| St Michaels MD to Myrtle Beach SC |
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| Oct 8th we left St Michaels, working our way south, down and across the Chesapeake Bay to Galesville (nothing there) and into Solomons after a hot day of motoring. Our windlass was acting up but we anchored successfully near our friend Charlie on My Time Too. Lots of boats coming in as the evening descended. The temperature was uncomfortable but rain came in to cool things off. We left here early Oct 10th, moving to quiet Mill Creek off the Wicomico river, one of our favorite spots. We encountered monarch butterflies, chevrons of Canada Geese and saw our first pelican...we are moving south! Otis found a beach to swim and had a great time, he's feeling better. The next morning was extremely windy which proceeded to drag our anchor and send us closer to shore, so we raised it up quickly and moved on to visit Katherine and Lael on Painted Skies, in Horn Harbor. They graciously came out to guide us into the very narrow, shallow entrance and we joined them at their dock in this beautiful, secluded hurricane hole. They have built a lovely garage and apartment in anticipation of non sailing days in the future. Otis loved the Squirrel Cage and its surrounding woods and water. We caught up over wine on the dock, a dinghy ride around the small harbor, leg of lamb in our cozy cabin and made plans for a road trip tomorrow. |
| We headed to Gloucester in their Westphalia Camper, getting a wonderful guided tour of the area and stopping at points of interest. We are looking for a place on land that feels right in climate, amenities and community in the next few years so always appreciate a locals insight. We could become neighbors, who knows! We joined fellow boaters for another Happy Hour in Reedville at the wonderful Fisherman's Museum. This is a gracious and historic area with beautiful landscapes of summer changing into fall. The next morning they headed off to a music festival in Richmond and we waited for the tide to rise enough to make our exit. The day was beautiful and we sailed to Deltaville by 5pm, being welcomed by Pat and Dick Peebles of Hannaniah. Early the next morning many of us left for Norfolk as the weather has become cooler and the winds have built. All along the next 2 days we saw beautiful Schooners returning from the Annapolis Norfolk Schooner race. They had wonderful winds and must have flown down the bay. We arrived late, took on fuel and had a pumpout at Ocean Marine then anchored off Hospital Point in Norfolk as the sun set. Our friends, Trevor and Jean from Onward greeted us...haven't seen them since New Bern in the spring! Tomorrow it will be the frenzied dash through bridges and locks along the Virginia Cut, sadly leaving the beautiful waters and communities of the Chesapeake Bay. We have felt a great comfort and kinship in the area and there is still much to explore. |
| Norfolk is up early October 15th and we are mid fleet as we head along Elizabeth River with a mix of fishing, power and sail boats, jumbled in with a few Naval vessels. There were 22 boats in Great Lock, which took a little maneuvering and patience as we rafted up on both sides. The day was clear and warm, opening out to familiar marshes and we pulled into Coinjock at dusk. We have arrived in North Carolina! We jostled once more for dock space, greeted those who have been ambling along together and enjoyed the local restaurant for a good dinner and relaxation. The next morning we had extreme fog, watched some trawlers leave and return and waited for the sun to burn the mist away as we baked muffins. |
| We have a long 40 miles to go to Alligator River Marina across the Albermarle sound but the sky was clear, wind was in the sails and the was of view of open, quiet vistas. Until we arrived at Marker R 6 at Long Shoal Point. When we came thru here before there was a jog to the west so we followed that and ...bump,bump...hard aground! Boats that kept straight had no problem and helped shove us further aground, thank you. We tried to power off forward, backward, east.....not. Richard got in the dinghy in very rolly seas to see the direction we need to pull off and then set a kedge anchor. We winched once, and twice and were off just before dusk. WHEW! Safely into Miss Wanda's marina, quick dinner and the Captain had a well deserved low flying bird (aka Famous Grouse). The learning curve continues. |
| The next day was warm but with no wind, a narrow passage down the Alligator-Pungo River Canal on the way to Belhaven. Richard is studying for his HAM radio license so Pen takes the helm all day. Upon arrival, the anchorage was uncluttered but the town seems to be struggling with poor hospitality, lack of commerce and a mixed bag of architecture. Maybe that's why it's uncluttered. Dowrey Creek around the corner seems to get nothing but accolades and we did enjoy it our first year. Next time. Oct 18 we are off the hook very early as we are trying to get all the way home to New Bern. The day became warm, partly sunny with building winds and the quiet salt marsh surrounding opening water. As we came into Pamlico Sound we had all sails up under double reef doing 7kts with 20 kts of wind. Yahoo! We sailed all afternoon, arriving in New Bern at dusk with the welcome of many friends we left here on our journey north. We will settle here once more for a few weeks as the South Bound Cruisers hosts its Rendezvous and we return to Atlanta for doctors and family visits. |
| The Rendezvous was great with informative guest speakers, photo workshops, shared stories and laughs and fun events. Jim and Bentley on Salty Paws even included the dogs! It was a fantastic time with an outstanding turnout. We got to catch up with many of those who run the SSB cruisheimers net, a valuable tool to us all. The town of New Bern was welcoming and we hope they benefited by our presence. Unfortunately the Sheraton Marina is doubling their rates so there has been a mass exodus since November 1. It will be interesting to see the impact this might have on the community. Check out www.newbernaware.org |
| November 8th we left for Oriental to stage for our trip south to Florida. We have provisioned, polished, and repaired, and the temperature has dipped to 46 degrees.... time to go! We love Garland Fulcher Fish Market here and walked there to stock the freezer. We notice the local shrimp munching on the bottom dirt that has gathered on our hull the past few weeks. It is a welcome sound. We are glad to be back on the journey. We left at dawn heading to Swansboro, having hot chocolate and oatmeal underway and thanking Cedric for our enclosure which warms in the sun to T shirt temps. Our friends on Talisman join us at Casper's as well as Windrush, a 1970 Trumpy. |
| Nov 10th we head out very early as we have bridge schedules and shoaled inlets to navigate. We left with rushing fishermen hoping to be the tournament winner. The water has turned from a briny brown to a deep opaque teal and the channel is winding and challenging. The Figure Eight Bridge creates a challenge as it is under repair and on a limited schedule. Although we called ahead, it was closed when we arrived, not opening for 3 hours. The tide was falling and the bottom came up to meet us once more as we waited off to the side with many other boats hovering. As we started to heel over and the bridge planned on opening at 4pm we tried to kedge but it was not a success. As a last effort, we threw a line to Talisman, they put the peddle to the metal and pulled us off. Wish I had a picture of that but I had my eyes closed and my fingers crossed, listening to noises from the hull I had never experienced. The next rush of mariners was to Wrightsville Beach at 5pm as the dark and cold descended. We docked at Seapath, our friends Tony and Marilyn arrived and off we went to dinner and chatter. |
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Travels of the Viking Rose
| We left very early the next day as shallow water continues to be difficult but we traversed with no mishap to Southport and a relaxing afternoon. We are traveling with 4 others and the next day is again early due to tides at Lockwoods Folly and Shallot Inlet above Myrtle Beach. All pass without a problem except for a large barge, and we raft up to Barefoot Landing early in the day. Otis is greeted by his new best friend, Otto and he makes friends with the cat, Tiller, from Heron. Restless, Heron and Talisman are all moving quickly south with us. Richard installed our chimney to our diesel heater in anticipation of a cold front following us. Don't they say it's always warm in the Bahamas................. |
