Foreign Affair Sailing

It was a great day and night.  We got to sleep in and spend the day as we wished. 

Janet’s big project was carving pumpkins to enter into the pumpkin carving contest.  She carved one for the SAIL Fleet using the SAIL logo and the burgee design.  She also made a “spooky” one for “Foreign Affair”.  The winning pumpkin was a sentimental favorite:  Mr. Grinch.

The marina brought in a really good band and awarded some great prizes for various reasons:  best costume, best jack-o-lantern, etc.  The partying continued until mid-night. 

The “Foreign Affair” crew slipped away to watch the World Series at a bar a few blocks down the street from the marina.  People in Oriental are either not interested in the World Series or cheer for the Mets.

More boat maintenance and socializing today.  The real fun began with our bountiful North Carolina BBQ followed by entertainment by Milton Bullock, one of the hit Motown group “The Platters” and Mary “Bubbling Brown Sugar”.

Janet was acknowledged for her light feet on the dance floor.  The highlight of the dancing was the SAIL women doing the "Electric Glide".

Janet washed the decks while Dwayne worked on the blog. In the afternoon, we went to Belhaven using the marina courtesy car to get groceries.  We finally got cell coverage in Belhaven and were able to make phone calls for the first time in 3 days.  We also added to the blog.

We were able to watch Game 2 of the World Series thanks to the marina having Direct TV.  No cable out here far from the nearest town.

We had a short and easy run today from our anchorage to Dowry Creek Marina on the Pongo River.  Weighed anchor at 0900.  Anchor really held well and dug deep as we had to put in some effort to get it free in the morning.  Winds blew pretty hard all through the night and into the morning. 

We had a short distance to cover on the Alligator River prior to entering the Alligator River – Pongo River Canal.  The canal was much wider and deeper than the Dismal Swamp Canal.  Shore line was pines and tall marsh grass.  Water was still black from tannin.  The wind really picked up as we entered the Pongo River and lost the benefit of the pine trees protecting us in the canal.  We took on fuel and entered our slip at about 1400.

The weather forecast for crossing the Albemarle Sound was going from bad to worse.  If we stayed in Elizabeth City for the extra day as planned, we would most likely have been forced to stay two additional days waiting for the weather to improve to make our crossing.  Initially, the decision was to stay put as there were “small craft” warnings for the Albemarle with winds in the 20s and waves forecast to be between 2 and 6 feet from the north/northeast.  

At 0730 the boats which stayed north of the Elizabeth City bridge came through the bridge and rather than taking slips at Mariner’s Wharf, they continued down the Elizabeth River to cross the Albemarle.  George, the skipper of Valiant, alerted us to this fact and we quickly got underway to make the crossing.  Two of the boats ahead of us turned back half way to the mouth of the Elizabeth River because they felt the conditions were too rough.  We kept going.  The crab pots were our biggest challenge as they were painted black and very difficult to see due to the glaring sunlight reflecting off the dark, tannin colored water.  The crabbers in this area are Vietnamese refugees and they believe black is a lucky color for fishing/crabbing.  Thus they paint their crab pot floats black.  Janet did a great job spotting under very difficult conditions.

We took a hike to the Pelican Marina which was about a half mile from Mariner’s Wharf with the intent of doing our laundry and taking showers.  We arrived at the marina at about 10:30 only to discover their marina office was closed on Sundays until noon.  So, we sat and waited.

There were two PBR (Patrol Boat, River) at the dock which was very surprising.  These boats were used by both the US Navy and Army on the rivers of Vietnam.  Now they are privately owned and patrol US waterways.  The marina manager who lives at the marina noticed our interest in the boats and came out to the dock to share what he knew of the boats and their histories.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_Boat,_River

Elizabeth City was very welcoming.  The city has free slips and docks right downtown.  There are no services, i.e. electric, water, pump-out or fuel but you can stay up to two nights as guests of the city.  

We departed Hampton Public Piers at 0815 taking the main channel out of the harbor and the shortcut north of Hampton Bank across the shipping channel and on to the Norfolk Navy Yards.  Janet was at the helm most of the day and did a superb job. 

The Navy was busy today.  One submarine was coming into port, naval gunnery practice was taking place on the Potomac and Navy patrol craft were busy protecting the Navy ships in the yard.  We saw 4 aircraft carriers and dozens of other ships as we moved down the Elizabeth River.

We entered Deep Creek and the Deep Creek Canal system shortly after noon.  Traffic was busy at the Deep Creek Lock and it took a couple of hours to get all of our SAIL fleet through the lock.  No one location was capable of allowing all of our boats to stay in one place.  So, the fleet was docked at several sites along the Dismal Swamp Canal.  We tied up with 3 other boats at the Chesapeake, VA dock.

Link to SAIL Blog:  http://icw.sailmagazine.com/blog/

We had a great start south with the sun shining all day.  Temperatures reached the high 60s.  No major breakdowns or incidents marred the day.  Tomorrow we head to the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center for a reception and orientation on the Dismal Swamp and the canal.

We had several days of seminars in preparation for our voyage.  Much of the time was spent preparing the boats and provisioning.  Mechanics inspected, serviced and repaired the boats.  Radio/communications systems were tested.  The Coast Guard Auxiliary conducted safety inspections.  Many of the boats had a diver clean the bottom and install new anodes.  Fender boards were fabricated for the locks.  Boats were refueled, sanitation systems pumped out and water tanks filled, as well as, food brought aboard.  There was always something more to be done. 

Of course, there were always social events in the evening.  There was another gathering at La Bodega when Peter Nielsen, the Editor-in-Chief for SAIL Magazine arrived.  The following night there was a “docktail” party the night prior to our departure.

Saturday was a continuation of the seminars in the morning and boat maintenance/provisioning in the afternoon.  The day ended with a wine tasting and music at La Bodega.  The owners were very welcoming and informative as they presented wines from Europe for our tasting.  It was a great way to finish another wonderful day.  We purchased several bottles of wine and some wonderful sharp, white cheddar cheese.  Wine was great and prices were very reasonable.  We’ll be back next spring.

It has been a busy week since our last blog post.  Much has happened - good and bad.  We left Hampton on Saturday with friends to attend the SAIL ICW (Inter-Coastal Waterway) seminar at the Annapolis Boat Show on Sunday.  The seminar was very informative and well done.  Of course, we had to have crab cakes at Chick and Ruth’s and malted milk shakes.

On Sunday morning, Carla got word that she needed to get to Nashville due to a death in the family.  Fortunately, we were able to get her a direct flight and she arrived in Nashville five hours later.  

We slept in since we were facing a short run of only 25 nm to Hampton.  Dolphins surfaced near the boat when Carla started the engine.  We watched them until they swam out of the creek toward the Bay.  

We weighed anchor at 10.  The winds were blowing in the low 20s and waves got up to 4 feet high.  Of course, the wind was always against us which made for a rocky ride but the boat handled it all well.  Top speed was 6.2 knots.  We were down to 3.3 knots as we came into the James River bucking the wind, waves and tide.  Three other sailboats were also coming into port and one of them was really taking a pounding and getting sprayed.  We felt sorry for the poor guy until we realized we might have looked the same to him as he did to us.  In the end, we got into harbor without mishap. 

Saw a brilliant sun rise as we weighed anchor.  It was a beautiful, peaceful anchorage in Smith Creek – no houses or other boats.  The winds were very low for most of the day 0-10 knots.  Waves were no more than 1 foot which made for a smooth passage to Chisman Creek on the York River.  Little of note today other than how nice it was on our way south.  Traveled 68 nm in 11 hours with a top speed of 7.2 knots.

It was another great day on the Potomac River.  The sun was out again and temperatures reached the low 70s.  Little to no wind.  So, we motored the entire day.  Tide was with us most of the way and we made good speed (7 knots top and always over 6). 

Today there were naval exercises which caused us to remain close to the Maryland side of the Potomac and maintain contact with the navy range control vessels as we moved from one special purpose buoy to another to stay out of the danger zone.  Carla was amazed at the sound of large naval guns and the roar of low flying jets.  I told her she needed to hear an army artillery battery firing rounds for effect as it was much more impressive than what we heard today.

Finally, we are underway again.  We said goodbye to the Capital Yacht Club and passed Fort McNair at 0800.  

We could not have asked for a better day.  Sunshine, light breeze and dead calm waters.  The trees are starting to show signs of fall with a hint of color change.  The only less than perfect condition was all the deadwood and trash washed out into the Potomac River by the recent rains.  We had to remain vigilant as there were some substantial logs in the river for the first 15 miles of our trip.  The danger of floating deadwood decreased as the river widened.  It was not until we reached the Tobacco River that we had to once again maintain a diligent lookout – this time for the many crab pots at the river’s mouth.  We anchored in quiet waters off Chapel Point almost in the exact spot as on our way up the Potomac over two weeks ago.  We haven’t met one person who likes anchoring in the Tobacco River due to the crab pots.  Unfortunately, it is the last deep anchorage until reaching Washington, D.C.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lesley_J._McNair

The sun finally came out this afternoon and we enjoyed our last day in Washington, D.C.  We had a great breakfast in a café near the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum which we visited in the morning.  The afternoon we spent at the National Museum of the American Indian which is one of the newest museums on the Mall.  With that, we have now spent some time in each of the major museums on the Mall.  

This weekend we attended the Seven Seas Cruising Association Gam at Camp Letts on Maryland’s Rhode River just south of Annapolis. 

A gam is a friendly interchange between sailors on vessels at sea.  It was common practice for American whaling ships to heave-to when they met during their voyages to exchange news, mail and socialize.  

About 125 SSCA members attended and enjoyed the comradery.  At every meal we shared a table with one or more couples who crossed as least one ocean or sailed completely around the world.  Needless to say, we asked them to share some information about their experiences.  Surprisingly, they were as interested in learning about our limited cruising experience as we were in hearing of theirs.

  https://www.ssca.org/#/gams/

We prepared as best we could for Hurricane Joaquin.  

We’ve been anchored out since August 30 and had planned to spend one more night at anchor before moving into a slip for the weekend while we attended the Seven Seas Cruising Association Gam.  However, the forecast was for winds in the 20s and gusts up to 50 mph for the evening.  

When our neighbor, the super-yacht, Emelina, brought in a barge to help her drop her anchor while docked, we knew it was time to get a slip right away.