2023: Albemarle Plantation

 21 April 2023

Depart: Ocracoke National Park 8:45

Arrive: Alligator River - Sandy Point anchorage 6:00

Distance: ~ 75 nm

Conditions: Smoke in the air over Ocracoke; pleasant ride otherwise

When we woke up this morning, we could smell wood smoke in the air. Something was on fire, but we did not know what or where.

Smoky Ocracoke

Smoke obliterates view of Ocracoke as we depart

Thank goodness we had good weather because we spent a long time on Pamlico Sound today. We did not have much to look at besides water for most of the trip until the USCG showed up to do some training exercises over the water. Two different helicopters practiced hovering over the water to rescue people. I missed picture opportunities because I looked away at just the wrong times, but Clark saw someone drop into the water and later saw them picked up out of the water.

One chopper flew overhead and got a good look at us,
so I took his picture!

They hovered here for a very long time.
Eventually Clark saw someone
being lifted out of the water.

After almost 7 hours out from Ocracoke, it was good to get a glimpse of civilization even if it was just a bridge!

When we anchored for the night, we were still not sure where we would be going on the morrow.

22 April 2023

Depart: NC: Alligator River Sandy Point anchorage 7:55

Arrive: Albemarle Plantation dock, NC 11:45

Distance: ~ 28 nm

Conditions: 65 degrees in a.m.; gusts to 30 knots coming into dock; expecting heavy rain and thunderstorms in the p.m.

As we traveled today, we still had not decided where we were going. We had a debate going on. We could either head towards Great Bridge today, or we could detour to visit Albemarle Plantation if our friends Mary and Tom were at home there. I had seen postings from Mary on Facebook of her lovely garden flowers, so I had high hopes that they were in the area.

I managed to contact Mary via Facebook, and she welcomed us to come with open arms. Fortunately, we managed to catch them at home. We have not been so lucky on previous times passing by here. The winds picked up as we crossed Albemarle Sound an approached Albemarle Plantation Marina, we had following seas in a narrow and shallow channel. Clark found steering a challenge as he worked to keep the boat in deeper water inside the channel as the seas pushed him to and fro.

We arrived at the dock around 11:30. Expecting heavy winds and thunderstorms later in the day, we took time to put extra lines on the boat to be sure we held against the winds and such.  We deployed 6 fenders of varying sizes as well as a fender board to protect the boat from banging on the poles at the dock. Because we were pushed away from the dock, the dockmaster loaned us a walkway to help disembarking from the boat.

loaner walkway

Mary and Tom were out playing golf. After they finished their round, they came by with not one but two golf carts - theirs and one for us to use while visiting. Tom and Mary suggested we go to a local sandwich shop for lunch and then hit the food store for the provisions I needed to bring onboard. We used the golf carts (me with Mary and Clark with Tom) to get to their home. We got a quick look at their beautiful house and rustic property and met their dog Dexter before heading off in their car for lunch. 

We knew we would have to watch the weather today and do our activities, whatever we decided them to be, in between threats of rain.

The weather picture at 4:00

What we could expect at 9:00!

We enjoyed lunch at the Farm Market before hitting Food Lion for bread and such. We filled out a "ticket" at a counter which we turned in to order food and drinks. 

Farm Market and sandwich shop

After stopping at Food Lion, we drove back to the Farm Market to get ice cream. It was delicious!!!

Hershey Ice Cream at the Farm Market

When we got back to Mary and Tom's house, we loaded our groceries on the back of the golf cart they acquired for us and drove them back to our boat. Later in the day, Tom and Mary met us at the marina restaurant, Dockside, for dinner where we exchanged stories of past boating adventures.

The walk up to the restaurant is rather long. The further away from the dock we got, the more the dock was harder to see.

Looking back towards the marina when
near the restaurant

Restaurant building

As we waited for our food to arrive, we found a fellow patron to take our picture.

Clark, Ev, Tom, Mary

As the time neared 9:00, lightening reminded us that a bad storm was on the way. We said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways for "home". We did get some thunder and rain just after we got onboard. Timing could not have been better. The storm was nowhere near as bad as it might have been as it mostly passed by us.

23 April 2023

no boat travel

We had hoped to stay two nights at the Albemarle Plantation marina, but when we called to make a reservation yesterday, they said they could only accommodate us for one night. We figured we would have to leave this morning. We were pleasantly surprised this morning when we were told that we could stay an additional night! An Albemarle Loop / Great Loop event is scheduled for this week at the marina. The docks were expected to be fully occupied as a result. The bad weather yesterday probably delayed boaters arriving as they most likely, wisely decided to stay put for an extra day wherever they were. 

Mary, Tom, and Dexter stopped by in their golf cart first thing in the morning to give us the good word that we could stay. 

Dexter doesn't leave much room for
Mary and Tom

They had chores to do, and I wanted to get laundry done, so we made arrangements to meet at 2:00. We did not have anything specific planned. Tom suggested a bike ride around the complex, so when they arrived at 2:00, they came on bikes. 

The grounds are mostly flat and an easy bike ride. The views were great.

18th hole of the golf course

Albemarle Plantation Marina Park

Tom at entrance to covered bridge

One of our stops was by a lake with lots of turtles. We sat in the two-person swings there to chat while we watched the turtles swim around. We counted more than a dozen turtles all looking at us expecting to be fed. Sadly for them, we did not bring any food with us. Tom told us that the turtles really like cauliflower.

In the same pond as the turtles we saw a nice fountain. Tom said that big fish are found in the pond as well but must be thrown back if caught.

We had been admiring the bridge by the pond as we sat on the swings to talk. Before we left, we strolled over to get a closer look.

After our tour of the grounds we went back to the "Dockside" restaurant for some liquid refreshments. The four of us sat there and chatted for a while. A local, Billy, asked if he could join us while he  drank his beer. He said he was a landlubber but enjoyed hearing us talk about boating. Later, Scott,  a new looper on a boat near us on the docks, walked up to join us for some chit chat. 

Around 5:00 we decided we better grab an early dinner. Even though we had eaten here last night, the food was good and the prices were reasonable. After dinner we said our goodbyes and rode our bikes back to the boat while Mary and Tom had a much longer trek to ride their bikes back to their house.

Clark managed to snag a sunset picture this evening.

Later in the evening, we had a knock on the door. It was our boat neighbors, Linda and Scott on "Faith", come to visit to talk about what to expect as they continue their loop trip northwards. They have a Mainship very similar to the one we had before we acquired "Sunset Delight". Before they left, we gave them a quick tour of our boat. Perhaps we will see them again further on down the waterways. One never knows.