Saturday Nov 10 – Monday Nov 19
Left National Harbor early Saturday morning with adventurous anticipation. We had a super send-off by some great dock mates and excellent line handlers - thanks Dustin and Jim!
Dodged a lot of logs in the upper Potomac thanks to hurricane Sandy the week earlier.
Weather became unseasonably warm for the weekend with highs up to 77F on Monday. Winds were nice but unfortunately on our nose. Anchored in Mattox creek and Gwynn Island on our way down the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay with beautiful sunsets to cap off some very memorable days on the water.
Our port engine had some issues and quit functioning just prior to going into Norfolk. We docked at Waterside Marina (Norfolk) on Monday and Tuesday evening, taking the opportunity to have our fuel tanks cleaned. We put in a few extra hours cleaning and re-assembling the primary diesel fuel filters – what fun! We were pleasantly surprised to see and chat with our friends from National Harbor, Forrest and Christi on their boat Voila`. We said so long to Norfolk (pictured below on right) and Portsmouth (on left) to make the bridge opening we had scheduled. Our mast height is 63’ and the majority of bridges on the ICW are 65’ but due to tide swings, winds and shoaling these clearance heights are subject to change.
There are two routes of the upper Atlantic Intercoastal Water Way also referred to as Intercoastal Waterway, ICW or The Ditch. The upper routes are Virgina Cut (more heavily traveled) or Dismal Swamp Canal (less traveled due to depth restrictions). We chose the DSC route this trip since we had come up the Virginia Cut in June.
The DSC is the oldest operating canal in the US. It was hand dug starting in 1793 to promote commerce. The DSC is a very straight canal with one major dogleg. It’s about 60-80 ft wide in most places and 6-12 ft deep in the center. The fall foliage was brilliant and the water in the canal was very deep brownish-burgundy color due to the natural tannic acid produced by the continually decaying vegetation on the banks of the canal. We reached the DSC State Park Visitor Center early afternoon and met some new friends on their boats from Nova Scotia, Michigan and Annapolis. The Visitor Center allows overnight dockage but due to limited space boats raft (tie up) to one another. The Captain of the boat we were rafted to had survived Hurricane Sandy on his boat while moored in Long Island Sound. Navigating the DSC requires transiting through two locks. The South Creek Lock has an 8 foot drop.
Upon exiting the Dismal Swamp Canal you enter the channel to Elizabeth City, NC. Tied up to the Elizabeth City docks adjacent to a park. Simon had a great time running in the grass and welcomed a reprieve from the boat. As we left the City the next morning the weather was turning unseasonable cool and overcast but that didn’t stop sails from being hoisted.
After leaving Elizabeth City we transited the Albermarle Sound, down the Alligator River to the north end of the Pango River. One of our favorite anchorages in June was at Pango River and we wanted to return to gather additional memories of beautiful sunsets. The weather was in high 30s at night and with limited heat capabilities we bundled up.
Departed early Saturday morning 11/17/12 to Morehead City, NC via Pamlico River, Bay River and Adams Creek in 15-20 kt N winds. We took refuge at Morehead City for a couple of days due to winds gusting and off shore Gale warnings. Even the birds weren’t flying due to the high winds.
