South River off Neuse River (near Beaufort, NC) 11 Oct 2008

We have been traveling on the Intercoastal Waterway and are 20 miles from Beaufort, N. C. where we will head out into the Atlantic south to Jamestown, South Carolina. We are currently "hiding out" in the South River so we are away from the winds on the Neuse River. We had a quiet night at anchor except for the sounds of rain and the buzzzz of mosquitos.. There will be high winds and high seas for the next few days until a high pressure system moves in so we are biding our time until next Tuesday and Wednesday when we will be taking our boat back out to sea. Yesterday we had some brisk winds on the Neuse River and some 3-4 foot waves with several porpoise sightings as they dived under our boat. Not much ship sightings except for a few sail boats trying to get to port and a few commerical fishing vessels.

Oct. 9, 2008 Alligator River, N.C

We took a short hop from CoinJock, N.C. to the Alligator River Marina. We could not get into this marina last year because the water level was too low. This year it is higher but there is a "low spot" as you enter the marina. Well we hit the low spot and had to "motor about 30-40 feet" across the mud until we hit good water. We watched another sail boat hit the "low spot" so that is the entertainment of this marina! The water level is a little higher this morning so hopefully we will not have 30 to 40 feet of mud to cross as we head south to Belhaven, N.C. as we journey on the intercoastal waterway.

Oct. 7, 2008, Coinjock, N.C.

This morning when we left Great Bridge, VA we had the morning sun shinning on the ICW with a slight fog just on the edge of the waterway. The leaves are just beginning to change color, however we still have warm weather. Today is the "cold day" of 67 degrees but the rest of the week will be in the mid 70s.

It was a delightful day cruising on the Intercoastal Waterway from Great Bridge, VA to Coinjock, NC. After getting a few groceries at Great Bridge yesterday we had company lining up at the Great Bridge City dock. This morning 2 large power boats and another sail boat joined us as we headed southbound on the intercoastal waterway. We were able to keep up with the boats until we past the Centerville Highway Bridge but the North Landing Bridge was too far away for us to get the 9 a.m. bridge lift so we lost some of the companionship of the large power boats.

The scenery along this stretch along the ICW is always a delightful sight. This morning it was very quiet with just the birds for company and the waves lapping against the shoreline.

Tomorrow we hope to make a 12 hour run to Belhaven, N.C. The internet coverage has not been very good there so it will be a few days before we can update this blog.

Oct. 1, 2008 Annapolis, MD

The city harbor at Annapolis is always fun to walk around. It was less crowded than when we were here last summer but there were still boats and people from around the world. The fall boat show will be here next weekend so the streets will be crowded. We will be heading for Hampton, Virginia tomorrow and we plan to make it in three days about 50 miles between anchorages.

While walking through the Naval Academy we took this picture of a monument dedicated to submariners. While waiting for weather windows we have been reading a lot of books we have been able to pick up at marinas or used books stores etc. An interesting one on submarine warfare is Blind Man's Bluff by Sontag and Drew regarding the cold war skirmishes.

This is such a beautiful chapel. The stained glass windows are stunning and all relate to "the sea". Underneath the chapel is the crypt for Davey Jones. I took a picture of the ornate crypt but it is rather dark and does not show the details of the ornate crypt.

We rode our dingy from Weems creek, where we have been at anchor, to the Severn River and took pictures of the Naval Academy from the waterfront.

This picture was taken a week ago while were were in Georgetown, MD just south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The dock master at the marina told us that this replica 18th century ship is a summer "experience" for the children in the area and used to teach about the exploration of the Chesapeake Bay by Captain John Smith.

While sailing up the Delaware Bay we had several container ships and freighters following us up the channel as the tides and currents were favorable for the northbound journey. We saw many of these freighters at anchor while we started heading north into the bay at day break and by 11 a.m. they started up the bay and passed us along the way.

While traveling in the Chesapeake we meet many Tugs and Barges. These tugs have high tower like structures so when they are "pushing a barge" vs pulling one, they can see over the barge.

This picture was taken at sun rise while we were headed down the Atlantic Coast off of New Jersey. It was a cool damp morning but by 10 a.m. the sun warmed us up and the layers of clothes came off and we only had a few fair weather clouds during the day.