Ocracoke and Oriental

We enjoyed a nice, smooth crossing of the Pamlico Sound on our way to Ocracoke.  Can't believe it's been so long since we were hear!  Fortunately, all the familiar faces (Bill, Mike and Marco) were there waiting for us at the marina when we tied up to the fuel dock before anchoring in Silver Lake.  It was great to see all of them!  This has always been one of our favorite places since we began sailing and it still is.  We enjoyed 3 wonderful days anchored in Silver Lake and walking around on the island visiting all the neat shops and several of the restaurants.

Almost there!  The excitement level really goes up at this point of the trip!

We rented a golf cart for a couple hours on our final afternoon and here are a few pictures of places we drove to and other shots of things on and around Ocracoke.

The Ocracoke Lighthouse

British Cemetary

Silver Lake

From Ocracoke we went to our first marina in Oriental - Sea Harbour where we really enjoyed spending a week-end visiting with great friends there that we hadn't seen in a long time.  The weather was perfect and we spent time cooking on the grills and sharing our meals in the clubhouse just like we used to do!  Doesn't get much better!

The next several weeks are going to be busy because we have plans to meet up with lots of friends and family members at various beaches in North and South Carolina as me make our way on down the ICW.

Leaving Virginia

Earlier this week we said our farewells to all the friends we made at the marina over the past several years.  This was a significant step in our adventures as we now begn our trip southward toward Florida for the winter.

Leaving the Chesapeake Bay to cross the James River - this is the view of Fort Monroe and Hampton.

On the other side of the James River we entered the Elizabeth River, which runs right by the Norfolk Naval Base and then on through and between the Norfolk and Portsmouth waterfronts.

This can be a rather tricky passage due to all the numerous highway and railroad swing and lift bridges - most of which open on the hour and half hour - so, timing is everything!

Our original plan was to stop in Portsmouth for the night and then navigate through all the bridges that span the waterway first thing in the morning but fortunately another friendly sailor told us that he had just learned that one of the bridges was going to be closed for repairs for three days beginning the following morning.  So, we trudged on and made it through all the bridges and the lock at Great Bridge, VA just barely before nightfall.

The following day we motored on down through the remaining bridges over the Chesapeake/Albermarle Canal and then crossed a rather angry Currituck Sound, which is the smallest of the three NC sounds.  It is shallow and when the wind blows upward of 10 knots it tends to get very choppy.  We had winds averaging 15 knots all the way across - but at least we're back in good ole NC!  We spent the night in Coinjock, NC, which I'm sure most of you have never even heard of!  It was a hot and humid day but fortunately the marina has a small pool and we took advantage of it once we were docked.

With a forecast of a cool front moving in the wind was blowing even stronger the next day so we only traveled 15 miles, which took us through the remainder of the Intercoastal Waterway NC Cut and to a nice little anchorage just north of the Albermarle Sound.  Much lighter winds were forecasted for the next day so we opted to wait and make the crossing because it can really be uncomfortable when it gets stirred up!

One of the most gorgeous sunsets ever from that anchorage.

The next two days our travels took us across the Albermarle Sound, down the Alligator River and through the Alligator/Pungo River Canal to the Pungo River and finally then into the quaint little town of Belhaven.  Nice place to spend a little time after all the long travel days!