Cruising to Oriental and River Dunes

10/29 – We woke to very strong winds, but after checking wind speed and direction and our planned trip for the day, we decided to head out around 10:00. We traveled the Pungo, Pamlico, and Bay Rivers and also a small portion of the Neuse River to get to our destination. On each part of the trip we encountered different wind and wave conditions, with only one part being uncomfortable (the part where things on the flybridge moved around as we pitched to and flo). It was a very sunny day, but on the cool side so jackets were needed part of the time.

On a clear day, you can see forever ......
This was our view as we crossed the Pamlico
We had our first dolphin sighting of the trip

The Hoboken Bridge

Our destination for today was River Dunes in Oriental. Several Loopers, specifically Liz and Steve on Shingebiss, stopped here earlier this year and raved about the accommodations along with the very reasonable rate. The marina had a booth at the boat show in Annapolis and they were advertising great specials, so we decided to give them a try. We arrived at the dock, where the helpful dockmaster, J.C., was there to give us a hand. After checking in we wandered around the facilities … huge club house, restaurant, swimming pool, exercise room, laundry and showers … all of which were first class. After checking out the menu, we decided to make reservations for dinner (they are only open on the weekend). It was definitely a decision we didn’t regret. The food was delicious and we also felt it was reasonably priced.

Approaching River Dunes

The clubhouse

Lounge area

Reading room

Dining Room

Swimming pool - but a bit too cold to use

The showers (including steam) -- probably the fanciest we've seen at a marina

View along the docks

10/30 - Today we used the courtesy car (again, a cut above the usual courtesy car you get at a marina – it was a Yukon XT) to go into Oriental.  We visited the normal places – West Marine, Grocery, Marine  Consignment, etc., but were able to get away without spending much money.  We spent the afternoon doing chores and relaxing.  At 6:00 we went to the Docktail Party sponsored by River Dunes.  They have 3 firepits on the property and everyone gathered to share food, drinks and stories.  There were several loopers, other cruisers and locals in attendance.  Since it was chilly, it was great to have the blazing firepits.  There was lots of great food and we met several loopers and other cruisers that we had seen along the way, but had never really met.  As the temperature chilled, everyone returned to their boats.  We watched a little TV, checked weather and then off to bed.  Hopefully, we’ll head out early tomorrow morning.

Sign on the roads at River Dunes. 29 mph seemed like a strange speed limit

Sitting around the firepit

Gathering for the "docktail" party

There was lots of great food

... along with a beautiful sunset

In Manteo

10/27 - After a delicious breakfast at the Magnolia Grill we headed out for a walk. We crossed the bridge and headed for Roanoke Island Festival Park. This is a complex that features, among other things, the Elizabeth II, a settlement site, art gallery, museum store, outdoor pavilion and lots of trails. It was very interesting and we spent an hour or so just wandering the trails/boardwalk along the waterfront.

The main complex at Festival Park

Along one of the waterside trails



A shot of the marina (and Monk's Vineyard) from the bridge

One of the reasons we decided to make the side trip to Manteo was because we have friends that live (part time) in Kitty Hawk. They planned on being in the area until the first of November, so we made plans to get together while we were in the area. Early in the afternoon they picked us up and we went back to their home. They had done quite a bit of remodelling since we had last seen it and their current renovation involved adding an elevator. We had a nice visit, walked to the beach (they are only a block away from the ocean) and then we went out to dinner at the Black Pelican. We had a great dinner and great company. It was a fun day. Thanks Chuck and Jan.

A shot of Chuck and Jan at the"tree" in front of their home.
They said it was tradition to take a picture of all guests
in front of the tree .. so here is one of us below

We took a short walk on the beach

Back at the boat, we tried to decide our plan for Thursday. At one point, we had thought we would travel down Roanoke Sound and then across Pamlico Sound to the Neuse River. However, the weather forecast was still calling for strong winds and we (anyway, Linda) just weren’t comfortable with the idea of being on either sound in heavy wind. We decided to wait until morning to finalize our plans.

10/28 – We woke to strong winds, but they seemed to subside after sunrise. The weather forecast appeared to indicate the day would be decent, but the following day showed strong wind with a small craft advisory. We decided to head out, but backtracked a bit and headed to the ICW on the Alligator River. Even though it was longer, it was a more protected route. We traveled 8+ hours arriving at our Pungo River anchorage around 5:30.

Crossing Albemarle Sound

Entering the Pungo Canal

Our anchorage for the night on the Pungo River

 

On to North Carolina and Manteo

 

Heading out of the Deltaville anchorage


10/24 - We left Deltaville early in the morning heading for Norfolk. It was sunny, but breezy. However, winds were out of the south and we had a good ride. Since we had spent over a week at a marina in Norfolk about 4 months ago, we decided we didn’t need to stay in a marina or explore the area, so we anchored at Hospital Point. It was very breezy, but the wind was constant, so the anchorage was quite comfortable.

We passed Wolf Trap Light



We passed by all the Navy boats again --
just like a few months ago -- still impressive

   

Our anchorage for the night at Hospital Point

10/25 - Starting down the Intracoastal, we had several bridges and one lock to navigate, so Linda studied the bridge opening times and the lock operating time and came up with a departure time for the next morning.

When we woke up we noticed we had a HUGE boat in the anchorage.
A cruise ship had pulled in overnight

As we headed out, the sun was rising

We left at 7:30 a.m., along with about 20 other boats. We were in quite a convoy. It was very windy, but in the ICW we really didn’t feel the effects. We went through the Great Bridge Lock which lowered us less than a foot. 

Our first bridge -- one of many

Sign to the Virginia Cut (Abermarle & Chesapeake Canal)
On our trip north on the Loop we took the Dismal Swamp route

Signage in the lock -- humm, only a 1,000+ miles
before we cross to the Bahamas

A shot of the Captain as we locked through

We decided to bypass the marinas at Coinjock and, instead, headed to the anchorage at Broad Creek. Linda wasn’t too hot on the idea because of the weather, but Gerry said the anchorage had gotten excellent reviews and would get us closer to our travels on Albemarle Sound the next day. As it turned out, the anchorage was great, very protected and peaceful.

We passed the marinas in Coinjock ...

and instead anchored in Broad Creek

10/26 - The next morning Gerry checked the weather forecast and decided we should leave immediately in order to cross Albemarle Sound before the weather kicked up. No breakfast, not even any coffee, until we were underway.

The anchorage was very peaceful as we prepared to leave

A shot of the sailboats heading out

It was quite windy and rained very hard, but we were in the lee most of the time and the ride into Manteo was pretty uneventful. By the time we arrived, the rain had quit and within a half hour or so, the sun was shining brightly. We spent a relaxing afternoon exploring the town, had dinner at a local restaurant, then back to the boat and off to bed. It was nice to be on land after 6 days on the water – oh, and by the way, we’ve shed long pants and jackets and are back in shorts and T-shirts.

Manteo Riverfront Boardwalk

Gerry in Manteo -- it was good to be on land



Monk's Vineyard at the dock and in the background
you can see the Elizabeth II, which is a 69-foot sailing
vessel, representative of those which sailed to the
New World in 1585.



Heading South

I'm going where the sun keeps shining
Thru the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes
Banking off of the north east wind
Sailing on a summer breeze
And skipping over the ocean like a stone

We spent the night on board the boat on Wednesday, October 20. We were trying to get the house closed up and it was becoming complicated trying to be in two places. We wanted to be able to get an early start on Thursday.

The view from the dock the morning of departure

Dawn brought a beautiful sunrise … not quite a red sky, more like pink. The weather forecast was for winds 15-20 with a small craft advisory. However, winds were predicted to be out of the west. Gerry decided we should be able to handle this as the wave action would be mitigated by the western shore. He said we’d traverse the Bay close to the shore and should be okay. If not, there were plenty of places to “duck in” and find an anchorage to get out of the weather. Linda agreed that this was acceptable.

Heading out of the neighborhood - just like we did 16 months ago
only this time we have a gold burgee

We finally got everything squared away and headed out at 9:30. Our planned destination was Solomon’s Island, but we agreed we’d let the weather dictate an earlier port if it was nasty on the Bay. Once we cleared the Severn River and were on the Bay it was obvious the wind was blowing quite hard, but the waves were only 2 feet or less and the ride was quite comfortable. The sky looked threatening much of the day, but the rain never came. By the time we got to Solomon’s Island the seas were quite flat. We anchored in Mill Creek around 6:00. It had been a long day, but we were elated to finally be underway. We had a toast to our first day back on the water, had a quick dinner and went to bed.

Approaching Solomon's Island

10/22 - The next morning brought sunshine and it looked beautiful. However, the wind was still strong. A small craft advisory was still in effect with a forecast of winds at 15+ gusting to 25 and seas 2-3 feet. Since the previous day had worked so well, we decided to try it again and head for Deltaville. Once out on the Bay, it was a bit uncomfortable as the wind was basically out of the north and we had following seas – not our most favorite point of sail. We were okay until we hit the Potomac River and then the combination of the wind (25, gusting to 30+), current, and no land mass to windward, really produced HUGE waves. The Captain really got a workout trying to steer up, through and down the waves. A couple of times we hit 12 knots surfing down waves. Linda had to continuously reposition and reattach things on the flybridge with ropes and bungee cords all while holding on for dear life. As we cleared the Potomac and rounded the point, we decided to head for Reedville. Once we were safe and sound at anchor, we again had a toast – this time to surviving our second day. Hopefully we have that silliness out of our system and, since we’re not on any schedule, we won’t venture out again in conditions like that. It took us most of the afternoon to straighten up the mess inside the boat.

Our anchorage in Reedville.  We were very happy to be here
after our rough day on the water

There was a full moon coming up over the tree tops

10/23 - Saturday brought lighter winds and our run to Deltaville was delightful, if a bit chilly. We anchored in the same area we had passed through 4 months earlier. Gerry worked on a few boat chores and Linda stowed items she hadn’t found a place for yet and baked bread (using her new bread machine). A very relaxing Saturday afternoon.

Our anchorage in Deltaville

Only a handful of boats in the anchorage, including a
couple of Krogens rafted up across from us

Linda's results at breadmaking.  It was yummy.
In the background are the new curtains she made

Summer at Home on the Chesapeake

After completing the Great Loop, we had plans of cruising the Chesapeake Bay for much of the summer. Unfortunately, things did not turn out that way. One, Gerry worked much of the summer at his “consulting” job – building up the cruising kitty (this was a good thing) – and two, it was an incredibly hot and humid summer in Maryland and cruising and anchoring out was very miserable. We did manage to attend a few Marine Trawler Owners Association (MTOA) rendezvous which were great fun; a rendezvous of the Chesapeake Mainship Group, where we gave a presentation on our Great Loop trip; and we attended the MTOA Northern Rendezvous in Baltimore.

Here is Gerry and our grandson, Cameron.
We're on our way to the Mainship Rendezvous on the
Sassafrass River where we gave a presentation on our Great Loop trip

Cameron is quite the fisherman (definitely doesn't take after his Grandpa). 
Here he is with a big fish and a small fish that he caught

Our first 2 months back at home were spent on the boat as our home was still rented out. We kept the boat at a marina only a few miles from our house, but it was more of a working boat yard and had little to offer transients or liveaboards. Finally, in mid-August we were able to return to our home. We decided to keep our household goods in storage and got by with what furniture we had left in the house for the renters. All in all, it worked out well. In September we moved the boat to the Anchorage Marina in Baltimore where the MTOA Rendezvous was held. We stayed most of the month on the boat as there was a lot to see, do, and eat/drink in that section of Baltimore.

Our cruising buddies, Michael and Jana on Second Star, came from
Colorado for the MTOA Rendezvous.  It was great to see them again.

After the Northern Rendezvous (also referred to as the Baltimore Bash)
we went on the Cruise to Nowhere.  Here are some of the
boats anchored in Middle River.

Here's the beach party we all enjoyed while anchored in Fairlee Creek

More shots of the beach party

Fairlee Creek anchorage at dusk

During the summer we replaced or added a few items to Monk’s Vineyard. Upon our return from the Loop, the boat was hauled and she got new bottom paint and her hull waxed. We then replaced all the batteries and the salon air conditioning unit. The air conditioning unit failed right at the height of the heat. Fortunately, the unit in the aft cabin still worked so sleeping was somewhat comfortable. New additions to the boat over the summer included a DirecTV and Follow Me system, solar panels, a new motor for the dinghy, inflatable kayaks, an Engel portable fridge/freezer and Linda made new curtains for the windows. (Now you know why Gerry had to spend the summer working!!). It should be noted that no new fishing tackle was purchased.

New solar panels

New DirecTV and inflatible kayaks

New bigger (15hp) motor for the dinghy

Portable fridge/freezer (so we'll have plenty of food for the Bahamas)

Our plan was to head south right after the Annapolis boat shows. By then, the leaves were turning, days were cool and nights were getting right down cold. We were searching for long pants and jackets. We finally had most items crossed off our “to do” list, the boat was fully provisioned (with too much food again) and the house was all closed up. It was time – the adventure continues …

Trees in the neighborhood -- beautiful, but we're outta here!!