New landscape, new friend
27 October 2007 | ICW, NC
Sue Clearing skies
We've been two days on the ICW and feel like we're in a different world than the one we sailed before yesterday. Leaving Hampton, we motored past the Norfolk metropolitan area as well as the huge Navy Shipyard. After a few miles, without warning, civilization evaporated. We were immersed in a wilderness setting, flat and thinly forested. Nothing like the lush green peninsulas of the Chesapeake. Beguiling nonetheless.
Our first lock! Barely a reason to open and close as the water levels on either side are about the same. Barely a taste of the Erie Canal.
It's impossible to miss the marinas enroute. They are practically the only buildings along the bank! We plan on 50 mile days. With the marinas so far apart, there is no choice about how long to travel. As we lose more daylight each day, we have to stop early rather than risk being caught in the dark. This turns out to be relaxing. Squeezing as much passage into each day as possible has been exhausting.
We've had the pleasure of meeting Sailor Joe Kozak. After traveling together for a day, we were formally introduced as he extended his boat hook to me at the Pungo Ferry Marina. Joe, at 71, just published the 600 page, America's Great Loop. It is a compilation of daily log entries while circumnavigating the route that follows the Atlantic Coast, Hudson River, Erie Canal, Great Lakes, Mississippi, Gulf of Mexico. Now, he is distributing copies of his book to stores and individuals as he sails along.