Depart: Centerville Waterway Marina 7:50
Arrive: Alligator River Marina 4:00
Distance: 61 nm
Being tied to a dock right on the canal, we heard and felt every commercial vessel as they passed during the night. The boat went by and shortly thereafter the wake came and bumped us up against the bulkhead. At 6:00 a.m. the work crew started work on the Centerville bridge. Since they started work before sunup, they had mega lights to work by. Those lights shone directly on our boat. I thought we had left lights on but it was coming from outside.
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| Busy working on the bridge before the sun came up |
Clark said we should expect rain at some point today. The last time the two of us wore our raincoats, they failed us and let the water soak through. Since I was up before the sun and had time before we left the dock, I pulled out the can of Scotch Guard we found in the lazerette and heavily sprayed our rain gear. Having read the notes regarding bridge openings, Clark and Franklin agreed that we would leave around 7:45 to be in time for the 8:30 opening of the North Landing Bridge. I finished my waterproofing project with plenty of time to spare.
We departed on schedule with "Home Too" and "Paddy Wagon" behind us. We picked up a couple of sailboats along the way and had quite a caravan going to the bridge. The edges of the canal showed tons of tree parts that we did not want to come anywhere near. When we passed the sailboats, we stayed closer to them than we stayed to the shore.
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| Bald Eagle perched on the bare tree in the center Photo compliments of Cathy on "Home Too" |
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| Nice reflections on the water; with nasty stuff waiting to grab our props if we wander too close! |
As we approached the North Landing bridge, we got some bad news. Clark's schedule information was not current due to bridge construction mods to the normal timetable. The bridge tender said that there would be no 8:30 opening - the next time would be 9:00 a.m. As soon as we heard this, Clark slowed the engines way down to delay our arrival at the bridge. Even so, we still had a 40-minute wait for the opening.
Another example of "hurry up and wait" in the boating world.
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| Boat in front of us waiting for the swing bridge to open |
When the bridge opened at 9, we found a tug on the other side - fortunately, not underway.
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| Swing bridge open |
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| "Crystal Coast" Tug - home port: Chesapeake City |
Clark said that after this bridge, we did not need to worry about bridge openings for a while. The next bridge at the Alligator River has on-demand openings. Hallelujah! As long as it is not broken or closed due to 30 knot winds, we will be golden!
As we wove our way towards Albemarle Sound, I noticed that we picked up a flock of seagulls. Perhaps they like our boat design or they mostly follow the lead boat, but when I looked back I could not see any swooping around "Home Too". Large groups of seagulls always make me think of the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds".
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| Our seagull "escort" with "Home Too" behind them |
As we made our way towards Albemarle Sound, Clark received a text from our friend Kenny on "Daybreak" - "Where are you?" Kenny took the Dismal Swamp route; we took the Virginia Cut. We determined that by the end of the day, we would be able to meet up. Originally, we hoped to join up at an anchorage, but once again, we did not cover as much territory as we hoped. To be able to get to a spot for the night before dark and to simplify the logistics of having a joint pot-luck dinner, we decided to head to the Alligator River Marina for the night.
Last year when we crossed the Albemarle Sound, we found ourselves in 5-foot seas with a 5-second period. Today we saw waves of one foot or less. Kenny made a point of saying that this year he beat us across the sound, because last year, we went but he waited for calmer water before crossing the sound.
Kenny and Bill provided Tomato-Garlic Chicken, Mustard-encrusted pork loin, and a side of broccoli. Ev made a pasta primavera dish, and Cathy brought a veggie tray and dessert. Basically, we had a veritable feast including some wine to complete the meal. Ev and Clark hosted on "Sunset Delight".
The dinner party started at 6:30 and broke up around 9:00. The ending time could have been better timed had it ended just 10 minutes earlier. Just as our guests got off the boat to walk all the way around the marina to return to theirs, the skies opened up and we had a deluge complete with lightening.
To pick up a package that he ordered a while ago, we need to stop at Dowry Creek marina tomorrow. Kenny and Bill plan to travel further distance. Our paths may cross again on the way south. Ultimately, we are all headed to Florida, so Clark and I fully expect to see "Daybreak" again in upcoming months.
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