A lot of local people come by boat.
It was a fun day for everyone and I had a great time.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Pirate for a day
I got up this morning and it was very hot with no wind and I decided I could not sail so I went to Beaufort North Carolina to participate in the pirate invasion. It is a family fun day with pirate reenactors where you can participate.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Friday
We all got up early this morning and Jeff and Rich took off in the rental car at 6:15 to head back home in Boston. Sue and I headed back to Oriental and coffee at the Bean where we met our good friends. During the day Jeff sent several text to inform me of their position on the drive home. I received the final text at about quarter of 12 that Jeff had arrived home safely after dropping Rich home safely. It is said that if you arrive home with the same number of people you left with and they are still friends you had a great sail. This was a great adventure and a great sail. I would like to thank my friends Rich and Jeff for all there help in making this a safe passage. While thanking people I have to thank my wife Sue for all of her support and encouragement.
Day Twelve - Thursday, August 8
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Day Eleven - Wednesday, August 7 -Arrival
We got up around 7:30 AM and went to "The Bean" in Oriental for coffee and breakfast. They have some very tasty blueberry muffins. We hung out at "The Bean" for a little while. Mass joined us for breakfast and reported his house batteries were still charged, but his starting battery was dead. It will not hold a charge. However, he was able to start his engine with his house batteries and the engine is running. We finished our breakfast and headed to the boats. Rich went with Mass for the trip to New Bern. We helped Mass maneuver around the other boat on the dock and the Ed and I untied Cachalot and followed Mass out of the harbor.
We arrived at Ed's dock at about 1:30 PM and Sue was waving us into the dock. Ed maneuvered Cachalot between the pilings and gently brought her starboard side against Cachalot's new home.
We motored all the way to New Bern because of the lack of wind. We did see a schooner out for a cruise with their sails up, but they were running their engine to keep the sails full.
Ed had the dream of sailing Cachalot home, but in August, there is very little wind in North Carolina.
We turned into Northwest Creek and then made the right into the Fairfield Harbor channel. The channel is lined with homes with their boats tied up right outside their doors.
Ed and the crew walked up from the channel and into Ed and Sue's house where Ed, Rich and Jeff crashed for an afternoon nap.
A next door neighbor, Illes, stopped by to congratulate Ed and crew on our arrival and she brought a bottle of champagne as a gift.
That evening Mass and his wife, Nancy, came for a celebratory dinner. Ed cooked steaks on the grill and we toasted with the champagne that Illes had brought earlier.
It was a nice ending to our journey to bring Cachalot to her new sailing waters.
Lat/Lon = N 35 4.3 W 076 57.8
Home
We made it!!! Cachalot and crew arrived at our new home around 1300. Sue greeted us at the dock and a celebration dinner is planned for tonight. 
Cachalot and Ishmael at rest on the dock in Fairfield Harbour NC
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Day Ten - Tuesday, August 6
This was a short day. Broad Creek to Oriental is only 11.6 nautical miles. No wind and bright sun made for a hot day.
Ed called his friend Mass who had sailed from New Bern to Oriental to meet us. Mass had tied up at the town dock and was holding a spot for us along the dock.
We motored out of the River Dunes Marina Channel at 10:30 AM and out into the Nuese River. The river is very wide in this area and almost looks like an open sound. We arrived at the town dock in Oriental, NC, at 1:30 PM, and Mass helped us tie up.
Mass' batteries on his boat were dead and he was concerned that he might not be able to start his engine in the morning. He had contacted TowBoat/US for a jump start in the morning if needed.
After getting settled we went across the street to "The Bean". This a popular coffee house in Oriental. We had some snacks and coffee for lunch.
When we came out of The Bean and returned to the dock a sailboat was approaching to tie up. It was a Catalina 30 with 2 families aboard. The owner had just bought the boat and was taking his wife and 2 kids and his brother and his wife and kids for a sail. They were stopping for lunch in Oriental. His name was Paul and he was an EMT and worked at the Tri-Country fire department. He was an ex-marine and had been stationed at Camp Lajuene, NC. He was born and raised in Allentown, PA. He wanted to get a job in Pennsylvania, but the competition was to difficult. So, when he got a job offer from her he took it because he was familiar with the area. I told him that I had a Catalina 30 and he asked me to help him understand how his head (toilet) worked because he had heard that his boat could sink if the head was not set the right way. I told him about how to open and close the seacocks for the head and also some precautions about the sink in the galley. I also reset his main sheet which had been run through the wrong blocks. Paul thanked us and wished us a safe journey to New Bern. They went across the street to get their kids some ice cream at "The Bean" and then motored away from the dock to head home.
After they left another boat pulled in to the town dock. We helped them dock and tie up their boat. They had come from Elizabeth City and had followed the same route we had come. They had problems with their fuel pump and needed a new one. When we leave in the morning we will move them further onto the dock so they can fix their boat.
They had a Honda generator on board and volunteered to connect it to Mass' boat to power his battery charger.
We went out to dinner at "M & M's", a nice restaurant in Oriental, while the generator charged Mass' batteries.
We will get an early start for New Bern tomorrow so that we can arrive by early afternoon.
Lat/Lon = N W
Monday, August 5, 2013
Day Nine - Monday, August 5
We all slept late this morning. We got up around 7:30 AM and walked to the Gingerbread Sweet Shop and Cafe in beautiful downtown Belhaven. It was like walking into the 1950's. Even the front door opened inward. The decor was typical diner of that era and we sat at the counter on stools. The waitress took our orders and we enjoyed a full breakfast and several cups of coffee.
The cafe was decorated with Coke and soda fountain memorabilia that brought back a lot of memories.
We walked back toward the boat and stopped at a restaurant that was under construction. The place was gorgeous! Exotic woods and nautical models and an elaborate slate fireplace. We talked with the foreman who told us all about the project. he has been working on it for a year and a half . Later he introduced us to the owner who is hoping to open before the snowbirds head for Florida. Ed is going to drive to Belhaven for the grand opening.
Brice from the anchored sailboat stopped by to wish us a safe journey and we wished him a safe trip to Savannah, GA.
We untied the lines and headed out of the harbor.
As we cleared the breakwater we pulled out the jib and put up the main. We sailed for almost an hour and a half in a stiff breeze at about 4 knots. Then, the wind died and we had to motor again.
We entered the Goose Creek Canal and headed for the docks at R.E. Mayo Shrimp Company about 3/4 of the way down the canal where we planned to stop.
As we arrived at R.E. Mayo there were nine dolphins swimming in the canal. The dolphins probably know that the fish pier throws their scraps in the canal.
We tied up to the dock and asked for the men's room. The woman inside pointed to the door and said we would find them out front.
This was the men's room and ...
This, the ladies room...
We decided not to stay at R.E. Mayo for the night.
We headed down the canal and out into Pamlico Sound. After several miles we turned at a buoy into the Neuse River on our way to Broad Creek and the River Dunes Marina. New Bern is right on the Nuese River only 35 away.
Rich got very excited when the dock-master at River Dunes said on the radio that the docks were floating docks with cleats instead of pilings. We have not seen any docks with cleats since we left Annapolis. The marinas down here use pilings for tie up only with little platforms to get off and on.
River Dunes is a palatial and elegant marina with some very large and impressive yachts on the docks. The boat next to Cachalot is a 63' two masted schooner named "Sheba Moon". she is magnificent.
The homes along the channel are large and luxurious. When we checked in they gave pass cards to the pool and exercise center with showers. They have free WiFi and in the morning they will loan us a van to drive into town for breakfast. All this for $1.50 per foot per night. We paid $37.50 for a nice stay at a really nice marina instead of a free night at R.E. Mayo on the canal.
Lat/Lon = N 35 05.0 W 076 36.0
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Day Eight - Sunday, August 4
Another uneventful day, but we made a lot of progress toward New Bern. We left the Alligator River Marina at 7 AM and traveled over 53 miles to the Belhaven City Dock.
Traveling the Alligator River Canal was a different experience than the Dismal Swamp. The Alligator River Canal is wider and has low banks with decayed cyprus tree stumps along the shore and cyprus swamps beyond.
We actually saw more boats on this leg of the journey than we have seen on other legs of our trip. We passed eight boats traveling the Canal in the opposite direction.
We saw a bald eagle sitting in a cyprus tee on the canal's edge surveying the traffic and waiting to swoop down on an unsuspecting fish.
During our trip through the canal we hit a submerged cyprus stump which scared the daylights out of us. There two hard thumps to the hull. The first one bounced the boat up and the second hit the keel and caused the boat to swing off course. We were told that it is not unusual for the stumps on the bottom to get disturbed by larger boats and float off the bottom of the canal hitting the hulls and keels of other boats.
We arrived at the city dock in Belhaven at 4:05 PM after running aground on a sand bar in the inner harbor. Jeff was driving, so Rich and Ed went to the bow and we were able to shake the boat loose from the bottom.
We drove over to the Belhaven Marina to ask where the town dock was and a man on the dock pointed us to the dock. A woman on the dock knew where we were going and started waving to ust. When we arrived st the dock the woman took our lines and helped tie up. She was down at the dock walking her dog. We all patted the cute little dog and thanked her for her help.
After we tied up at the dock a fishing boat pulled in behind us with four men on it. They had been out all day fishing for tarpon. We asked them where the closest gas station was and they said several miles away. One of the men named Freeman said he would drive Ed to get gas. These are really nice people here in North Carolina.
Rich and Jeff took a walk around town to see what was open and found only one convenience store open Most of the stores here are closed on Sundays.
A young couple with their daughter drove over to the dock in a golf cart to ask if we needed a ride to the grocery store to buy provisions. They were also cruisers and have been living and cruising on their Hunter 34 for the past 2 years. Their daughter, Olivia, was cute and precocious. They were from Wilmington, NC, and moved onto their boat and have enjoyed every minute of their cruising adventure. They were staying here in Belhaven to make repairs to their boat after taking a knock down in a tornado on the Potomac River near Washington, DC. It was a terrible storm.
They are now shopping for a bigger cruising boat to live aboard. They'd like to find a Tayana 37 because it is a solid blue water cruising boat. They said that they would try cruising for one year and if they still liked each other after the year they would keep cruising. They have just finished their second year.
After they left another golf cart came up to the boat with Ron and his wife, Heiki, who live in Belhaven. Ron was raised in Belhaven and spent 20 years in the Army, 3rd Artillery Division, and returned because he loved the town.
After Ron and Heiki left a pick up truck pulled up with a fellow named Tommy Foster who chatted a while and wished us a save journey.
Earlier, when we came into the harbor we saw a boat anchored out in the shallow bay away from the docks. After a while we saw the skipper coming into the dock in his inflatable with what we thought was a wheel chair. Rich went over to the floating dock to talk with him and help him tie up. Rich found out his name was Brice and he was on a Tartan 37 from Los Angeles. He is sailing to Savannah, GA. The "wheel chair" was really a collapsable bicycle that he unfolded and tied a straw basket on the back. Brice has been here several times and knows the town He took off on his bike to the farmer's market to buy provisions.
Ed opened a couple of cans of beef stew and sliced the fresh baked bread he had bought at the farmer's market in Elizabeth City. We enjoyed a hearty dinner at the dock.
Lat/Lon = N 35 32.2 W 076 37.3
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Day Seven - Saturday, August 3
Today was a fairly uneventful day. We got up around 7:30 AM and Ed took the gas tank to the gas station to fill it. Rich asked a young man on the docks where he could find a coffee shop and the young man volunteered to walk with him to the shop about three blocks away. We are finding that people are like that here. When they returned with coffee and pastries for breakfast we sat and chatted with the young man, Alan. He was a Marine who had injured his back in Afghanistan and here for treatment. He had just received his clearance to go back on active duty and would going to California next week for reassignment. He seemed like a nice young man. He had helped us dock last night and spends a lot of time at the waterfront.
Ed went over to a farmer's market to buy some provisions and came back with some fresh peaches, melons and a bag of home grown pecans.
We bid Alan farewell. Waved good bye to Ray and his wife and wished them a safe journey back Australia and headed out to sea.
As we motored down the channel toward Albermarle Sound we were able to pull out the jib to stabilize the boat, but (again) there was not enough wind to sail, so we continued to motor. As we turned the corner further down the channel we saw thunder clouds approaching from the Southwest. We decided not put up the main due to the pending storms and continued to motor towards the Alligator River across the Sound. We could see lightning and heard thunder ahead, but did not get any closer than about a mile from the lightning. After the storm passed there was moderate rain for about an hour which flattened the seas and made the motoring very smooth. We motored through the narrows at the entrance to the Alligator River and then pulled into the Alligator River Marina at about 3:30 PM. The Marina is just before a swing bridge that we will have to pass through tomorrow.
We decided to take rest of the day off from traveling and take showers and do some laundry. We have been pushing fairly hard to make time in the small boat. This afternoon will give us some rest time.
After dinner we went over to the club house to enjoy the air conditioning. Rich laid down on the couch towatch TV and Ed and Jeff played cribbage. Jeff won 2 out of 3.
Tomorrow will be a long day going through the Alligator River Canal to the city of Belhaven, NC, which will be about a 53 mile journey.
No pictures today.
Lat/Lon = N 35 54.3 W 076 1.5
Friday, August 2, 2013
Day Six - Friday, August 2
The day started with us getting up and walking over to the lock operators office for coffee. Robert Peek brewed a great pot of coffee and also gave us some breakfast bars to eat. We had some more interesting conversation with Robert about the history of the Great Dismal.
He serenaded us with a conch shell blowing tune which he is well known for. He collects conch shells from those traveling through the locks.
We then started the engine and slipped our lines to begin our trek through the Great Dismal Swamp Canal.
Motoring through the canal was an unbelievable experience. The canal is as straight as an arrow and the water is maintained at a constant depth. So, it is very smooth to navigate. We were able to motor at about 6 knots and make good time.
Due to the overhanging trees which arch over the canal we needed to keep a constant watch at the mast to avoid hitting the tree limbs.
About an hour into our trip we saw a Great Blue Heron standing majestically at the side of the canal. Shortly after that we crossed the border between Virginia and North Carolina.
We kept a look out for the one other boat that was on the canal heading our way. At about 12:20 PM a trawler by the name "Lady Bug" passed us heading North. We waved to all on board and wished them a safe trip and they wished the same to us.
We arrived at the Great Dismal Swamp Welcome Center at 1:30 PM and spent some time in the air conditioned lounge while Rich used his computer on their free WiFi. He is working on a proposal for his business as we sail.
We left the Welcome Center leaving enough time to get to the South Mill Lock at the southern end of the canal for the 3:30 PM opening. We found that descending in a lock is much simpler and easier then rising in a lock. The gates opened and off we went on our trip to Elizabeth City, NC, about 18 miles away.
We arrived at Elizabeth City around 7:15 PM and pulled into a slip on the town pier that provides up to 48 hours of free docking.
The boat next to us was named "Faith" and we greeted the woman sitting in the cockpit. It was a Gulfstar 48 and she told us she and her husband were on their way back to Tasmania, Australia, by way of Brazil.
Shortly after, her husband, Ray, came over to us and told us about his boat and past journeys on the boat and the trip they were taking from Annapolis, MD, to Florida, the Caribbean, Northern Brazil , then through the Magellan Straits to the Southern Ocean, and through the South Pacific back to Australia. His wife is an ordained minister and many of her congregation are in Brazil and South America.
He told us that they had sailed from Annapolis the Cape Charles and then came to Elizabeth City "going around the outside." Meaning that they didn't come through the canals. We told him that we had planned to go to Cape Charles, but decided to save a day by not going there. We said that we were one day ahead of schedule. Ray said that they were 3 months behind schedule. Time did not seem to bother him. He didn't wear a watch.
As we were standing near the front of Cachalot chatting a couple came up to us and started talking about sailing and asked about Cachalot. He is a retired fire fighter and has always wanted a sailboat like Ed's. We chatted about the positives and negatives of boat ownership. I think we convinced them to start shopping for a boat.
We walked into town to listen to a concert that was going on at the town common. It was a USO Tribute to the men and women of the Coast Guard. Elizabeth City has the largest Coast Guard station in the US.
After walking around the concert we went to a restaurant and had a nice dinner. Rich and I were able to have a glass of scotch to enjoy before dinner and toast Ed with his iced tea on today's journey.
We are sitting aboard Cachalot tied to pilings at the town dock enjoying the evening breeze. This has been a very full and event filled day.
Tomorrow we leave for Albemarle Sound and the entrance to the Alligator River Canal.
Lat/Lon = N 37 17.9 W 076 13.0
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Day Five Pictures
Rich holding the stern tight in the lock.
Water rushing into the lock as we rise.
Cachalot tied up on the Dismal Swamp Canal.
Day Five - Thursday, August 1
Left Belle Isle Marina about 7:30 AM in order to make the opening of the draw bridge over the Elizabeth River at 2:30 PM. Arrived at Hampton Roads at 11 AM after another hard motoring with the wind on our nose and very rough seas
We motored into Norfolk, VA, harbor and past mile after mile of Navy vessels being repaired or refitted. It was impressive to see all the aircraft carriers and other ships and support vessels docked there.
We continued to motor down the Elizabeth River toward the Dismal Swamp Canal.
We called the Gilmerton Bridge on our VHF radio and the operator told us he would be opening it in six minutes. As we turned the bend toward the bridge we were facing a large tanker being pushed by a tugboat and we stayed away from him as best we could.
When we arrived at the bridge we called the operator and told him we needed the bridge to be raised to at least 42 feet to clear the top of the mast. The operator opened the bridge to 70 feet and gave us the "go" sign and off we went toward the next bridge.
We arrived at the Route 64 bridge (which had a clearance of 65') and turned a sharp right into Deep Creek toward the Dismal Swamp locks. We called the lock operator to see if we could make the 3:30 lock opening. He said he would wait for us.
We arrived at the lock early and had to tie up to some pilings to wait for the lock gates to open. We motored into the lock and tied up to the starboard side.
The lock operator coached us through the routine of keeping the boat under control while the water was raising us 12 feet to the height of the canal.
The operator told to wait for at least ten minutes after the other lock gates opened to allow the duckweed to pass by the boat in the lock. There is chance that the duckweed can get sucked into the cooling system of the engine and cause it to over heat.
While we were waiting for the duckweed to float past, the lock operator, Robert Peek, gave us a great presentation on the history of the canal and answered our questions. The canal was originally on property owned by George Washington and he had the idea of the canal. It was dug by hand and was a commercial venture and was not taken over by the government until 1929. Alexander Hamilton was the first president of the Dismal Swamp Canal Corporation. It is now a part of the Great Dismal Swamp National Historic Registry and run by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Robert has been the lock operator at the Deep Creek Lock for 17 years and he is the junior man on the canal.
Ed told Robert that he was moving to New Bern, NC, from Boston and Robert asked him, "What is the difference between a 'Yankee' and a 'Damn Yankee'?" Then he said, " 'Yankees' go home!"
We decided not to try to get through the canal until tomorrow and tied up at the docks just inside the locks where we will spend the night. The docks were built by a previous dock operator as a memorial to his wife. They are called the Elizabeth docks.
Lat/Lon = N 36 44.7 W 076 20.4
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