It is Sunday May 22nd and
we are sitting in Deltaville, VA ,about a quarter of the way up the
Chesapeake, waiting out some bad weather. Here is how we got here
this past week.
Last Sunday, May 15th we
traveled in some beautifully clear and warm weather from Dowry Creek
(Belhaven, NC) all the way to the north side of the Alligator River
and stayed at the only place we can get off the boat safely (we felt)
for Gracie, Alligator River Marina. While at this marina, we met a
couple of new boats that pulled in there too for the same reason –
they each had a dog that needed to be able to get off for relief -
Hakuna Matata (sailboat -a Beneteau 33) and Near Miss (a 48 ft Nova
Scotia – motor trawler)!
From here one has two routes to choose
from when continuing north on the ICW. About midway across the
Albamarle Sound one either goes NW up the Pasquotank River to
Elizabeth City, VA to on then transit the Dismal Swamp route on the
ICW or one can go more NE up the North River and then transit what is
known as the Virginia Cut route on the ICW. Both routes come back
together just south of Norfolk, VA. We chose to again take the
Dismal Swamp route, our next stop being Elizabeth City, NC. The very
beautiful (and large) 48' trawler – Near Miss - was also going this
way so we became buddy boats for a few days. Tim and Melissa (Missy)
had passed us several days earlier on the ICW and I had asked him who
had made his boat because it was really beautiful. And there they
were at Alligator Marina and now on the way to cruise up the Dismal
Swamp with us! They are from Peachtree, GA making their way around
what is known as the Great Loop – a trip that goes up the east
coast, through the Erie canal into the Great Lakes and then down a
combination of rivers back down to the Gulf coast and Florida.
Side note from Wikipedia: “Most Great
Loop cruisers travel the loop counterclockwise, taking advantage of
the downstream currents on the Illinois, Mississippi, Tombigbee and
Black Warrior rivers to Mobile, Alabama. To avoid summer hurricanes
and winter ice, most Loopers head north in the spring, spend the
summer in the Great Lakes region, and head south on the rivers in the
fall, arriving in Florida after the beginning of November.” -
John and Marna – this could be you guys!!
We stopped at Elizabeth City Monday the
16th and the following day Near Miss and us went up the
Dismal Swamp stopping that evening at the Dismal Swamp Visitor
Center. By the time we had made the first lock (yes, there are two
locks to do on this trip!) we had been joined by two additional boats
(trawlers) that then became the group for the night on the docks.
Shortly after we were all docked at the visitor center the rains came
– and rain it did!!! I think it dropped about 1” of rain in
about an hour and then continued to drizzle the rest of the night and
next morning.
Wednesday the 18th saw us
finish up what is considered the ICW (mile zero of the ICW is at
Hospital Point in Portsmouth, VA just south of Norfolk) making our
way to the very start of the Chesapeake at Hampton, VA to the Sunset
Creek Marina. We needed a place to get out of some strong NE winds
for the next two days before starting up the Chesapeake. This marina
was definitely an economy marina (the second most inexpensive marina
we have stayed at) and was super protected. I was able to procure
some fresh blue crabs just off the boat from a fisherman – when I
offered to purchase them, he just gave them to me for free!! I had
to do some Google look-up on how to cook and eat them since our
resident expert on this topic is still in Bermuda – Alan Botula! I
don't think I did the eating part quite right because out of six of
the critters – I didn't get much meat!
Friday the 20th had some
great, sunny (albeit cooler) weather with light N winds supposedly
changing to W in the afternoon). Friday was our only opportunity to
make some headway north and we wanted to get to Deltaville, VA to be
able to hide from some nasty serious rain and NE winds coming in. We
made great time, mostly due to help from the current going north, and
got in to Deltaville by 3pm. This time, however, rather than going
in to the Deltaville Marina anchorage area – we elected to visit
Fishing BayYacht Club. Dockage the first night is free if you are a
member of a yacht club yourself – which we are (SYC) and the
following night is at $1.50 / ft – reasonable. We have been able
to arrange a deal and will be staying here until Tuesday which makes
getting Gracie ashore really easy. FBYC is absolutely gorgeous and
it is a serious sailing club. It is miserable weather today but the
race is on!!
We will be moving over to anchor at
Deltaville Marina on Tuesday so we can do some laundry, take on fuel
and water, use the courtesy car to go to the market, and do a pump
out (not necessarily in that order!) Then we plan to continue north
on Wednesday the 25th to Solomons Island, MD and then
Annapolis, MD. We went to Solomons on the way south and it is really
nice – we did not do Annapolis going south so we want to try to get
in there. It is a busy week next week in Annapolis being
Commissioning week for the US Naval Academy. But we are going to try
to get in and get a mooring or be at anchor. We will see!
Near Miss - a 48' Nova Scotia trawler!
Tim and Missy - stole their picture from their Facebook page (because stupid us didn't take any pix!)
Below them is what the Great Loop is all about!
One of the first obstacles going into the Dismal Swamp. A very narrow old swing bridge (defunct).
Having exited the canal we are entering into Norfolk, VA.
A couple of crabs at a time in the pressure cooker (the only pot big enough we had!) to steam. That last one in was feisty!
On the dock at Fishing Bay Yacht Club.
Great post Captain! I feel like heading to the east coast so I can wave to you on your way north! :-)
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