I'm writing this update from the library in Great Bridge, Chesapeake, VA. We've been to this library before but it's been so long I cannot remember the circumstances. Of course not remembering could mean it's been more than a week.
This is our third day here at the one-day-free dock. Major violation of local regulations! F'em.
There has been no one with us although there is another boat on the southern-side-of-the-bascule-bridge dock. Usually there is no hassle, especially if it's not busy.
 |
| Great Bridge Dock. |
We sat out some weather at Osprey marina for three days as mentioned in my previous entry, then went to Wrightsville Beach. We stopped at the anchorage near Little River Inlet that is right on the SC/NC border and then stopped at a marina in Southport. The free dock in Southport is mostly destroyed and the Pipeline anchorage has silted in a lot. We probably could have used it this year due to the tides we were expecting at arrival and departure but it was very cold and we paid, yes PAID, to plug into marina electricity and have heat on the boat. Kept it very toasty but cost $10. Ridiculous. The only other downside was the fancy restaurant we dined at in the fall had a fire a few weeks before our stay and was unavailable.
 |
| Bait, maybe. |
We had a surprisingly smooth ride up the Cape Fear River and a swift passage through Snows Cut. My cousin Patty came down to the Cut to wave and take pictures but we did not see her while in Wrightsville Beach. Again.
It was pretty breezy when we arrived at WB and the weather varied wildly the 2 1/2 weeks or so we were there. Windy-cold. Warm-sunny. Warm-windy. Cold-sunny-windy. And sometimes, just windy. Didn't snow this year, however. We ate out a little more than usual and watched UConn basketball several times at couple of different bars. I watched the last game, the National Semi-Final Game, alone on the boat and we lost. Again! Second loss suffered in two years. Both in the championship semi-final. Fire Geno!
I think we've lost four games in the last six years. Unacceptable! Way below our standards. Uh, we're spoiled. But we suffer through each loss as rare as they are. But could these losses not be in the NCAA tournament, Geno? Sigh.
From Wrightsville it was pretty uneventful. We stayed at the Camp LeJeune anchorage and then went to Oriental. Stayed at a free dock there but learned the hard way that we could not fit in the newer free slip next to a huge trawler. A red huge trawler. Red. We gently touched it but got some of its paint on us. Red. Sigh.
Leaving Oriental was very foggy and the same person that guided us into the RED trawler nearly ran over a sailboat I had met and chatted with several times. We should scare the heck out of people we don't know at all. Less embarrassing.
 |
| Dragon nesting area. |
Other than that the Neuse and Pamlico systems were not too bad when the fog cleared. We also had good current in the non-open areas and went all the way to the Alligator River and anchored in the most southern end of the wide part of the river. Choppy, but not bad because we don't rock and roll much. We also got boarded by the US Coast Guard to be inspected. No problem passing and got the "Golden Ticket" which means we don't have to go through this again if the USCG requests to board within a year. Heading up the Alligator was breezy but the wind and seas (1 1/2 ft.) were behind us and therefore not too bad. Same with the Albemarle Sound crossing.
We went to Coinjock that night and paid for a slip. Obviously we don't like doing that but our timing and previous anchorages determine when and where we stop. The fact that severe weather was forecast for the afternoon also influenced our decision. The very serious weather missed us but did come fairly close. Close enough to justify our decision. The downside? They raised the rates by 25 cents a foot. We later learned that so did the other nearby marina so the one we stay at is still cheaper. We're usually alone there (the other is more popular) and did laundry and had showers, etc.
From there we came here to Great Bridge. We could have left in one day but we planned on two to re-supply, go up the mast and put fuel in the boat. Our next stop was a free dock in Portsmouth, VA. Portsmouth is only two hours away so the rainy forecast didn't bother us. When we woke up to get ready to it was decided to stay put one more night in Great Bridge. So, here we are.
It didn't really rain all that hard and the wind didn't pick up until after we would have arrived at our destination but we wouldn't have done much there so staying here was not an issue. Library, shopping, restaurants are all within walking distance here but Portsmouth has a funky movie theater we enjoyed last fall. No matter. Nothing great playing anyway. Maybe in the fall, southbound.
Tomorrow we head to a pay marina slip in Hampton, VA but we have a coupon for one free night. May stay two, the forecast has been pretty unreliable the last few days. It's only about five hours to Hampton then it's three days to our Annapolis stay. We had ten days to make four days passages so we have been taking our time.
We'll see what happens.
