Morehead City, NC to Solomons, MD 26 April - 7 May 2011

27 April 2011  Morehead City to South River, NC
After a couple days in Morehead catching up with new Defever owners, Shay & Elizabeth Glass and meeting Defeverites from Houston on Confetti, Dick & Lace, we headed out for the South River.  On Adams Creek we spotted a substantial dredge oepration.  I watched a sailboat almost take the dredge on the wrong side.

It can be confusing and in the absence of a response from the dredge you need to know how to read those black circles and rectangles.  In this case, you leave the dredge to your starboard side.

The South River is off the Neuse River.  The weather is projected to worsen over the next couple days so we've already decided to hunker down in the South River and then head out to Ocracoke, on the Outer Banks.
You can see where the South River is in relation to the Neuse and where we're headed to Ocracoke.

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29 April 2011 South River to Ocracoke, NC
From the Neuse River we headed east into Pamlico Sound.  The wind was out of the north blowing 13-17 kts and the seas were 2-3'.  Thank goodness for stabilizers.  They make the ride much better for me and the cats.

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The National Park Service has docks in Ocracoke at a reasonable price - even more so if you hold a Senior Pass ($10.00 lifetime pass if you are over 62).

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We checked out the village and walked out to the lighthouse which is NC's oldest operating lighthouse.

On our second day, we rode 6-7 miles (with the wind on our nose) out to the pony pasture.  Ocracoke's favorite residents, the descendents of those left earlier in time, have been permanently penned - only 17 remain of the original herd.  The NPS has cared for the herd since the 1960's.

During WWII, Ocracoke was strategically important - housing the Advanced Amphibious Training Base for the Navy's Beach Jumpers.

Other than the village, the rest of the island is National Seashore - the beaches are just gorgeous.  Lots of ramps to drive your privately owned vehicle onto the beach.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention NC's great ferry system.  Ocracoke is only accessible by boat - yours or the NC ferry!

1 May 2011  Ocracoke to Manteo, NC
From Ocracoke, we cruised up to Manteo, NC to visit friends, Mike & Jane Ross.  Enjoyed a wonderful, authenticate Italian meal at "La Dolce Vita".

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Weather permitting, this route is a wonderful alternative to the ICW route.

2 May 2011  Manteo, NC to Great Bridge, VA
The Albemarle Sound was like a pond.  Can't remember the last time it was this nice.
The weather was so good today we decided to continue all the way to Great Bridge.
What's most interesting about this photo is the way the ICW winds through the countryside.  I spent most of the day trying to capture photos of the fighter jets circling  Fentress Naval Air Landing Field.  what a show they put on!

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Susan & Jay Wigginton were 2 1/2 hours ahead of us with the same destination in mind -
the free dock.  Susan organized the other boaters who came into the dock after SAILS
insuring that there was a spot for us when we arrived at 7PM.  THANKS, SUSAN!


4  May 2011  Great Bridge to Portsmouth, VA
Leaving Great Bridge, you pass through one lock.  As I was tying to the cleats above the wall, I noticed this pair of geese going nuts (hissing); I assumed they did not like us so close.  Amazingly they had built a nest right next to the lock wall!  You can see the feathers surrounding the outside of the nest. 

I also spotted 2 carriers and 1 submarine in dry dock - to say nothing of the surface ships!  Lots of stuff to look at on the Elizabeth River.

We took on fuel at Top Rack Marina (they had the best fuel price locally) before moving on to more free dockage in the basin at the bottom of High Street Landing in Portsmouth, VA.  We've never stopped at the basin here for one reason or another.  It is a popular spot and is usually full. That's US Coast Guard headquarters behind us.  Portsmouth is a wonderful stop.

It is probably worth mentioning that at high tide the water was over the docks.  That's the side of the boat and our step that you see on the left hand side of the photo.  If you look at the photo above you can get a real sense of how much the water rose.

Before we left the basin we watched the Army Corps of Engineers pick up a good sized piece of debris in the water - a potential hazard to navigation.

5 May 2011  Portsmouth to Ft Monroe, VA
Leaving Portsmouth we passed by the USS George W. Bush - the newest aircraft carrier.

We moved up to Ft Monroe to position ourselves closer to the Chesapeake Bay for our run home.  Only 2 nights and we're there!

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6 May 2011  Ft Monroe to Reedville, VA
As we headed out on the Bay, the seas were almost flat.  Crossing the York River, they picked up a bit and settled down again.  We passed Wolf Trap Light and headed for  Reedville in lieu of Jackson Creek - a little farther north and not as shallow.

Wolf Trap Light

This is a very rural area - not much going on other than menhaden fishing.  Omega Protein is the largest industrial employer in the area.  Reedville is also a jumping off point for trips to Tangier Island.  We anchored inside the "hook" at Sandy Point.

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7 May 2011  Reedville, VA to Solomons, MD
Hard to believe this is our last day on the water for several weeks.  It was a beautiful day on the Bay - nice & calm the way I like it.