Voyage 2005-2006: Chapter 5

29 Apr 2006, Sea Dog Log - Saturday, Day 6 , 36 18.000 N/ 076 12.750 W

Weather has us holding over another day in Elizabeth City. SCB and I had a couple of good meals in land restaurants and took a walking tour of this historic village. This might be a retirement consideration town - no real industry and stately old homes with spectacular water views. However, at a population of about 17,000 it's a pretty small town with not a whole lot to do. Since there is no traveling to report today, I'll use this log entry to correct some errors and make note of some thoughts I've had so far....

Corrections: We really did not drink a full bottle of grappa at one sitting. It actually took us a couple of days to polish it off. I referred to Co-Captain Ann as First Mate because she is SCB's wife and not on this voyage. Bob and Ann are Co-Captains of Jule-III

Musings: Boat people are a unique breed and fun to be around. Sail Boat people do not trust Power Boat people, and visa-versa. Anyone whose boat name starts with "My" is probably a weekend sailer. Anytime two sailboats are in the same water - it's a race. I miss hearing birds sing when away from land. There are no mosquitoes at sea. I would love to see your comments of this log on the Guestbook. SeaDog

01 May 2006, Comments from a disgraced captain, 36 21.810 N/ 076 15.120 W

We left Elizabeth City at 0710 and passed under the bascule bridge at 0730. Life was good. Wind had moderated considerably and the cruise for the 1130 South Mills lock opening should be easy to achieve. Captain Bob Booboo #1: The lock time is 1100 not 1130. Bob realized this at 1020 so he sped Jule III to 6 knots (thats fast for here). We called the lock tender and he said he would wait a couple of minutes. We were only minutes away when the channel forked. Take the big channel or the little. The big of course! (Bigg booboo # 2). As we entered the channel we saw a sign, previously covered by a bush, that said we were wrong. Bob turns the boat around and heads for the smaller channel. Thud (Big booboo # 3! Hard aground on a fallen tree at 1105. We told the lock master that we would not be coming; called Towboat US and tried all the sailor tricks to get us ungrounded. Sigh! Five hours later Portsmouth Towboat US comes to the rescue. Their trip was a story in itself.

Anyway, we get off after some pretty hefty struggling and then we try to anchor. No joy! Our 66 pound Bruce refuses to hold in the debris that litters the bottom of the Cyprus swamp. We try again further away. Nope. We start heading back towards EC and finally after three more tries, we manage to find a decent anchorage. We are now 7.5 miles further from the lock. Well, Capt Bob is embarrassed so he is going to sign off now.