Virgin – Olina

A Door 2 Fathoms Down

We left our slip in Solomons Island and the captain forgot to close the boarding gate door. We pulled up to the pumpout dock and the dockhand asked me to pull a bit more forward so the pumpout hose would reach and we heard a metal noise? The boarding gates on Simple Life open outward (very strange and a bit dangerous if you lean against an unlocked door) and when open they stick out further than the rubrail. The door caught on the fixed dock pilings and the sound was it being removed from the boat.

What to do? We are tied up at the dock and our door is 2 fathoms below us. It’s muddy brown Maryland water. Now… I love being “on the water” but I don’t like being “in the water”. Especially when the water is 57 degrees! Hmmm. Let’s call for an expert.

Diver Jeff Myers entering the cold murky water under the dock

It made me nervous just to watch Jeff our diver jump into that water. When he entered the water he took quite a few loud deep breaths. It looked cold to me. Jeff disappeared for what seemed like 5-10 minutes as I watched his bubbles appearing on the surface up & down the dock. I stood there holding the line he had attached to the dock and himself. I finally gave a tug on the line (cuz I think I saw that in a movie once) and he came up empty-handed and cold. He agreed to try another spot closer to the stern of the boat and he was down another 5 minutes… He surfaced and smiled a frozen smile. He had me pull the rope and the door came to the surface. Jeff had felt with his hands in zero visibility around the bottom until he felt the metal door and rapped his dive rope around it several times. We had already turned the heat on inside MV Simple Life so it was 80 degrees inside. Teresa handed Jeff a steaming hot coffee and a towel. Judging by how he stood in the path of the heat with both hands clenching the coffee cup under his chin… I’d say he appreciated it.

We spent the end of the day chatting with Jeff and decided to stay another night at the marina.

The door was unharmed. I spent the night pounding the aluminum hinges back into shape before reattaching the door which did not even have a scratch on it. (smile)

There is a great Italian restaurant at the marina called La Vela Italian Restaurant.

The next morning we had a great breakfast and set out for Gwynn Island just south of Solomons Island, MD.

I love the lines of a Chesapeake Deadrise

We anchored just off Gwynn Island and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

The next morning we set out for Norfolk, VA. As we passed the Norfolk Naval Yard we snapped a few photos.

We anchored at Hospital Point right next to Tidewater Marina.

We snapped a few photos while there.

In the AM we pulled out and circled ICW Mile Marker 0 which is actually this red buoy #36

The next morning we weighed anchor and pushed southward through the Great Bridge Lock.

Soon we docked at AYB (Atlantic Yacht Basin) in Chesapeake, VA and noticed the 80′ Northern trawler that had passed us while we were anchored was docked near to us. We met the owners briefly and discussed some boaters that we knew in common.

iiwii is pronounced E-WE and stands for “It Is What It Is”

We were excited to be docked because we had just enough time to get cleaned up and go to dinner with our boater friends who were driving to Chesapeake to have dinner with us at the Butcher’s Son restaurant. Caroline and Ruth are the best friends anyone could ask for. We wished we could have kidnapped them for the rest of our trip.

By the way that local Mosiac Goat IPA from 2 Silos Brewing was spectacular.

It was sad to leave our friends but the next morning we topped of the 1/2 full fuel tanks ($3000 worth of diesel) and set out for Coinjock Marina. When we arrived we saw MV iiwii was already tied up at the marina. We had just enough time to clean up and rush to get the Coinjock Restaurant’s famous 32 ounce prime rib special.

We actually ran into Fred and Sharon of MV iiwii and while waiting for a seat in the restaurant and Fred thought fast enough to tell the hostess that we would dine together as a party of 4 to make things easier. We enjoyed dinner with our new boater friends who entertained us with their boating stories from all over.

In the morning we cast off the lines and set out for Belhaven, NC. We snapped this photo of a nice looking sportfishing boat called MV McLovin which hailed from a port near me in RI.

Soon we were anchored in Belhaven, NC and enjoyed a night binge watching Friends. We are in Season #2 now.

The sunrise was amazing in the morning.

In the morning we weighed anchor and headed for Camp Legeune anchorage in Jacksonville, NC.

We saw the craziest rainbow spot in the sky. Not a whole rainbow but simply a dot in the sky?

We were now fast approaching Camp Lejeune.

It was a long 100NM trip here today cruising at 10kts. We left as the sun was coming up and dropped anchor just as the sun was going down.

As I sit here anchored in Camp Lejeune I am finally getting a blog post out. The five unblogged legs of our journey that got us to this location looked something like this…

Anchor in the Alligator

Morning Fog

Simple Life pulled away from the dock around 6:20AM. I was drifting in the river while I stowed my lines and fenders. Once stowed I pointed the boat south through the morning’s fog. MV Effervescence IV had also pulled away from the dock and had taken up my stern .I captured a few seconds of the morning’s fog on my phone.

Morning Fog on the Elizabeth River in Virginia

Sound Signals

As we moved through the fog I had my airhorns blasting on long every two minutes.

Great Bridge Lock

We had left the dock because just a mile or two down the river is the Great Bridge Lock. We wanted to get through the lock as quick as possible so that we could maximize the nautical miles we could put behind us by using all of the daylight. When we arrived at the lock we had to wait about 30 minutes for the next opening. Once inside the lock, we tied to the rubber numbered East wall so we did not have to set our fenders.

Great Bridge Lock

As I leave the lock I pass a steaming barge of dirt.

Great Bridge

You can see at the end of the above video that as soon as you exit the Great Bridge Lock you must stop and wait for the Great Bridge to open for you. I always remember the lock and the bridge being sync’d in time. When one let boats through the other was ready to let them through as well. Today however, we had to wait. More time spent not moving toward our nights proposed anchorage in the Alligator River.

Eventually the Great Bridge opened for us and we slipped beneath it’s large raised spans to find AYB (Atlantic Yacht Basin) on just the other side.

Encountering Barges

When you travel down a river the deepest part of the river is often the visual center. As you get away from the center and near the banks or edges of the river it can often shallow quickly. The ICW is a federal waterway which is responsible for moving goods up & down the US East Coast safe from storms on the Atlantic. Wide tug and barge combos will need that depth found in the center. If you need to pass a tug pushing a barge you need to give them the center. This often pushes you uncomfortably close to the shallow banks. Some boats will stop while the barge passes but most will communicate the pass over the VHF. The tugboat captain will usually say something like “I’d like a one-whistle pass” or “I’ll meet you on the one”. This jargon comes from the fact that boats use sound signals or either one or two short blasts of the horn to indicate what side of your boat they intend to pass on.

Tug, Gold Coast, pushing a barge north past recreational boaters going south

As the tug passes I check my AIS for information about the tug.

Crossing State Lines

When transiting the East coast I always enjoy the moments when I cross state lines. Some states I come and go in the day, ex. RI. Other states I can spend weeks in, ex. FL.

North Carolina

Below are some of the sights as I approach North Carolina.

Who Doesn’t Love a Cuck?

Now passing through Coinjock, NC I spy a Chevy El Camino on the shore. I don’t know why but I feel like that car is perfect for Coinjock.

Get up an Go

This large yacht passed me at an amazing speed for such a large yacht. They were outside the channel while performing the pass. Their wake was not that bad as much of their hull is out of the water as they plane on top at high speed.

Wow that is fast for such a large boat

Daylight Fading

At this point in the day’s journey, we are about to cross Albemarle Sound. During the night before’s captain’s briefing, we had planned to cross Albemarle Sound and anchor just before the Alligator River Swing Bridge. Delays we encountered at the Great Bridge Lock have made it so the sun will set before we arrive at our anchorage. MV Effervescence IV has asked me if we could increase our speed so as to arrive while there is still light? The sun is setting at 5:03PM and the last quarter moon will not rise till 11:50PM. No moon makes for a dark night and nobody wants to hit a day marker piling or run over a crab pot float and get a line wrapped around your prop.

I agree to increase the speed from 6.5kts to 8.5kts.

Fuel Economy

Trawlers like most boats can get great fuel milage at a slow speed. However, for every 1/10 of a knot you go above that speed the MPG starts to plummet fast. At 6.5 kts I get 3NM/gal. At 8.5kts I get 1NM/gal. If you have to increase your speed to close to your top speed you will very quickly spike your dollars paid per mile. It is better to realize the needed increase early so you don’t have to do the worst case of increasing to near max. Planning and flexibility is the key to getting down the coast and still having $ for beer 😉

Albemarle Crossing

Today’s crossing of Albemarle Sound is one of the smoothest I’ve had.

Albemarle Sound is Flat

Scanning the Horizon

Wake

I find a boat’s wake hypnotizing to watch up close.

Today’s 71NM journey looked something like this…

Night Crossing of Albemarle Sound

We spent Thanksgiving at Top Rack Marian. Kelly used InstaCart grocery delivery service to order everything that she needed and whipped up an amazing turkey dinner. This woman has skills :-).

All the Fix’ins
Yumm
Pie at the helm while underway
Saloon cleaned up after T-Day dinner.

We left Top Rack Marina after sharing an amazing Thanksgiving aboard. However, the temps were dipping into the 30’s at night and we needed to go South as fast as possible.

Leaving Top Rack Marina

a mile or two South down the ICW is the Great Bridge Lock. The water level only drops 2-3 ft so it’s pretty gentle as far as river locks go. However, the ICW (InterCoastal Waterway) is a federal commerce waterway and that means that it’s there for commercial boats first and pleasure boaters second. We had a stand aside while the lock tender let this huge tug and barge in ahead of us.

They asked us if we felt comfortable trying to squeeze past the tug n barge to get ahead of it in the lock. Challenge accepted.

Soon the gates were swinging open.

https://youtu.be/uCdNnLo4Q-s

Great Bridge Lock, ICW in VA

We saw lots of Canadians looking for a warmer winter

We passed through the Centerville Turnpike Swing Bridge

https://youtu.be/8i8TA1ITDwA

Centerville Turnpike Swing Bridge

Then it was through the “normally open except for when a train is a coming” bridge.

If a train comes and it starts a lower.. push the throttle to the pins 😉

Not long after that we were passing Coinjock Marina in NC. This is normally our stopping point for the night but the winds were going to increase early in the AM so we decided to anchor just before our Albemarle Sound crossing. On our way to our anchorage we heard a sailboat on the VHF hailing TowBoatUS to come pull them out of the shallows. It was 1.5 hours before low tide so it was only going to get worse.

This boat had wandered outside of the narrow channel and run aground

Soon we were passing ICW mile markers 55 & 65 and approaching our anchorage for the night.

I did one last check to see if the weather forecast had changed and … it had.

The strong winds were going to come before sunrise so Kelly & I decided do a nighttime crossing of Albemarle sound and anchor in the Alligator River rather than have a lumpy crossing in the AM.

Just before the sun went down we snapped one more photo.

The full moon came up but we were not running into it but away from it. I always prefer to run down the moonstreak as it helps me spot crap pot floats before we run them over and wrap the line around our propeller.

The crossing was a bit lumpy but we picked a spot to anchor behind Durant Island that would give us a lee shore. Tonight we will sleep well and get plan for a sunrise departure before the wind starts to whip in the AM.

Anchored Behind Durant Island (red marker)

Today’s leg was 70 NM from Chesapeake, VA to Durant Island, NC. This year we agreed to throttle-back to somewhere in the 6 knot range and stay in the 3 NM / gallon diesel range. We conservatively plan to make 50 NM / day. That’s 10 hours of daylight x 6 kts minus time weighing / dropping anchor and waiting for bridges to open.

Apple Maps Screen Capture with Finger Drawn Route – A Close Approximation

All of the Whos in Whoville Flock to Top Rack Marina

We spent two nights at the Top Rack Marina (ICW Statute Mile 8.8) in Chesapeake, VA.

Top Rack Marina Life Ring — Top Rack Marina – a nice stop along the ICW

What a great place to stop. When we arrived at the marina, Ben was there to catch our lines and greet us with a some Virginian southern hospitality. Top Rack Marina is a “dry rack storage” marina. These style of marinas store their customer’s boats on indoor racks rather than floating in a traditional “wet slip”. Customers simply call and request their boat dropped into one of the dozen or so wet slips in the marina’s water edge.

Top Rack Marina Kelly in Slip — Kelly relaxing in the cockpit

Top Rack Rack Indoor Racks — Indoor racks hold boats like a grocery store shelf

Top Rack Marina Outside Racks — Outdoor racks act as staging locations as boats are washed, flushed and prepped

Their giant fork truck moves boats effortlessly and can be intimidating as it whirls around with a boat high in the air.

Fork Truck John — Driver John alongside for a visual comparison

YouTube Video – Hauling Boat Up and Out

We decided to stay for two nights and re-provision the boat. Usually we would have to grab a Uber to a nearby grocery store but we have found that grocery delivery services are a much faster, cheaper and a far simpler way to restock. When we were in Brick, NJ we used Peapod from Stop & Shop but here in Chesapeake, VA we used Farm Fresh Supermarket.
Jaquay was our designated shopper and he would text us with pics of substitutions for any out of stock items on our list. Jaquay picked our order, drove dockside and was kind enough to help carry our groceries aboard. Thanks Jaquay.

The marina has a great ship store and Deli and as I checked in with Brian at the front desk, Brittany was there to help me select a local IPA beer called “El Guapo IPA”. El Guapo is brewed locally in Norfolk, VA by O’Connor Brewery

El Guapo IPA — In Spanish El Guapo is a beautiful guy, a well looking male

Then it was on to dine at the Amber Lantern Restaurant. We stepped out of the elevator and hostess Courtney warmly greeted us. We got an early start at the docks and by the time the restaurant opened at 4PM, we simply poured ourselves into seats at the bar. Bartender Sydney kept us smiling the whole night.

Sydney’s smile could warm the heart of even the crustiest sailor

Being first into the restaurant, we had the chef to ourselves and the food was amazing. We had our fill and retired back to the boat only to wake up at the witching hour of 3AM and sing along with YouTube videos from artists in the “Forever 27 Club”. I recall some Janis Joplin was echoing out over the river… “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”…

We awoke to a ghostly fog creeping down the river and we quickly shoved off to race and catch the Great Bridge Lock opening at half-past-every-hour.

Once at the Lock we tied up to the Southern wall, waited for the lock doors to silently close and watched as it lowered us gently down to the height of the water on the Albemarle Sound side of the lock. I find it interesting that while the Elizabeth River side of the lock is tidal and varies about 2.7 feet the Albemarle Sound side varies only due to the winds that drive water up or out of the river. Equally as amazing is the age of the machinery that drives these locks. You watch as giant gates and machinery, built using simple principles of engineering mastered many years ago, silently close.

YouTube Video of the Great Bridge Lock’s Gates Closing

Lock - Life Jackets Required — If you want to walk the dogs while in the lock you’ll have to don a PFD

The opening of the lock is timed to match cruiser’s expected arrival at the Great Bridge’s on-the-hour openings.

Great Bridge Bascule — Great Bridge – a bascule bridge

The Battle of Great Bridge was fought December 9, 1775, in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War.

We kept the ICW-bridge-list.pdf displayed on the iPad we’d have the requisite knowledge at our fingertips. As you pilot the ICW you will want to be aware of such things as… What bridges are around the bend? Can you safely pass under their vertical height? Are they restricted in opening times? How to contact the bridge tender on to request an opening?

As you make your way down the Albemarle Chesapeake Canal you can’t help but notice it’s as straight as spaghetti. The Canal was originally conceived of in 1772 but had to wait until technology advances (circa 1856) that allowed steam-powered mechanical dredges to cut through the land. While the canal is over 70 miles long, there is only 14 miles of excavated land. There are really two different “cuts”. The 8.5 mile long Virginia Cut which connects the Elizabeth River with the North Landing River in Virginia and the North Carolina Cut which is 5 miles long and slices across the Currituck Peninsula at the village of Coinjock to enter the North River, flowing south into the Albemarle Sound.

This canal is a wonderful part of American history. During the U.S. Civil War, when the Union Army commandeered the canal, nearly 9,000 vessels made the transit. After the War, traffic continued to increase as the waterway took over practically all of the trade passing between the Albemarle Sound and Norfolk, Virginia.

As we meander down the ICW at a leisurely pace of 6 knots (4.5 MPG) we noted the passing from Virginia into NC. Then just a short while later, we were stumped to explain why this looping side canal was littered with wrecks? How did this happen?

VA NC State Line — VA / NC State Line – ICW statute mile marker 34

Cannon — Maybe this cannon we passed was responsible for the wrecks 😉

The scenery at this point in the ICW is amazing! The waterway is lined with tall grass and you’ll watch as the local duck hunters race by you in camouflaged flat bottom boats. We’d pass the occasional duck blind hidden in the grass and Kelly & I would jabber about the moral issues of tricking ducks with decoys into becoming dinner. I’m always intrigued by the human race’s dilemma between a desire to coexist peacefully with all the other animals on planet Earth and our need for subsistence.

We soon arrived at Coinjock Marina where dock hand, JD quickly moored us to the wall and we scurried off to the Sand Bar for an IPA, some buffalo wings and a filet mignon for Kelly.

Coinjock Marina Kelly — The restaurant is known for their amazing prime rib

Inside the bar we met Bartender Jason and shared stories with other cruisers going South down the ICW. The three captains of a brand new 45′ Hatteras sport fishing boat that was making its way South sat next to us. They showed us video of their 30 knot trip South and we joked about their 80+ g/hr burn rate vs. our 1.2 g/hr rate. “Time is money” said one of the captains as they hurried out of the bar joking that they would not wake us at sunrise as their sprint South continued. Well it’s 6:30AM and we just watched them depart silently. I’m sure today will be another fun time here in Coinjock, NC.