great downwind sail all the way to Oriental with NW winds 18-20 kts. We were excited to see our first dolphins of the trip frolicking on our bow as we exited Gales Creek.

Arriving in Oriental feels like a homecoming of sorts. In May 2005 we spent a month here after our boat electronics suffered damage from a lightning strike. It’s good to be in a place that feels so familiar to us and with so many friendly faces. It’s sunny and in the mid-70s. Our good friends Greg and Susie from Aloahalani live close by in the New Bern area and plan to come by on Saturday night for dinner. We look forward to seeing them.

Friday afternoon we take the girls and go out for a dinghy ride to explore the numerous creeks in the area. Upon our return, we are wonderfully surprised to see that Rodger and Kathy Wilcox from Talisman arrived at the marina while we were out. We had hoped to catch up with them before we headed south. It was great to see them and we enjoyed a nice dinner out at the Toucan Grill together.

Saturday night Greg and Susie came for dinner. It was so good to see them and catch up on events over the past year. We look forward to seeing them again on our return trip in the spring.

Today we’re aground in our slip since strong west winds have blown about 3 feet of water out of the harbor. We’re snug inside doing various maintenance chores. Tomorrow, if the water returns, and we can pull ourselves away from Oriental, we plan to sail the 50 some odd miles to an anchorage in Swansboro, NC.