Voyage 2019: Chapter 3

29 May 2019, Hobucken -> EC -> Norfolk, 36 50.772 N/ 076 18.012 W

We only stayed one day in Hobucken as another weather system would catch us in less than two days. Any longer and it will be nasty. We left at first light and 12 hours later arrived at our anchorage in the Little Alligator River. During the day, winds picked up to 15+ kts out of the SW so we sailed (mostly) to the anchorage where we had good protection at the anchorage.

At first light we were off again. By 0800, wind was SW@15-20 kts. Temperature/humidity was high/really high with heat index approaching 100 F. By 0900, we had a reefed jib, no main, and a full mizzen. As usual, the crab pot floats were a pain but we managed to miss them.

As we entered the Pasquotank, the waves moderated to 2' but wind did not settle down until we passed the Dirigible Field. The pots did not go away until the USCG base. By the time we got to the Pelican, wind was light to moderate out of the west. With help from Brian, we tied up on 'our' face dock at 1110. It still was very hot!

We stayed in EC for a week to meet up with friends, load up with fuel, and stay out of the heat. We had lunch with Earl, several chats with Diesel Dave, and a brief visit with Billie. Several folks would be out of town for the extended Memorial Day holiday. It was good seeing the Pelican gang. We have to cross the bridge to get to town which Bob did every day. Some parts of old town are doing OK but the area near the Colonial is vacant of businesses including the Colonial. Nearby, there is new development. Hope it works out.

Weather is great for this gaggle, but not so good for cruisers (unless they have air conditioning - we do). We had several families of geese and one duck family with three chicks. We don't see much of this on our travels South. We rented a car to break the heat and get fuel for our jerry jugs.

Today is Memorial Day. No parades but several civic ceremonies were held around the city. They installed a new monument in the newly created park on the city side of the bridge. However, we have to leave today, so we have to get rid of the car. Of course Enterprise is closed so Bob has to drive there, drop it off, then walk back. He likes to walk. Good thing.

We left around 1100 for Goat Island on the Pasquotank. There are several nice anchorages on the north side of the island. Also, we can make it to South Mill lock of the Dismal Swamp tomorrow for the first opening.

Next morning, we left at 0600 on a liesurely drive to the Dismal Swamp. We arrived just in time for the 0830 opening. Frank was the lock tender and, as usual, it was a perfect operation. Just two boats this time. That's why we like this locking time.

We visited the Welcome Center by car a couple days earlier. Tara asked us to give her a call and a wave when we passed. She was waiting with a wave and camera. Our picture didn't turn out. Further up the Canal, we passed the cow bridge, a privately owned pull bridge for moving cattle and equipment between the two sides. It has been there for ages. We actually saw it used many years back.

At 1315, we arrived at the Deep Creek bridge. We called and called until 1330. He was cutting the grass and did not here our call. Great lockup, friendly guy who knew how to handle us in windy conditions. Robert, the normal lock master, was on vacation. We were told to keep an eye on our depth sounder as there was some Florence related shoaling. We followed his advise and got to the Norfolk and Southern #7 railroad bridge. Over a half hour wait while two trains passed. It was crowded with up to 20 boats milling around, including us. Forty five minutes later, we were anchored at Hospital Point. Not bad, 9 hours from Goat to Norfolk.

30 May 2019, Norfolk -> Reedville, 37 50.322 N/ 076 16.806 W

We left Hospital Point at 0620 with a fair current and a light SW wind. It will be a 67 nm trip to Reedville. Once we passed Old Point Comfort, we headed North resulting in a foul current (.5 kt). Wind was light but still SW so we hoisted the mizzen and jib for a bit of motor sailing. Progress was not swift. It seemed like we saw Wolf Trap light for hours (actually it was hours). Did I mention the heat has returned with a vengeance (95F/103HI). And the flies; I forgot about the Chesapeake Bay biting flies. Mercy.

We tied up on the face-dock of the Crazy Crab at 1800. We plugged in, turned on the a/c, and continued to swat flies. After a sufficient cool down time, Bob headed out to re-acquaint himself with the town. In older times, we used to visit Reedville quite often.

Not much has changed except the houses in the historic look better than I remembered Tommy's has been changed to the Dockside restaurant; the boat railway is active again, the museum has expanded; and the people are friendlier than ever. Oh, I forgot, someone bought the old bank building and is converting it to a coffee shop. Can't wait to see it.

In 2008, while dinghy-ing around Reedville, we met Dave, a resident sailor. We had a nice chat about the town and the residents. Nearly 11 years later, we met Dave again (long story). He invited us to his house for drinks and conversation. He showed us a video of clips from a passage from Azores to England where he was crew. We hope to see Dave in the fall.

We were to meet a Cruiseheimer neighbor (who lives further up the Great Wicomico) at the Crazy Crab our last night here but weather got in their way. We'll try again in the Fall. Today, we left Reedville at 0740. We always have to take a picture of 'the Stack'. Weather was calm leaving Cockrell Creek. Weather was not quite as miserable as past days, but the flies didn't notice.