OUT OF THE SWAMP

April 17

Alligator Marina

Had a long day dodging black crab pots. Vietnamese say if you paint them black, they will bring good luck. If that was true, somebody gathered lots of crabs.  Would show you a picture, but that's the thing.  It's hard to see them in real life.

Stayed here at Alligator River Marina for the night.   Marina was behind a convenience store where Annette, the chef, cooked and served good, hot fried chicken. She was there again the next morning cooking homemade biscuits and all the extras to go with it including grits.

Our home for the night.  See the marina in the background.

TCOM outside Elizabeth City NC
A 300,000 square foot high security metal structure that houses blimps with names such as Monster, Sanyo and Fuji Films.  

April 18 & 19

Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River

Our cruise was short and we were able to dock at the free Mid-Atlantic Christian University in Elizabeth City. Dan Smith and his wife Kathy were the most gracious hosts. She is a student and an English teacher and Dan was the enrollment director. They also have a nonprofit ministry called Kingsfleet, Christian individuals and ministries who are passionate about Jesus and using their sail or powerboat for service to Christ's Kingdom.

Dan & Kathy.  Happy smiles.  Full of Yogurt.

We explored Elizabeth City for two days. It is small, but it the home of the very large Museum of the Albemarle and it boast to be the Harbor of Hospitality. I believe it!

This is common in North Carolina, home of PEPSI.
Photo taken in Morehead City.

So, this sign made us feel back at home in Georgia.

April 20 & 21^st

Dismal Swamp

We saw so many nesting eagles.  The dad would stand guard. 

As our boat would get closer, the mom would fly from her nest in a frenzy.  I'm sure she wanted to chase us away.  In this picture, she is seen flying back to her nest. You see the dad perched up in the left corner.

South Mills lock was the first lock we tackled on this leg of the trip. It raised about 8 feet. This particular lock had lots of dead leaves and debris. Consequently, Alex, a sailboat solo traveling north with us experienced engine heating up because of dirty strainers. We were able to tow him to the welcome center where he was able to clean them out making his engine happy once again.

After the 1st lock the passage way turns into what we call a "ditch".  It gets narrow making passing another boat coming from the other direction, a slow process because there are sunken logs along the edges of the trees.

We stayed on the wooden path because the swamp bed is covered with black water.

We tied up on the 150' face dock. Another looper boat came along later and rafted up with us for the night, which is common because there aren't many choices to secure for the night unless you attempt the whole leg in one day.

The welcome center offered miles and miles of hiking trails that meandered through parts of the swamp. There are alligators, bears, beavers and many other creatures we learned about in its museum, but we didn't see anything except a swimming rabbit.

I enjoy watching the birds skip over the water, kind of like skipping stones.

WELCOME TO VIRGINIA

The next morning we maneuvered through Deep Creek Lock a much cleaner lock. There Robert, the lock master, helped us by securing our lines. When we were lowered about 8 feet, he treated us with a conch concert and demonstration before we exited single file. I sure like this boating life.

Robert, the lock master.

Boys on a Saturday afternoon.

Eagles aren't the only birds nesting.  These two geese were at the Great Bridge lock.  The captain had to be careful where we positioned ourselves, because the male has attacked boaters.

First mate locking down at Great Bridge lock.

Our home through Thursday the 26th

Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake VA

There are so many boats here. This working boatyard brings all of them in: big, small, new and very old. Some famous.

This is the old sail boat that was in Captain Ron starring Kurt Russell.

 We are staying a few days waiting until our Looper Spring Rendezvous that starts in a week.

Sunrise at Atlantic Yacht Basin
Chesapeake, VA

Morehead to Belhaven

Morehead City Yacht Basin

April 6-13^th

Rainy & Windy

Sunrise in Morehead City Yacht Club

We are not in a hurry, so we decided to stay here awhile to relax and watch it rain. And of course do boat chores. Someone asked me how we get exercise on a boat. While we may not get as much cardio vascular, we are active most all the time. Just getting on and off of Sea Jamm sometimes is a challenge. And balancing while at sea, going up and down 3 sets of stairs a hundred times a day.

And we walk everywhere. Sometimes the docks are very long, just like the mega dock in Charleston, where we had to walk a quarter of a mile just to get to shore. And bike. The day after the rain let up we biked inland to a local hardware store to get a vacuum part.

April 14^th

Pungo Creek Anchorage

We had to cross a couple of large bodies of water on our way north to anchor for the evening. First, the Neuse River and then north of there, the Pamlico River. It is always little rough even on the best days. Or it is to me. When we reached Pungo, our destination for the night, the wind gusts were up to 20mph. There were a lot a crab pots. So, you have to be careful. One would not want to get one of those wrapped around one's propeller. It took a while to find a spot without a crab pot and then it took a while to get the anchor to hold on the muddy bottom. But anchoring is always worth it. We celebrated our daily accomplishment with fresh asparagus and a grilled ribeye and a glass of Cabernet. The wind didn't die until around 9, when we decided to head for bed where we slept soundly to sunrise.

Sunrise on Pungo.  

We had the whole creek to ourselves.

Belhaven Marina

Belhaven, NC

April14-16

Pungo creek is near Belhaven Marina. We were up early after such a restful night and made it to the marina soon after 10. What a pleasant surprise this historical little village was tucked into forest, farmland, and the wide Pungo. The marina and town are small, but not their spirit. They have large colorfully painted crabs like the cows in Chicago. You follow crab paintings on the sidewalks down the Pamlico and Main streets where rugs, sofas, and chairs are placed on the sidewalk for one to stop and be social.

Colorful houses adorned with azaleas and dogwoods.

This part of the ICW was the last to be completed and opened in 1928. And it was designated as “The Birthplace of the ICW in 2013.

Dinner with our friend Herb (2016 AGLCA Harbor Host of the year from Tarpon Springs)  This is his 2nd time around and he cruises his 50 foot yacht named Phantom solo.  

My new friend Lezlie from Texas.

Once again, we stayed a couple of days waiting out rain and wind storms. On Sunday night around 3 a.m., a cold front came through and with it the roughest rain and winds we have experienced to date. We were docked. We were prepared. Before going to bed the captain had secured Sea Jamm with extra lines and fenders. It was a good thing, because once the storm set in, there was nothing you could do. Just like a fair ride. In the dark. We survived. No scares.

The winds were still strong this morning. Greg from the marina, our new best friend, helped us get turned around in the right direction in order to depart. Exciting!

North Carolina

Serene setting for Easter Sunday morning

Osprey Marina, south Myrtle Beach

April 1

We awoke Easter Sunday morning to a beautiful sunrise, but also got to enjoy a setting full moon. Actually the full moon on March 31^st was a “blue moon” meaning it was the 2^nd full moon in a calendar month. The next blue moon won't be until 2020!

Osprey Marina doesn't have a restaurant, which you know we enjoy by now, but they were the friendliest and we felt at home talking to the the proprietors and dock crew. I wouldn't have minded staying there a week. However, part of the contentment could have been the significance of the day. Thankfulness for our risen Lord who has become the real treasure in our lives.

On our way to Osprey, I bet we saw 50 ospreys . Many were nesting in dead trees above the black water of the Waccamaw River. Isn't is interesting how large birds enjoy sitting in dead trees? Do you think that they can see the fish in the water?

Nesting Osprey

Find the lost Easter egg.

North Carolina

Monday & Tuesday

On our way to Southport for the evening, we had shallow water challenges again. Not as much from low tide, but these were at the ocean inlets where sand had washed in causing sandbars to crop up at various places. And they were not well marked. We traveled very slow. One place, a sailboat had washed up on a sandbar. I felt sorry for him because we came close a couple of times, having to remind myself that “this is an adventure."

Another bad day.

Coast Guard to the rescue.  A dredging operation working on a shallow spot.

Pretty fishing village along the way.

We arrived in Southport Marina at 1650 (4:50) The Captain uses military time when cruising. A resurfaced habit.

Fishy Fishy Cafe in South Port.

Once again we got to choose dinner from many seafood restaurants scattering the sea shore. Southport's old town was a lovely walking town. We found a Walmarts only a couple of miles, so we got our bikes out for the first time and rode them inland for some re-provisioning, using the saddle bags Alan got me for Christmas. Boaters say that the perfect stop is when you have the 3 W's: Walmarts, Walgreens & West Marine.

A CRUISING DAY on CAPE FEAR RIVER

a little fog

The Captain saw a boat following us on his AIS.  That is a radio signal that identifies your boat to others, as well as other boats to you.  He had seen this boat on his screen, suspecting maybe another fishing boat.  As it got closer, he turned around and to his surprise, this big container ship was right in our wake!!

Visiting with friends in Wilmington at

Bennett Brothers Yacht Marina

April 4-5

“It takes a long time to grow old friends” It was good to see Catherine and her son Coley.

What we do best!

Coast Guard ship "Diligence" docked in Wilmington.

This image was posted on the side of the above Coast Guard ship Diligence.  When a military ship does a successful operation, they will get an award.  The leaves in this image display their drug busts. 

Wilmington in our wake.

Harbor Village Marina

night of the 5th

Great quiet stop for the night.

Cruising in Camp LeJeune

We had called them the day before to assure there would be no firing as us.

We passed several tanks and military vehicles.  

LeJeune tower.

My two favorite pictures:

My Captain.

Ospreys on a red "76."

Friday, the 6th.  Headed to Morehead City Yacht Basin to wait out weather.