" When Pigs Fly"

We know it’s been awhile since we’ve posted. The main reason is that I have been suffering from a serious illness for the last several months.  We sought the advice of a specialist in Norfolk when we got there. He helped us search for a cure from Texas to New Jersey, then finally to Kent-Narrows, Maryland.  There we found the antidote.   She’s a 55ft Viking walk-around with a 17ft beam; a three story condo. The deal is still in the making but we’re pretty sure she’ll be ours and I’ll have a reprieve from my chronic case of 2 footites. The “cure” was actually more like 13 feet.

Sign on a porch in Beaufort. 

When we last blogged we were in Morehead City.  Our stay there was relatively uneventful.  We drove up to New Bern, NC a couple of times and went through Cherry Point, where I was based for awhile during my tour in the Marines.  The new housing units sure look fancy.  We found a great little place in Beaufort, NC on the water that served awesome crab cakes and we toured Fort Macon.  Never pass up a chance to explore a fort! 

  

I liked the helicopter in the background

When we left Morehead City we took a few days to travel up to Norfolk. We decided to take the Dismal Swamp Canal route because, why wouldn’t you want to go through a dismal swamp?  Actually it was far from dismal.  To get there we had to make our way across both the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. Both are shallow and wide bodies of water. For hours we lost sight of land. The water was so smooth it was a terrific time.  Once across the sounds we had to be on our toes to dodge crab pots going up the Pasquotank River on our way to Elizabeth City, NC. There were so many pots in the Pasquotank River they slowed our arrival time by a couple of hours.

Shrimp boat

Water for as far as you can see and this guy found his way on to our fly bridge. 

The next morning we left the worst marina on our trip and headed towards the Dismal Swamp. The speed limit is 6 MPH on the Elizabeth River and it’s beautiful.  The river winds, with twist and turns and it’s so smooth the overhang from the trees gives you vertigo. The clarity of the reflections and the density of the foliage make it difficult to distinguish the shore line.

This shot if for our friends Don and Pam.  It sort of matches the picnic table the Captain gave them when we left MO

The canal is the same way; Anna got the scoop from the last lock master on how the canal got its name. Way back when, a surveyor was hired by King George to survey the new area. The surveyor’s crew quit half way through when they ran out of rum but he managed to finish the survey by himself. He apparently wasn’t much of an outdoorsman and hated the trip. At the end the surveyor proclaimed, “it was a dismal place and not fit for any white man to be”.

Once we arrived at the canal we needed to enter a lock that took us up 5’. Then the lock master had to drive lickety split to the swing bridge where he was now the bridge tender. Double duty but only one pay check, so he told me. In the canal we bumped objects a couple of times I’m sure they were just bobbers, logs just below the surface. No damage seemed to be done so we continued. Again the speed limit in the canal was 6 MPH but you couldn't tarry because you need to make the lock on the other end by 3:30 PM or you'd spend the night on the lock wall.

First lock, entrance to the Dismal Swamp Canal

One end of the canal is in NC.  The other end is in Virginia

The not at all dismal swamp.  

We got in to Waterside Marina in Norfolk early that evening. Entering Norfolk was exciting, huge ship yards dot both shore lines and the navy presence is everywhere getting ships refitted. We were all tied up about 6pm and got out the rum to celebrate our arrival, another milestone accomplished.

Norfolk was harder to explore without our vehicle, but we did manage to see some of Portsmouth. The ferry ran regularly and old folks could ride for a buck 50 round trip.  Portsmouth had a nice little maritime museum and a couple of good restaurants but the biggest draw to make the trip was Mile Marker Zero. 

Norfolk = Navy

This is a store much like West Marine where you can pick up a little bit of anything you want for a boat.  The thing that makes the store so special though is the owner, Bob.  Our VHF radio died on our way through the canal so we finished the trip with the assistance of the hand held.  I needed a new radio and contacted Bob.  He just happened to have one on sale and offered to bring it down to the marina.  I also needed a new piece of star board to mount it on.  Bob looked up the place to get one, ordered it, had it delivered to his place and cut it to size for me.

When we got to Norfolk I also realized I didn’t have the right Garmin disc for the area north of this point.  This was a necessity because the shipping channels and buoys get pretty confusing in the Chesapeake Bay.  Bob shopped his sources while I looked on line.  I finally came up with a better deal than he could but needed to get it shipped somewhere. Bob offered to have the package delivered to his store and again, offered to bring it to the boat.  This guy has customer service down to an art.  Besides, we liked his big yellow Lab Harley who helps run the shop.   

Sign outside a cafe in Portsmouth

 We hit a big milestone while in Norfolk. On August 9^th we celebrated the end of our first year on the water. We left Buzzard Rock, KY one year ago that day. Ironically we spent most of the day on the hard… in cars.  We rented a car in Norfolk, drove to Morehead, picked up the truck and took it to DC, then returned to Norfolk.  This was actually a two day process.  The first day we drove to Morehead City in a driving rain and we had our last crab cake sandwich at Finz and got back to the Washington area but spent the night outside the beltway in Alexandria. The second day we thought we’d get the truck to the marina, have a look around and then get back to Norfolk by mid afternoon. It turned out to be the trip from hell.  

A three hour drive turned in to six.  The bumper to bumper traffic through road construction out of DC was topped only by the bumper to bumper, dead stopped traffic going in to Norfolk.  They have a couple of tunnels into Norfolk, all equally congested. They are virtually the only way into town. At the tunnel entrance traffic funnels from four lanes to two. Bad enough but then out of nowhere comes several other four lane roads from different directions that must also merge into the same two lane entrance.  Bottom line, it was a mess but we used the advantage of our Missouri license plates and just drove though like the tourists we were. Later the local folks laughed when we commented on our journey and questioned their sanity for living in this area.  Apparently there are some options to the tunnel that remain a secret among the locals. 

The day ended well though.  We returned to the Pig just in time to relax on the back deck with a libation and listen to a band playing music on the pier. There was a family festival going on and we got some terrific spiced shrimp. We sat on the back deck with the shrimp and some beer in a summer breeze. It was a fitting end to our first year.

Family fun at the Norfolk water front

This is called "The Tourists" and sits at the Norfolk water front

Norfolk held a Gay Pride Parade Saturday.  Had boats at the marina making preparations.  Good time!

Just after the parade a storm blew through.  First high winds then heavy rain

And then the rainbow

On our boat trip to DC we had gorgeous weather for the first two days.  The water was so smooth, and Otto handled most of the driving.  There weren’t even many crab pots to dodge.  The third and final day played out a little differently.  The winds were high and we had 2 to 3 foot seas. We were in the Potomac by this point but its shallow and 5 miles wide with plenty of room to whip up some white caps.

The night before I plotted a route from our current location to our marina in DC. It took me about an hour and I was pretty proud of myself for figuring out the method. Otto was following the route guiding us along without a hitch when we were hailed by a Navy range boat. Seems the Navy wanted to play on the range that day and apparently my well planned course led us through a gunnery range, which wasn’t so clearly marked on the charts. They very politely requested we change course and get the heck out of their way. In my haste to find the marker we were instructed to pass I must have deleted the route. So much for my meticulous planning, we used the route all of 45 minutes. The rest of the day we just drove Otto on straight lines.  The wind was gusting 15 to 20 MPH and he was having quite a time holding a course but I figured it was better than I could have done. Entering DC the river narrows and the last 5 miles are at idle speed.  Otto doesn’t much like slower speeds in high winds so I took over.

Check out Otto's straight course

I liked the contrast in size

Getting in to Gangplank was an experience. Reagan National Airport is right across the river and we could see the planes queuing up for takeoff while others loomed overhead on their way in to land.  The Washington Monument, currently wrapped in scaffolding, and back lighted to retain the monument shape while under construction was visible in the background. Thanks to our reconnaissance when we brought the truck up we knew just where our slip was and a little about the approach.  The wind was still going strong but I managed to get the boat backed in without hitting anything. Had a little help from my crew and the dock master who came down to catch lines.  Anna has this docking business down pat, she can pretty much anticipate what she needs to do to be the most help. She can even lasso the pilings as we pass by.  I couldn’t have gotten this far on the trip without her and her constant support, she the best thing on the boat but then anyone who knows her will attest to that. She even likes forts.

First shot of the Washington Monument through the Woodrow Wilson Bridge

Reagan-National Airport.  Note the planes lined up for take off.  Note the one landing on the right 

Gangplank is an old marina sitting in the most spectacular location; only 15 minutes walk from the nation’s great mall. It’s not in great condition because it is scheduled for some major changes this fall, condos and I assume a snooty tooty yacht club will put us little guys out of business in DC. On October 1^st all the boats must be out and relocated elsewhere. There are lots of live aboards here, probably about 50% of the marina but it’s not the same as most places.  People leave here in the mornings dressed is business clothes and return at the end of the work day.  We feel badly for them.  

The Washington Monument at dusk

Some of the boats look like they haven’t left the marina in years, maybe even decades. For some the only correlation to a boat is that they are still afloat; a small feat in its self. I wish I could see the carnage when these vessels need to be moved. This will be a sea tow and BoatUS debacle. But for now, it meant that they had an open slip at a decent price, so we’ll take it. 

Being docked in DC has been a long term goal and we hope to spend several weeks exploring museums, visiting monuments and generally soaking up history in the nation’s capital.  For the next few weeks we’ll concentrate on being tourists…and boat buyers/sellers.  Should be interesting!

See you on the water.