Makin' tracks - North Carolina

After the big blow, we finally entered the ICW at Mile Zero in Norfolk. The rite of passage is to negotiate bridge openings and shallow spots. I think we might have lucked out with the bridges, because after all the windy weather there weren't a lot of boats out on Saturday. As for shallow, it appeared we'd come at a record low. The winds had blown a lot of water out, and the droughts are not helping. We saw boats aground at docks where I imagine they thought they'd be safe.

We made it to Pungo Ferry, VA and met up with our friend Steve, who happened to be in town to celebrate his cousin's promotion to Captain (USN). We learned quickly it can be a challenge to find a place to anchor in the ICW and for a while we were thinking we might not find a place to put the boat when we met up with Steve. The low water didn't help. The guide suggested Blackwater Creek, but we didn't want to venture inside. So we anchored at the mouth and were fine.

On Sunday we fueled at Coinjock, NC, and added 80 miles to our ICW count, anchoring at the end of the Alligator river in wonderful Tuckahoe Point. The cold front was upon us so we ran the generator to stay warm. The night sky was spectacular, with civilization far enough away to make the milky way easy to see.

Eager to get further south, we put in another long day on Monday, starting with the cut to Belhaven. It was quite a parade of boats, with lots of passing. We learned the difference between a good and bad pass. A bad pass sloshes you all about, and a good pass disturbs the boat very little. A lot of the power boats going south seem to be deliveries by professional captains, and many of them know how to do a good pass. The actually come quite close to you, but then throttle down suddenly and creep by. It can be done well if you know how. But it isn't always good, and tempers flare. We know, because we hear it on the radio. So much for the tranquility of escaping the I95.

Tuesday was a short day to Swansboro, NC, where we stopped to meet Lora's old Burke neighbor Joyce. Since we were meeting her and expecting even more cold weather, we decided to park at a Marina. We called ahead and got the last slip at Casper's. They were great.... friendly and helpful, and reasonably priced to boot. Swansboro is a charming little town; historic, clean, and with a few gems like Yana's, a 50's style restaurant brimming with Elvis, Marilyn, and James Dean memoribilia. The breakfast was great. We had very good food there at the Riverside and the Italian Trattoria as well.

Joyce had a car and toured us around the area, so we got to see the Crystal Coast and backtrack a bit to Beaufort, which we had bypassed on the way down. When we got back we saw a crew detailing the marina's truck, so we asked them about giving Synchronicity a clean and wax. They were available to do it the next day, so we extended our stay in Swansboro another day. It was a nice break after a couple of long days.

Each evening it has become routine to plan the next day's cruise. We get out the charts, guide books, and hopefully can get internet or TV for the weather. I was not looking forward to more bridges on the next stretch, so I started pondering going outside (into the Atlantic). The weather looked good, so the question was getting out of the Bogue Inlet. Inlets can be tricky due to shoaling and currents. The marina folks suggested I talk to the Tow Boat US guy, and they gave me his telephone no. What a great idea! With his notes, and an Army Corps of Engineers map of an Oct 07 surve of the inlet I pulled off the internet, I felt pretty confident. So Thursday morning out we went. It was cold, but the weather was perfect for sailing.... 15 knots broad reach. We did about 7.5-8.5 knots for several hours, before the wind calmed down in the last couple of hours. The sun warmed us up a bit, and the guys at Sirius radio must have known they needed to play Debussy's La Mer for our day at sea.

But the highlight of all was another cruisers rite of passage..... having dolphins come and check us out. I'll never tire of that.