2022: Great Bridge VA to Morehead City NC

26 October 2022

Depart: Great Bridge Wall 7:50

Arrive:  Sandy Point anchorage (off Alligator River) 4:30

Distance: 60 nm

Great Bridge bridge only opens on the hour, so just before 8:00, we untied our lines and positioned ourselves for the next opening. Unfortunately, we had a very foggy start to our day.

View of bridge as we got ready to leave the wall

Looking towards the stern of our boat

Shortly after we pulled away from the wall, another boat, "Straight from the Heart", pulled out to follow us through the bridge.

Even though we had a heavy fog, Clark wanted to try for a railroad track picture. I had no interest so I told him, "Knock yourself out!" 

We wanted to make the 8:30 opening of the Centerville Bridge. A long stream of sail and power boats traveling south had the same plan. Looking ahead and behind us through the fog and on AIS, we estimated there to be about 11 boats altogether that went through that 8:30 opening.

Waiting for the bridge that we cannot see through the fog

Centerville bridge open to boat traffic

Looking down the road, we could
see a number of cars waiting for the bridge to close.

After we got through the Centerville Bridge, we found the boats in front of us to be moving so slowly that Clark had to keep taking the boat out of gear so as not to run over them. Despite the fog we decided we had to pass these slower boats. The power boat directly in front of us wanted to travel at 5 knots to make the North Landing Bridge at 9:30. The lead sailboat was making only 3 knots of headway. We wanted to go about 7 knots. 

As we puttered along at a ridiculously slow pace, one boat decided that despite the fog, he was going to make the 9:00 opening of the North Landing Bridge. He took off as soon as he got through Centerville Bridge and was not seen again. We did hear on the radio that he made the NL Bridge opening at 9:00!

The boat we followed, wishing for 5 knots of speed, indicated he planned to pass, but shortly after he said that, the sailboats sped up from 3 knots to just over 5 knots. We waited for him to make his move to pass but nothing happened. Finally, Clark haled him on the VHF to ask his intentions and was told that, since he was now at 5 knots, he was happy and would not be passing. (Gee thanks for letting us know that!) Clark then decided to pass him as well as the 3 or 4 sailboats in front of him. 

Once we pulled out to pass, other power boats pulled around to pass along with us. As I looked back to see the boats two abreast on the narrow waterway, I hoped nothing was coming towards us from the south. Clark said that due to the bridges, he did not expect to see any northbound traffic, and he was correct on that. We had no opposing traffic.

Passing the four boats out front put Clark in the lead. The second sailboat in line decided that he wanted to go faster and pulled out behind us. He looked like he wanted to move, so Clark asked if he wanted to pass. "No,no! I'm happy to follow you."  I bet he was! Clearly, he figured he was safe with us in front to encounter whatever might be lurking in the fog ahead of us. I think Clark was the only boat sounding fog signals on the horn.

As we approached the North Landing Bridge around 9:15, we had the whole caravan of boats following us. We had to hang out and "station keep" until 9:30 to get through the bridge.

Eventually, as we exited the North Landing Bridge, the heavy fog lifted.

Sun trying to break through the clouds - Fail!

Our caravan!

We stopped just beyond the Coinjock Marina for the night at the Sandy Point anchorage at the entrance to the  Alligator River. The Coinjock Marina is an interesting place. Depending on the time of day, the marina is either bow-to-stern boats along the dock, or it is empty of all boats. Since we passed by early enough in the day, today was a "no boats" day.

Sunset at Sandy Point Anchorage

27 October 2022

Depart: Sandy Point anchorage 7:40

Arrive: Big Creek anchorage off South River off Neuse River 6:00

Distance:  86 nm

Clark warned me that, with the calm weather, he wanted to do a "long" day today. High winds are predicted for tomorrow, and he wanted to cross Albemarle Sound before the winds picked up. 

Sunrise at Sandy Point / Alligator River

We had winds gusting to 25 knots this morning. The Alligator River swing bridge will not open in winds higher that 35 mph - not an issue today luckily. They opened for us as soon as we appeared. Clark had a tough time steering through the open bridge as the following seas pushed him to and fro. He had hand surgery this fall, and he only has one good hand to steer with making steering more challenging than usual.

We traveled the Alligator River and the Alligator River Pungo River Canal. At least we had clearer skies today. The trees along the river showed some modest amount of color.

There are always a large number of stumps along the 
edge of the waterway

We are traveling on the IntraCoastal Waterway (ICW). Along the canal, we saw mile marker signs every 5 miles. 

115 statute miles from Norfolk, VA

The side of the waterway opposite from the trees looked a bit more barren and bleak.

We enjoyed some sun today for a change. In fact it was downright hot on the upper helm with the sun shining on us. Clark remarked on the fact that we were down to t-shirts for a change!

125 miles from Norfolk

We crossed Albemarle Sound as planned, and to our delight, found the waters as flat as glass. Because winds are expected, we made our way across Pamlico Sound as well and tucked ourselves into an anchorage off the Neuse River - up South River to Big Creek.

Sun reflecting on trees at Big Creek anchorage

Sunset at Big Creek anchorage ...

28 October 2022

Depart: Big Creek anchorage 9:10

Arrive: Morehead City anchorage 1:10

Distance: 28 nm

Having put up with an extra long day yesterday (almost 11 hours on the water), Clark promised me a short day today. This benefited me but was not because of my preferences. The truth of the matter is that going further than Morehead City made no sense unless we wanted to stay in a marina as there are no good anchorages along the next stretch of miles. 

When the ocean permits, we travel on the "outside" to get away from slow boats, fast boats with big wakes, skinny water, etc.  Reports on the weather radio yesterday predicted seas of 9 to 15 feet on the ocean. Uhhh - no thank you! It will be 2 days on the ICW instead of 1 day on the ocean!

We chose a well-protected anchorage for last night. During the night we could hear the wind had started to pick up, but we were fine. As we pulled out of the anchorage and into the Neuse River, we had plenty of wave action. 

As we made our way towards Adams Creek, Clark noticed a 35 mph speed-limit [road] sign posted on a dauphin in the Neuse River.  

Once we entered Adams Creek, we were once again well protected from wind and seas. Clark as been unable to find any tide charts for Adams Creek. He takes his chances. Today we had the current against us as we made our way to Morehead City. When it was too late to do us any good and Morehead City was already in sight, then Clark said we had the current with us. 

Although we dropped anchor at 1:00 in the afternoon, the anchorage Clark selected was full of sailboats. We managed to find a spot where we could put out the required length of line for good holding and swing room.

It is another bleak and dreary day. We could use some bright sun to charge the solar panels. That looks unlikely. I decided to update the blog before pulling out my sewing machine.