061: The Old Dominion Part 1

 The next morning, the 17^th of April, we took down the folding bikes and road over the swing bridge to the National Wildlife Refuge side of the Dismal Swamp Canal with the goal of nice long bike ride.  Unfortunately, the trail is not paved and rests in very sandy soil.   Our narrow-tired bikes were ill-suited to that type of surface, so we only made it about 2.5 miles before deciding that we’d had enough, and we headed back.   

We did see a display on how to set up a still and make "moonshine:"

We moved the boat down to a tiny dock (only seventeen feet long) that sits across from the “feeder” creek which supplies the Canal with its water.  On the way we crossed the border into the Commonwealth of Virgina, and childhood memories (my father was stationed at Langley Airforce Base) began to flood back.

The state line:

 

Small dock:

Unlike the river system locks which were developed eliminate rapids and use the water from the river itself, the Dismal Swamp Canal works more like the Panama Canal and uses water from Lake Drummond to feed it.   If you have read this blog from the beginning, you know we love exploring creeks in the dinghy, so we motored up feeder creek three miles to Lake Drummond.    We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife but we did feel a bit like Humphrey Bolgart and Katherine Hepburn in “The African Queen”

 There is a dam that controls the water flow, so when we reached it we had to portage the dinghy around it to reach a short stretch of creek that led to the Lake.  Unfortunately, the dolly that carries your dinghy across that 100’ stretch was out of order, so we had to carry the dinghy (with engine) across the expanse.   We managed, and then headed out to the Lake.   We motored around the edge of Lake Drummond for a bit, and then cut the engine and did some bird watching before heading back.

 The feeder creek:

My best Humphrey Bogart impression:

The dam area:

The trolley over the dam:

Almost to the Lake:

Bird watching, look closely:

Back on the boat we had lunch and saw a really cool aluminum trawler go by us.  We waived and I was scratching my head trying to determine what was the make of the trawler, but all I could come up with was that it must be of European make as they really like metal boats more than those of us on this side of the “Pond.”   

The cool trawler:

 After lunch we cast off the lines and motored up a few miles to Douglas Landing, another dock which was large enough to accommodate three mid-sized boats.    Douglas is on the east side of the Canal which has the paved bike path (actually a road no longer used) and Nancy went for a ride while I worked on prior blog posts

Former canal superintendents house:

Douglas Landing Dock:

A bit later the couple on a PDQ 34 power catamaran (“Out of the Blue”) who we’d met on the dock at Beaufort, NC pulled up to the dock and we had a nice chat.  They are “Gold Loppers” (they have done the entire G/L trip before) and where heading up to Canada for the summer.   While chatted I noticed a snake slithering by, luckily non-venomous.  

 

As we were chatting a couple came riding up on their bikes.  It was the couple from the aluminum trawler that passed by earlier wanting to say, “Hi.”    The six of us had a very nice chat, a lot of it about their boat, “Kaniva.”   Very intriguing couple: 1) they are from Germany, 2) they sailed her across the Atlantic, 3) he built her over twenty years.   Their website is super interesting if you are at all into boats or engineering.   He designed and built every bit of her, even making his own circuit boards!  More info at:  https://www.kaniva.de/index.html.

That night we had another perfect night on the Canal.  Very quiet and peaceful.   The next morning Nancy and I took a walk on the bike path and then left to make the 11:00 a.m. lock opening to leave the Canal and head up to Norfolk.

Norfolk has the largest naval station in the world, and it is impressive.   We didn’t have too long a trip up to our marina and we were enjoying a slow ride when we heard over the radio, “All traffic Warship # 72 entering Hampton Roads for Berth # (can’t remember).”  Not knowing where this berth was at, we powered up the boat to full throttle and made our way into Waterfront Marina before “Warship #72” potentially rounded the corner.

 On the way to Norfolk:

Norfolk Naval Station:

Earlier in the morning, while tied up at the Douglas Landing, I noticed a small oil slick near where my bilge empties out:  “Odd," thought I.    Had we not been tied up to such a calm place, and instead anchored out with current, I might not have noticed it at all.  Serendipity?   Upon arrival at Norfolk I decided to investigate and long story short, it turns out the rubber tube used to drain the generator oil had been misplaced by the boat yard in Racine and was rubbing against the pulley that drives the actual electric generator.  The generator's engine had no oil in it whatsoever, and I had run it that morning.  Now anyone who knows anything about boats knows that even a tablespoon of oil in the bilge makes a big mess, I had over a quart of oil in the bilge. 

It took me all afternoon to clean up the mess using most of a roll of heavy-duty paper towels.  Then I had to fashion a makeshift repair.   After adding fresh oil, I fired up the generator with much trepidation, but it seemed to work fine.  Hopefully I dodged a expensive bullet ($9,000 plus installation).  I was covered in muck and headed to a much-needed shower.   In the evening, we had a non-descript dinner at one of the three restaurants on the waterfront. 

On the 18^th we took an Uber to Budget Rental and got a car to drive to Rockville, Va to visit my Godmother, Barbara Empey.  Barbara lives in a house build in the 1740’s called “Oldfield” that originally was a tavern.  The name Oldfield came about because that was a designation for land worn out from tobacco growing, as in its an “old field.”   There is documentation in the historical record that Patrick Henry first met Thomas Jefferson here when it was a tavern.  The home sits on twenty-six bucolic acres in the rolling Virginia countryside.   Her late husband, "Emp," was a P-38 fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater of Operations during WW2 and later flew amphibious missions and cargo flights through the end of the 1960’s.   He restored Oldfield himself over many years after he retired.

 Oldfield:

Emp's A-2 flight jacket from WW2:

Barbara's twenty-six acres:

Nancy and I had a great visit with Barbara and treated her to dinner at a local restaurant and we both had the best meals to date on this G/L trip.   Local restaurant beats marina tavern food every time!  Nancy drove the almost two hour trip back to the marina in driving rainstorm, and we went to bed pretty tired.

 

Dave

 

Odometer; 3,530 n/m

060: North Carolina Part 3: Things get "Dismal"

I got back from my golf trip on Saturday April, 13^th.  It was good thing that Hygge was tucked in nicely at a marina as the winds were howling on the 12^th, it would not have been a good travel day.   The original plan was to take a week or so to get up to Elizabeth City, NC and do the “Albemarle Loop” which is a tour of several small towns along the Albemarle Sound.  Now the Albemarle Sound at approximately ten miles wide and forty-one miles long, and being relatively shallow can get really nasty with bad weather (shallow water = steeper waves).  We saw a weather window for Monday where the Sound was going to be pretty calm, so we decided to “go for it” and on Sunday the 14^th we did 60 nautical miles up to Belhaven, N.C.    (I might have sped up a bit to catch the last few hours of the Master’s Golf Tournament.).

Nice sunset in Belhaven:

 

Met a nice couple on the dock at the marina in a very large boat called, “Knot Supersonic” with a logo of a F-14 on it.   I asked him if he had been a F-14 pilot, and he seemed impressed that I recognized the silhouette, and confirmed that he had been one.    In reference to “Top Gun” movies, I asked him how many times could a Navy pilot buzz a controller tower before his/her wings were removed?  The answer: “one and done.”   Same for violating a flight test protocol which destroys a hundred-million-dollar plane.  Take that Hollywood!

The following day we did 75 n/m up to Elizabeth City, NC, crossing the Sound with one foot waves on the port quarter.   Not too bad.  The crab pots inexplicably painted blue (camouflage?) were the bigger worry.  Of note: North Carolina boaters are so nice.   Whereas in Florida the 70’ boats barrel down the middle of the channel at full speed like Rodney Dangerfield in “Caddyshack,” here they politely contact you on the radio and ask your permission to pass.  

 Actual conversation:

Power boater:  “Sailboat heading north near channel marker 17, may I have permission to pass you on your port side?”

Sailboat: “Sure but it is pretty shallow on my port side, why don’t you pass on my starboard side?”

PB: “Sure, but I didn’t want to block your wind.”

SB: “No worries, we’ll be fine, go ahead, be safe.”

Now that is the way it should be done!

Bridge over the Alligator River starting to close after we went through it:

Elizabeth has free docks (no water, no power) that are best described as “minimalist” and  “docks” is a generous description, but hey, they are free!.   The dock portion is very small and you tie up to poles in the water.  We had to back-in Hygge, but we managed.   We then walked around town and went to a pizza joint for dinner.  Not a whole lot there, but you can see that they are trying.

Elizabeth City:

 

Hygge at the free "dock":

On the 16^th we made it up to the Dismal Swamp Canal, which I have been wanting to experience since I was ten years old living in Hampton, VA.   The Dismal Swamp Canal is the oldest man-made canal in the U.S.   Of course, dug in horrendous conditions by enslaved people over 10+ years.  It joins the Chesapeake Bay with the Albemarle Sound.  It was a pretty big deal before railroads, and now serves pleasure boaters exclusively, being way to narrow and shallow for commercial traffic.

We had a very “chill” sixteen n/m ride up to the lock at the south end of the Canal.  No sense in getting there early as there is no place to hangout and wait for the lock to open anyway.  We were in a flotilla of three power boats and three sailboats and it was kind of nice to just go at no wake speed and get good MPG (approx. 3.3 n/mpg). 

The lift bridge at Elizabeth City:

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Which way to the Canal?

The Dismal Swamp has locks and bridges on either end:

It is narrow in the Canal:

We tied up to a visitor center/rest area on the east side of the canal that is the only rest area in the U.S. that serves both boat and road traffic.   The dock is free, and you can stay for up to three days. No power, but one water faucet and super clean rest-area restrooms open 24x7.   We took the floating bridge to the west side of the canal to visit the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Visitor center which was more museum focused on the history of the Canal. Very interesting.  We then took a walk along the boardwalk through the edge of the swamp which is a fraction of its former size.  Did not see any bears though, much to our disappointment.

 https://www.fws.gov/refuge/great-dismal-swamp/visit-us

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Next, we got out the folding bikes and road approximately five miles south to the Williams Strawberry Farm for some fresh strawberries, homemade ice cream, and strawberry biscuits.   Tasty.  

 That night we had the quietest, most peaceful, night on the whole G/L Trip so far.  

 Tied up to the Visitor Center Dock:

Dave

Odometer: 3,486 n/m's

 

 

 

 

 

059: North Carolina Part 2

Swansboro was a small but nice stop.  I had the best sandwich on the whole trip so far on the night we got in and the next morning I had the best lox and bagel this side of Brooklyn, NYC.   We had a short and uneventful ride up to Beaufort, N.C. on Saturday the 6^th.  The first night we stayed at the town docks.  After securing the boat I road Nancy’s folding bike over to a bike shop (a guy in his garage) to get some tune up work done on it that I didn’t have the patience to do.  The repair guy was a character to say the least, but he gave me a ride back to the marina in his 1981 Corvette.   I think that was my first ever Corvette ride!  Later that night we had a “too expensive for the quality of the meal” dinner at a local restaurant.  

On Sunday the 7^th, we moved Hygge to another marina for the week (nicer marina, courtesy car, free laundry, etc.).   We did some boat cleaning and then the Murphy’s joined us to watch the Women’s NCAA Championship.   That night we took the marina’s courtesy car over to an Italian Restaurant in Moorehead City and this this time the price to quality ratio was very favorable!

On Monday the 8^th, the Murphy’s left to head north while we stayed behind.   I had arranged for an engine mechanic to look at engine coolant sensor issue (as in it was not working) and since he was coming out anyway, I wanted him to change the water intake impeller and fuel filters.   Long story short, Hygge got fixed but the bill was stunning.  It is kind of a scam.  The engine controller tells you there is an issue, and gives a code, but there is no way to determine what the code means unless you are an authorized Volvo Penta service technician.   He looked it up, it was a bad sensor, and replaced it in a few minutes.   Unfortunately, the last time I had the impeller replaced, the marina didn’t use a Volvo Penta impeller which has a threaded female section to make it easy to get the impeller out with a male bolt; they used a generic one with no threaded section and it took him about an hour to remove the impeller.   You also get charged travel time and mileage.  Ouch.

 After that was done, Nancy and I took the dingy over to Carrot Island to do some exploring and see the wild horses.  We really scored by catching this video:

 

Carrot Island from the water:

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Not sure why I struck this pose, could be influenced by the Captain Cook book I am listening to:

After a short hike on the Island, we went into town and a generous lady gave us her two extra eclipse glasses and we watched the eclipse (70%) and then toured the Maritime Museum.   The museum had a nice section on the Pirate Blackbeard who met his end in nearby Ocracoke.  They had artifacts (cannons, plates, bells, etc.) from his flagship “The Queen Anne’s Revenge” which he ran aground.  She was discovered in 1996 and lawsuits related to that are still pending (don’t find shipwrecks, it isn’t worth the legal hassles!).

 https://ncmaritimemuseumbeaufort.com/

The following day, Nancy dropped me off to Budget Rental Car where I got a car to drive to Gainesville, GA for five days to play golf with high school friends.   It was an eight-hour drive but went fast with audio books and podcasts.   Great time seeing everyone.  As for the golf, given that I hadn’t played since September, and that I used thirty-year-old borrowed clubs, I can’t complain.

The gang (Jeff, Tim N, TIm M, Me, Tom and Tim S): 

 

Here is what Nancy did, in pictures:

Pirates are big in Beaufort:

Around town:

The downtown dock:

Farmers' Market:

Dave

Odometer: 3,351

058: North Carolina: Part 1

On Easter Sunday we took off early, headed north towards Myrtle Beach. We soon entered the AICW's 22-mile long "ditch" which stretches from Socastee Creek, SC to Little River, SC. Completed in 1936, this is the longest stretch of man-made canal on the entire 2,000-mile AICW and the final segment to be completed after more than a century of work. On this stretch, we made a last-minute decision to stop at Barefoot Landing, which is a shopping, restaurant and entertainment mecca for tourists to the North Myrtle Beach area. Having been to Myrtle Beach for golf multiple times, I was curious to see what it was all about and the free “day use” docks didn’t hurt!  It was fun to get off the boat and see something new--plenty of shopping, restaurants and entertainment options, including a theatre and live music venue, carousel, and a long boardwalk surrounding a lake. Lulu's had a restaurant there with a similar setup to Gulf Shores, AL--beach volleyball, a ropes course, children's playground, etc. Matt and Kathy went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant and Nancy and I walked around in search of ice cream.

Ride up to MB

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Free dock:

 

Barefoot Landing

North of North Myrtle Beach the AICW became very busy--it was chock-a-block with tour boats, cruise ships, floating casinos, and fishing charters not to mention pleasure-boaters out enjoying this beautiful Easter Sunday. We passed the 100-ft "Continental Shelf," a vessel that bills itself as the "Largest and Finest Party Fishing Boat" in the area, the "The Big M Casino" Ships I and Ship II with day and evening gaming cruises, and the Atlantic Star, another large fishing charter. We continued on until we reached the Calabash River anchorage, but it was exposed and unappealing--subject to constant waking.

Big boats near MB:

We opted for the Bird Island Anchorage, which was about 3 miles off the ICW close to the Little River Inlet. As we approached the anchorage, we realized that we had crossed the state line and were now in North Carolina!

We anchored off the Bird Island Coastal Reserve, more than 1,000 acres of salt marsh, white sandy beaches and meandering creeks that was saved from development in the 1990's. Nancy, Kathy and I dinghied to the beach and went in search of the “Kindred Spirits Mailbox.” We walked 3/4-mile walk from Sunset Beach to the east and finally found it. The mailbox has a notebook and pens inside, and the idea is to write down your innermost wishes, thoughts, hopes and dreams, and send them into the ether. For over 40 years it was unknown as to who put the mailbox there, until it was revealed that a man named Frank Nesmith and his "lady friend" were the co-founders. The mailbox has inspired many, including novelist Nicholas Sparks, whose 2018 novel Every Breath features the Kindred Spirits Mailbox and nearby Sunset Beach.

Bird Island:

Kathy and Dave sending out our thoughts and wishes:

Sunrise at Bird Island:

 

On April 1st, we left early for Southport, NC as the destination. We almost got hit when a fishing boat approaching full-tilt crossed in front of us at the last minute at the last minute in front of our bow from port to starboard, nearly sideswiping us and coming awfully close to hitting a family in a small fishing boat that was anchored just outside the channel to our starboard. WHY??

We arrived in Southport late afternoon and tied up at Morningstar Marina and met up with friends of the Murphy’s, Bob and Lynn Munches. 

We headed back to the boat and went straight to bed. Unfortunately, we never had the opportunity to explore Southport, which is billed as a favorite Looper stop. Dave and I decided to head out this morning and travel to Wilmington, NC and stay a few days to wait out a coming storm. We therefore left the Murphys temporarily for them to visit with their friends.  Nancy had come down with the cold that the rest of us had just shook off, so we declined an invitation to dinner and went on our own to a very mediocre meal at Provision Company.

The Murphy’s stayed at Southport for a few days to visit with their friends and we went up to Wilmington up the Cape Fear River. The Cape Fear River features a deep-water channel (50-ft plus) servicing the Port of Wilmington. The only scary moment came as we were passing the Port with four ocean-going cargo ships docked on our starboard side. In this area, the channel is narrow and closely parallels the Port. Nancy was at the helm and prudently checked the AIS status of each of the vessels, and all said "Docked" or "Moored." No problem!  As we approached, one of the huge cargo ships now had "daylight" between it and the dock, headed towards us. WTF!! It had just left the dock with absolutely no warning--did it see us at all?  Supposed to sound the horn before leaving the dock, he finally sounded a “one whistle” out in the channel.  I responded back with a one whistle and we passed without incident.   Scary though.

Big boys on Cape Fear:

We arrived at Port City Marina, where we intended to stay for three nights. It was a new facility with offices on the first floor of a five-story residential complex in an area known as Pier 33, billed as Wilmington's finest luxury waterfront community.   Nice setup.    Nancy’s cold was in full attack mode, so we didn’t do much but eat in the dockside Mexican restaurant. 

Hygge at the dock:

We felt safe:

On April 3^rd, Nancy was a bit better, but the weather was really bad with the rain and wind limiting our abilities to sightsee.  Nevertheless, we made the 15-minute walk to the downtown historic district via the Riverwalk--a nearly two-mile walkway alongside the Cape Fear River which passed right by our boat. Even in this inclement weather, we passed several dog walkers, runners and sightseers. We walked by a cool floating tiny-houseboat community called The Oasis@The Cove at the opposite end of the Marina. The 11am scheduled horse-drawn history tour was cancelled because it was too wet for the horses, we made the executive decision to UBER to the Battleship North Carolina, a floating museum and WWII Memorial, now permanently docked across the Cape Fear River from downtown Wilmington--something that Dave has been looking forward to.

The 35,000-ton Battleship North Carolina is an authentically restored WWII vessel that participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific theater of operations including Guadalcanal, the Philippines Sea, Iwo Jima, and Tokyo Bay, earning 15 battle stars and becoming the highest decorated American battleship of WWII." In 1958, the Navy announced its intention to scrap the decommissioned battleship, which had been sitting in Bayonne, NJ. The USS North Carolina floating museum is here today because two Wilmington natives, realizing the ship's historical importance, helped start a statewide fundraising campaign "Save our Ship" to purchase the ship and bring it to Wilmington's waterfront. NC State and local governments as well as thousands of citizens including children joined forces to raise the $345,000 needed. At the time, incoming governor Terry Sanford suggested getting the schools involved, so every child who brought in a dime got a pass for free admission. In 1961, the ship made its way to its current Wilmington location.

It was great fun to wander the nine different decks, seeing how the 2,300 sailors and officers lived and learning about their work. The information provided was great and, in many instances, had first-person testimonials and/or photos taken at each location. The tour was self-guided, allowing visitors to wander at their leisure.

She is a big girl:

The operating room:

We called for an UBER back to downtown and were fortunate to get a ride with an enthusiastic Wilmington native, a long-haired and tattooed man, who said "I left looking for something else and realized there was nowhere better than here," which is a lovely sentiment regarding one's hometown. He recommended "The Basics" for lunch, which was one of the few restaurants on this trip that we really thought was special. 

On the way back to the marina, we spotted a red caboose and the Wilmington Railroad Museum, so we went inside. While there, we learned that the area we were standing on was once the terminus of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad which, when completed in 1840, was the longest railroad in the world with161.5 miles of track. The line was essential to the Confederacy during the Civil War, moving goods and supplies from the single open Confederate port of Wilmington to Robert E. Lee's Army in Virginia and elsewhere. The fall of Wilmington in January 1865 during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, which occurred 20 miles downriver, blocked the Confederacy's access to the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, becoming a major factor leading to Lee's surrender at Appomattox.   One of the exhibits had an error in it, noting the Union general who captured Fort Fisher as “General Schofiel,” as opposed to Schofield.   I pointed the error out to the museum manager who was thankful (that makes two museum exhibits I’ve corrected, but hey, wrong is wrong.)

 Caboose:

For the kids:

The rain began to come down in droves, and we headed back to the boat as Nancy still wasn’t near 100%. 

On the 4^th, the weather was better, and we went back to The Basics for breakfast and took our delayed horse-drawn carriage tour. The tour was rather short and gave an overview of the historic district. All of the original streets were brick but had been covered up. One by one, the city was removing the asphalt to expose the original. There were also several streets made of ballast.

 At this point, I headed back to the boat to do work and Nancy grabbed an UBER to Airlie Gardens, the former Winter estate of Sarah and Pembroke Jones--located in the Wrightsville Beach area overlooking Bradley Creek. She was excited to see the 67-acre garden: There were azaleas in abundance that were somewhat past their peak, but pretty; as well as several formal garden areas.  She then went over to the Burgwin-Wright House and Gardens at the top of Market Street.  The colonial era Burgwin-Wright Houe was built in 1770 for merchant, planter (read: slave owner) and government official John Burgwin, who was born in Hereford, England (1730). His family estate in England was promised to his elder brother, so as the second son he was forced to make his own fortune and left for Charleston in 1750. Where he was employed as a merchant. He soon married the daughter of a wealthy planter, Margaret Haynes, and two years later, her family transferred to him a 1,000-acre plantation known as the Hermitage

Wilmington:

Nancy made it back with pizza and we made an early night of it.  On April 5th we left early planning to get to Mile Hammock Bay anchorage near Peru, NC.  It had 33 reviews on the Waterway Guide, and all said about the same thing--"plenty of room," "one of our favorite anchorages", "extremely popular", "nice and easy access", "great stop" etc. So, we set off at 8am, headed back down the Cape Fear River and said goodbye to Wilmington. It was a fine day for traveling and we reluctantly passed up Carolina Beach State Park, where, with a senior discount, you can dock your boat for only $26/night.  After a full day of some especially heavy traffic (multiple barges doing dredging work), we pulled into the anchorage at 4pm.  The wind was blowing pretty hard with no real protection and there were already 5-6 boats there.  Our anchor dragged on our first attempt and then more boats came in.  Frankly, the place was disappointing given the reviews--it was quite exposed and although we could have tried again, we had no appetite for it.

Dredging:

 

We called the Murphy's and found out they were in the town of Swansboro, another twenty miles to the north. Since we still had over two hours of daylight until the 7:35pm sunset, we decided to put the pedal to the metal and go for it. The ICW here is a canal that passes through Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps Base Camp comprising 246-square miles. There were several warnings not to anchor because of non-exploded ordinance, as well as the possibilities of ICW closures due to live ammunition training exercises! Fortunately, there was none of this going on today although we did see military training vehicles that had been totally shot up! 

At this point, we heard a boat calling “Mayday” on Channel 16. It turned out to be a sailboat attempting to enter a nearby inlet--sounds like they touched bottom and freaked out and wanted the Coast Guard to come and help "guide" them into the inlet safely. The captain had a French accent, so perhaps they can be forgiven for not knowing that the US Coast Guard doesn't guide in boats and that “Mayday” is only used for life threatening situations.  (Another boat came to their rescue.)

It was fun going full throttle and we arrived at the Church Street Dock in Swansboro well before sundown.  It was nice to see the Murphy's again.

 

Dave

Odometer: 3,325 n/m