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 We left RE Mayo (Hobuken) bright and early on Monday.
Weather was OK but not favorable for sailing. Winds were out of the NE
but only 5-10 kts. Crossing the Pamlico River was not a problem nor was
our trip past Belhaven nor the trip up the Pongo canal. We anchored at
our usual place near the junction of the canal and the Alligator River.
As usual, Denise made great meals and Wolfgang the perfect helmsman and
navigator. Bob did some stuff too.
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 The anchorage was quiet and we all went to bed early.
We wanted to get to Elizabeth City as early as we could. They were call
for good winds (out of the south) and good sea conditions in the
Arbamarle Sound. We motor sailed from our anchorage to the the
Alligator River Bridge then sailed (with jib and jigger) up the Sound
to the Pasquatank River. Conventional wisdom says that full keel boats
do not catch crab pots when sailing. Not true! As we entered the
Pasquatank, her helm got tight and we lost a knot of speed. Funny, no
turbulence in the water, but something was definitely wrong. Of course
the wind decided to pick up to 15-25 knots. Great. We were towing
'something' and we could not turn the engine on (for fear that we would
foul the propeller). So up the Pasquatank we went until we found a
safe place to anchor. Down come the mizzen, then the jib, then a quick
turn into the wind, and the hook is secured while the wind is blowing
towards 25 kts. Again, Wolfgang to the rescue as he jumps overboard and
fetches the pot float and assorted line the has fouled the prop.
Wolfgang is the hero of the day!
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 We arrive at Pelican Marina (our favored stopover at EC)
and meet up with Billy again. It is amazing how much easier it is to
dock the boat with three onboard. We tied up the boat, signed into
the marina, and recovered from the day's ordeal. The wind and weather
were not cooperating so we signed up for another day at EC. Denise met up
with Marley (the cat) and it was an instant love affair. Sadly, both
Wolfgang and Marley's dad said No!. Later, we did the
hike to the Food Lion and picked up some additional motor oil as we
thought we might be having mechanical difficulties.
Yep, the dipstick said that we had even more oil. We were guessing that
diesel fuel was somehow mixing with the oil. Time to change the oil and
hope that it would not be too much of a problem until we could get it fixed.
We went to meet the
Rose Buddies but they we not in their usual place (we later learned that
Fred was hosting it as his house).
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 The following day we headed for the Dismal swamp Canal (DSC)
We motored up to the headwaters of the Pasquatank planning our arrival
at the lock at 1100. Three other boats passed us and found them
frantically maneuvering to avoid hitting each other or the lock. We
chose to stay behind until we heard that the lock gates were open. Easy
locking. Jule III and one of our lock mates decided to stay the night
at the Visitor's Center. Nice place and nice people. We bought some
stuff then headed for an early sleep. BTW, did I tell you that it
rained most of the way from EC to the Visitor's Center. It was cold
too. Got to love it!
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 Left the Center at 0900 heading for the Deep Creek bridge
opening at 1100. Wind was piping through the trees at 15-20 kts but we
were feeling very little of it. It I mention that it was raining again
today... and it was getting colder. The lock tender at Deep Creek is
always a delight and today was no exception. One of the boats was a
little annoying but he took it in stride. We left Deep Creek at 1200
and then headed for Hospital Point. We arrived here at 1500 with only
10 boats in the anchorage. We had dinner, happy hour then a early bed
as we were sailing straight through to Deale MD tomorrow. Wolfgang and
I made a bet. I bet that less than 50 % of the boats would have their
anchor lights tuned on. Wolfgang said more than 50 %. Guess who one!
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