Well, the old saying goes......

So one of the day to day events in the ICW is bridges. Some days we go through one and some days we go through 6. They vary in restrictions (rush hour closings, scheduled openings) and styles. Today we went through an unusual kind of bridge...a pontoon bridge. Sitting on pontoons in the water the bridge section is driven to the side at a scheduled time= on the hour every hour. We try to time the bridges so that we get there just in time, if we don't we have to jockey around in front of the bridge and wait. This can be challenging when you have current, wind and other boats. Charles has proven himself up to the task and manoeuvred many a bridge. The protocol when approaching a "open on demand" bridge you would call them on the VHF radio, it goes like this:" Sunset beach bridge, sunset beach bridge, sunset beach bridge, this is the south bound sailing vessel Alice, over" reply: " Sunset beach bridge" us again: "we would like to request and opening at your earliest convenience. over" reply: "roger that, Captain, standing by on 1-3" us: "S/V Alice standing by on 1-3". Then we proceed through and thank the bridge tender. So if we don't come to a pontoon bridge here are some of the other types of bridges out there: swing bridge, lift bridges, bascule bridge, singe or double and of course the ever more popular fixed bridge (clearance 65 ft). Today we just did the pontoon bridge but tomorrow we have two bridges as we make our way towards Georgetown, SC.

Okay, so the saying goes, if your in the intracoastal, your either aground, have been aground or about to go aground. Today we decided to run just over the South Carolina border to a little river called Calabash Creek. The creek is across from an inlet and the ICW is famous for shoaling at the inlets. We attempted to go in the creek and promptly ran aground. Just one day earlier Charles had decided that we needed to have a BoatUS membership because there is a lot of shoaling and because South Carolina and Georgia lost their funding for dredging the ICW. Low and behold we were aground in the ICW and promptly called BoatUS, who happened to be right there and thanks to a nice young guy named Brian we were of the shoal and he even guided us in to the creek to anchor. We thanked him profusely and threw in a jar of homemade jam ( I knew I brought that for a reason!) and all parties left happy.

Southport and Bones

We crossed the Cape Fear River and arrived in Southport around 2:00 PM, we'd heard that there were a few free docks to be had from an off season restaurant.

Following just behind us was another Maine boat "Clio" a handsome Tahiti Ketch out of Kittery. Felix the owner an ex Navy fellow and his wife are heading to the keys to live aboard and teach in the Public School system. We both docked our boats and were met by a fellow named " Bones"

He met us beer in hand, deep tan and a rumbly voice. He helped us out with our lines and where to find the local Napa, shopping, etc.

Dakota meanwhile suprised us by jumping on the spinnaker halyard and climbing it all the way to the spreaders where he had a seat. Smile on face, proud of himself.

We all went into town, Laurel went to the library with the kids, I went to find the local NAPA to find a part. We met a bit later the kids and I went back to the docks and Laurel went in search of some basics, (eggs, cheese, etc)

Back at the docks I ran into Bones again and asked him if he knew where I could buy some seafood. He said the local market was closed. Then he turned and yelled to another fisherman. "Hey, Bill you still got some of them trigger fish?" Well it turned out Bill did and he sold us three for ten dollars.

Bones asked me if I'd ever cleaned trigger fish before, I told him I hadn't. Apparently there was a different technnique for them. Bones cleaned them for us aboard Mr. P the fishing boat he works on and we all got to admire just how good he was at it. I of course had a beer for him and he threw in a bucket full of ice which we needed badly.

There's al sorts of characters out there, Bones certainly was a helpful one.

C.

Swansboro/ The dunes

Alice at sunset

See how big the dunes are?

sand dunes

We stopped yesterday at a little river and tucked in next to a huge sand dune. The kids were thrilled and tried to dig to China! We also saw our first fiddler crab and walked all around the dunes. At night as all settled down we could hear the surf in the inlet nearby and the crackle of shrimp in the water eating growth off our hull. This morning we left in fog and were able to reach Cape Fear, NC. Just wait till you see Bones!

Hi, class! From Dakota!!

Beaufort

Adam's Creek

We left for Beaufort in the morning and were met with fog, and a lot of sea smoke. Pea soup at times. Reminded me of when in fog with George Waterman he'd say "Where the fog are we?".

The weather did clear though, the sun came out and we really looked forward to our time in Beaufort.

Once in Beaufort we got a lot of chores done. Charles
changed the oil and fuel filters and I did laundry

and grocery shopped. We also spent time at the library and went to the maritime museum, which had an exhibit on pirates, honoring the local legend of Blackbeard.

We also went to the little Island across from town called Carrot island. It had little sandy beaches and there you can see wild horses and Great Egrets..The kids also made a collection of jellyfish! I great place for a walk too. Charles took

the kids fishing one afternoon and low and behold

we have some delicious spotted sea trout for

dinner! After a couple of day we were ready to

more on, the air had a bite to it that made us think of points south

Carrot Island

Happy fishermen

All of these are of Carrot Island, except, of course, the fish, which are spotted seatrout

Abermarle

We are currently just South of Surf City in North Carolina, but are still trying to catch up with previous entries in the blog. I may expedite some of it by posting photos with captions and making comments along the way.

We left Elizabeth City and crossed Abemarle sound into the Alligator River on Nov 7th. Great sail, kids played in the rigging and got some great sun towards the end of the day.

Alistair always creative with the space down below has found a yet a new nook in the boat to read his Richard Scary books.

We finished our day in the Pungo River. Tommorow Adams Creek

We woke early as usual with 15 to 20 knots of wind from the Southwest, there were at least 20 other boats all headed to somewhere in the N. Carolina coast, although a good many made their way somewhere on the Neuse River, many to Oriental. We headed for Adams Creek which connects you to Beaufort where we planned to take a few days off from moving, pick up mail, catch up with ourselves and do a little boatwork (change oil, etc.) See photos below:

Laurel at the helm on our way out of the Pungo River, cold but a beautiful morning

.

Dakota cold but braving it!

The Dismal Swamp

Election day, we're in a swamp. We home schooled early in order to make the 8:30 bridge opening and make our way down the Dismal Swamp. The weather was cold and raw, lots of wind and, at times lots of rain. We reached the end of the swamp and contemplated how much further to go. The weather was deteriorating for a couple of days, so we decided to put in right before the end lock at a free wall in South Mills, NC. It was here that Charles rigged up the bozun's chair.....we had watched a movie about a family that used a bozun's chair as a swing and swung around outside the boat! The kids couldn't wait! The pics say it all.



The next day we stayed put due to 40 mile hour winds and torrential (at times) rain. We walked and played games. At the end of the day we treated ourselves to pizza at local gas station/pizza joint. Anxious to be on our way, we tucked in early.
Now the Swamp, although doen't sound appealing, is actually extremely beautiful. There is no other place quite like it. The water is the color of coffee due to the tannin in the leaves in the area that fall into the canal and decompose. The trees over hang the water and stumps stick out close to shore. The place feels old and wild. Herons glide just above the water down the canal and eagles fish from the cyprus trees. The air is spicy and damp. Its a mysterious and quiet experience.

On November 6th, we awoke to calmer winds and an eagerness to shove off, as did many other dock mates. We all got ready for the 1st 9AM locking and went through, this time going down inthe lock 8 ft. This put us in the Pasquotank River which winds it way into Abermarle sound. Half way down lies Elizabeth City, a cute town that embraces the cruising commnity like no other. It was there that we tied up around 12:30.

Norfolk

Laurel writes:

We awoke to a grey but mild morning and planed a day in town. After breakfast we packed our shore bag and rowed across the channel to a free dinghy dock behind the retired destroyer Wisconsin. The kids and adult alike were amazed at the size of the Wisconsin. This WW2 ship was retired after an unfortunate crash with another right in Hampton Roads (Norfolk Harbor). It did however get restored before retirement with the bow of the warship Kentucky, hence the nickname "Whisky". The ship is now a museum free to the public. Unfortunately it is closed on Sundays and Monday and we were not able to go aboard for a tour. We plan to time it for the trip back home!

The city of Norfolk is big and bustling! We navigated the streets to find the downtown library only to discover that it is scheduled to be knocked down and most of the library has been moved to another location! We did our home schooling, but Charles had to look for another place for internet access. Across the street is a large mall and there he took advantage of the many computer stores that have WiFi until he was ousted by security!

Back on the boat after lunch, we were ready to move on the the Dismal Swamp. The Dismal Swamp connects Norfolk, VA to The Abermarle Sound, NC, it was dug by slaves and oxen and also served as a getaway route for slaves escaping to the north. Since the slaves had dug the canal they were familiar with the swamp and hid in it to avoid capture. The canal at a higher level than the ocean so it requires going through a lock to enter. This is how it goes: at a scheduled time the gates open and you take your boat in and tie up to the side with a loop leaving one end of the rope free. Then the lock tender closes the gates and in this case starts the water coming in, as you go up you pull in on the rope so that the boat stays in control. When done the tender opens the other gate and your off. The kids were amazed by this process!

Once in the swamp we tied up to a dock immediately after the lock called Elizabeth's Dock, built in honor of a man' s wife, free to transients. Near by there was a grocery store and a playground! Charles took the kids to play while I picked up a few groceries. Happy to be in the intracoastal waterway we went to bed!

note: The ICW starts at Hospital Point, Norfolk, VA, mile 0 and there are mile markers every 5 miles.

Chesapeake to Norfolk

We woke early the next morning and left in the dark, we had a long day ahead of us and were intent on making Norfolk. A little chilly but a beautiful morning, the kids joined us and saw their first sunrise!

We motor sailed until the wind came up, strong northerlies. We were then able to broad reach doing 6.8 to 7.5 knots. For you motorboaters this is practically screaming for our 32 foot sailboat. We made videos, the kids had fun below and up top, despite the slightly bumpy ride. We found out that Alistair has an iron constitution, when it gets bumpy most everyone stays up top in the fresh air as being below when the boat is tossing about can make one feel a bit queasy. Alistair however played below all day as if nothing.

We reached Norfolk in the late afternoon and anchored in Hospital Point, just across from downtown Norfolk. Norfolk is a Navy town and as you come in, you are flanked with Navy destroyers, aircraft carriers, sometimes submarines, etc. The kids took it all in and for days and still now there are drawings of war ships, cutouts, submarines, torpedos and more.

We shared our anchorage with about aprox. 15 other cruising boats. Most cruisers try not to go below Norfolk until late October early November because of Hurricane season. More than half of the cruisers were Canadian, they trek down from Canada usually through the lock system and into the Hudson.

Everyone was tired so we had an early night, our plan to go into Norfolk the next day.