Washington DC

Our second and final day on the Potomac was just as exciting as our first. We passed Mount Vernon and then Fort Washington. As the Woodrow Wilson bridge came into view so did the Washington Monument in the distance. After passing the bridge we then passed the former presidential yacht Sequoia, now a tour boat, going in the opposite direction. The Potomac is the flight path for Ronald Reagan National Airport, so soon it was one jet after another flying overhead. We made our way into the Washington Channel and followed it with the East Potomac Park to port and marinas to starboard. We anchored just across from the Capital Yacht Club. We have privileges at the Capital Yacht Club where they are very nice and they gave us a warm welcome. The Washington Channel is the flight path for helicopters and they are numerous. They pass directly over and not too far above our mast top. Pictured is the view from our cockpit during our first evening in Washington. We plan to stay here at least a week now that we made the journey.

View From Ariel

On The Bay Again

We enjoyed our stay at the Bluewater Yachting Center. It is a well run facility and very friendly. It is tight getting in and out but is one we would return to. We left Hampton on Memorial Day to take advantage of favorable winds. It was so good to be on the bay and to actually sail again. We knew Star Shadow was in Deltaville, our destination for the day and we did reach Graham on the radio, but wind strength and direction precluded us getting close enough to their marina to visit with them. They were hauling out the next day and returning to Canada two days following. We enjoyed our time with Windsong, alternating dinners on Ariel and Windsong or going out for dinner together. We knew we would go our separate ways once we reached the Potomac. Alice called her friend Jane who lives near St. Marys. Jane's husband Skip recommended we anchor in Smith Creek and meet them for dinner at the marina there. It turned out to be a beautiful anchorage and very remote. We had a wonderful time with Skip and Jane. The next day was extremely windy so we stayed put and enjoyed one more day together. Today we started our trip up the Potomac for Washington, DC. We had a little excitement as we approached the Navy's Danlgren firing range. We could certainly hear the guns well in advance. As we approached, the Navy Range Patrol Boat contacted us and provided directions which would take us down the Maryland side of the range. As we were passing, they fired another salvo and we watched the huge splashes in mid river. We are now about half way to Washington and anchored just outside Port Tobacco.

Together Again

New Bern was a wonderful stop for us. We had not been there for several years and had never arrived by boat. As it happens Rodger and Kathy from Talisman were on our dock, just a couple boats away, so it was good to see them. They are also going to Maine this summer so we are sure to see them again soon. Iain and Jan, and Ted and Alice finally caught up with us. Actually we stopped long enough so they could. We wanted to see Iain and Jan before they left for Canada. They are such good friends and we were so excited to see them and spend some time together. We managed to get the flavor of the marina and town. They have a wonderful farmer's market on Saturday mornings. Linda bought lots of fresh vegetables. We attended church at the United Methodist Church and immediately felt very much welcomed. After church we stopped at a coffee shop, a popular spot for locals to discuss the topics of the day. There we met Curt and Linda Wright, former cruisers that just moved to New Bern a year ago. Curt is an accomplished artist with paintings on display and for sale at the coffee shop and of all places, Painted Post, New York. Curt and Linda lived in Dundee, New York during their working careers. One interesting event while in town was rescuing some baby ducks. We were all out walking when we came upon a father and son working on removing a storm drain grate. The mother with her eight duckings had crossed the street in front of his car. The ducklings were having trouble getting up and over curb. One decided to go parallel to the curb, the others followed and then one by one disappeared into the drain. Iain was the hero as he hung upside down in the drain and recovered the ducklings one by one. The young boy then carried them to the mother duck as she was frantically waiting off to the side. Once she had all her young they were on their way again. We even had police assistance. The officer stopped to see what was going on and immediately jumped in to help.

We are now in Hampton, back where our adventure together all started. We had planned to anchor here again, but the city widened the channel such there is really no room to anchor. We decided to stop at a marina for the holiday weekend. That decision turned out really good for Ted and Alice as they then invited their son Scott and his wife and two children to come spend a night on the boat. The children are very young, (four and two) so being in a marina made it possible.

Ted, Alice, Iain, Jan, Norm and Linda

Coming up the Virgina Cut. Our last day we had six bridges and one lock, but it was a beautiful day for travel.

New Bern

We are spending a few days in New Bern, North Carolina. We are at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina. We are actually on a scouting mission. We are planning for 2009 and are thinking of spending that summer in New Bern. The marina is downtown and in addition to the typical marina amenities also provides hotel amenities such as the exercise room. New Bern, the second oldest town in North Carolina, is situated where the Trent and Neuse Rivers meet. It is 23 miles up the Neuse River from mile marker 182 on the ICW. This puts it well off the beaten path.

Camp Lejeune

We are again at Mile Hammock on Camp Lejuene. This is one of our favorite stops. While we like variety, I guess we are partial to isolated locations. During the day there are the sights and sounds of military exercises, but at night this is a very peaceful and quiet place. It is a popular stop for many so we are not alone here. Going ashore is not permitted so everyone seems to use the time to relax and enjoy the natural surroundings from the comfort of their cockpits.

Jocks Lodge and Windsong are still two days behind us as they have been for the past couple weeks. We expect to stay in New Bern long enough for them to catch up. Iain and Jan are leaving Jocks Lodge in New Bern for a month while they fly home to Ontario.

Wrightsville Beach

We had planned to spend a couple days in Wrightsville Beach, but have now been here for five. The strong low pressure system which generated so many tornadoes also generated high winds. We have seen long periods of sustained winds 30 -35 with higher gusts. Our anchorage is well protected so the wave action is minimal. Bridges will not open in high winds so we are staying put until it quiets down a little. This is a great place to wait it out. The town provides a very nice floating dock that is just one block from the beach. The beach which is wide and flat stretches for miles. This picture which was taken from Ariel shows how narrow the strip of land is between our anchorage and the Atlantic. The hotels shown front the beach.

Oops

We stopped at Calabash Creek, a spot we enjoyed on our trip south. It is right on the border with North Carolina. We had two other boats, both trawlers join us later in the day. We were concerned when the pictured trawler anchored very close to shore. You must be sure you can safely swing in all 360 degrees. The wind picked up during the night and these guys paid for their mistake. In reality it is not as bad as it looks. They will just have to wait for the tide to come in and they should be able to float off. We were on our way early to make the 8 am pontoon bridge opening. We are now in Wrightsville Beach and plan to stay a couple days. The beach is literally a block away from the dinghy landing.

On The Waterway Again

We are back on the waterway working our way northward. Before leaving Charleston on Monday morning we spent Sunday afternoon back in the historic district. We took a much slower pace than on Saturday. We visited the Heyward-Washington house located within the area of the original walled city. This brick double house was built in 1772 by rice planter Daniel Heyward as a town-house for his son, Thomas Heyward, Jr. The city rented it for George Washington’s use during the President’s week-long Charleston stay, in May 1791, and it has traditionally been called the “Heyward-Washington House.”

We had to get back into the feel of the waterway on Monday. The current was against us more than it was with us and much of the day was near low tide, consequently we had a lot of skinny water. We stayed Monday night in Georgetown, but didn't go ashore. Today was a short day as we are positioning ourselves for the 'Rock Pile', a narrow area with a rocky bottom. We will go through tomorrow around noon at hide tide and slack current. Yesterday we saw two alligators, each around 6 feet. We had all but given up on seeing alligators, not having seen any with all the time we spent in Florida. Today we saw many Osprey nests and they all seemed to have little ones in the nests.

Charleston - Finally

With good weather we decided to go outside from the St. Marys River to Charleston. We actually made our decision during breakfast so we quickly did the calculations on arrival time and got underway as soon as we were cleaned up. We first returned to Fernandina Beach to top off our diesel fuel and then we were off on an outgoing tide. The day was beautiful as forecast with winds a little on the light side so we motored sailed. There was little traffic, just a few other northern bound boats that had also left from St. Marys or St. Augustine, bound for Port Royal or Charleston. At one point we saw a large object in the water about one boat length off our port side. I was so relieved we had not hit it and then tried to figure out what it was. It was just at and below the surface. Just at that moment it raised it's head and I realized I was looking at a very large leatherback turtle. Leatherbacks are huge turtles with adults weighing 700 to 2,000 pounds and measuring 4 to 8 feet in length. By morning the wind was even lighter and the swell increased and was directly on the starboard beam making for a very uncomfortable ride. There is a long entrance channel into Charleston Harbor which then passes Fort Sumter. Right then and there you know you are in a place with so much historical significance. We had called Charleston City Marina on the Ashley River for reservations before we left so we just needed our slip assignment when we arrived at about noon. We both were exhausted from lack of sleep, but we got the boat cleaned up and the laundry done so we could enjoy the weekend in historic Charleston. The marina provides van service to the downtown areas so Saturday morning we were off beginning with a stop at the Old Market. There is so much to see and do. After spending a little time in the market we took a horse drawn tour of the East Battery area,. After returning to the Old Market, we spent some more time there before setting out on our own walking tour. We visited the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon and then the Edmonston-Alston Home. This home has 90% of the original furnishings and is still in the family which lives on the third floor. The homes in Charleston have very short front facades, modeled after the homes in London which were taxed on the frontage. This is very deceiving because they are very deep and the sides usually have beautiful piazzas. At the Edmonston-Alston Home, which is on the East Battery, the owners stood on their piazza as we did while touring, and watched the beginning of the Civil War when Confederate artillery opened fire on the Federal fort in Charleston Harbor at 4:30 am on April 12, 1861. There is so much to take in here, it will take a few more visits.