Norfolk south

Monday, October 16, 2006. Clearly we don't do this trip very often or we would remember just how slow the first few miles out of Norfolk is. We were lucky that the first bridge opened early for a tug and barge, otherwise we would have had to wait for more than half an hour. In a legitimate concession to downtown rush hour traffic, the bridges don't open until 8:30 in the morning. By the time we had gone through six bridges and the Great Bridge Lock, we had been traveling for 2-1/2 hours, to go a little over 15 miles. Hurry up and wait.

Things improved after that, and by the time we thought it was time to search for an anchorage we had traveled 85 miles. With an unfavorable weather forecast with lots of rain and high winds, we were looking for a sheltered anchorage, which we found just before the Alligator River - Pungo River Canal. We anchored at 35� 40.539' N, 76� 03.602' W. We were the only power boat among five or six sailboats. The other power boats anchored a few miles earlier in what looked to us like a very exposed anchorage.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006.

That's a view of the Alligator River - Pungo River Canal, straight shot for 25 miles.

As power boaters we try to be considerate; after all, we suffered from boat wakes when we sailed. But sometimes we make mistakes, and sometimes the sailboats just won't cooperate. The Pungo River Canal is straight, relatively deep, and 90' wide, though there are lots of snags at its banks so the charts recommend staying in the middle of the canal. As we entered the canal we could see several sailboats ahead of us. The first sailboat heard us coming and moved well over to starboard so we could slow down and pass him further off his beam and minimize any wake. The fellow greeted us pleasantly and chatted a bit, which distracted me from keeping our distance, but we were going slowly enough that there wasn't much wake. The second sailboat, however, stayed in the middle of the canal, and was chugging along at 7 knots. In order to pass a boat going 7 knots we raise a wake which, though not huge is still irritating. If the sailboat had just slowed down and moved over to let us pass, we could have passed them quicker, at a slower speed, and further away from them, making it a bit more comfortable; but they just watched us struggle to keep as small a wake as possible while passing.

I think that new sailors are so intent on observing and holding other boats to the Rules of the Road that they forget that nobody is going to give them a ticket for not "maintaining speed and course" under all circumstances. I doubt there's a power boater who wouldn't wish sailors could make it easier for them by slowing down and pulling as far over as is practicable.

Once through the canal we went into River Forest Marina in Bellhaven, NC. With a weather forecast for rain for the next two days, it was time to catch our breath, go out to dinner, and DO OUR LAUNDRY before it got up and walked.

We were here 20 years ago on our way south in SV Watermelon. I don't think it's changed a bit. Cell phone reception is zero. They have no internet connection in this marina. The ICW guidebook of facilities shows a lovely ad for this marina, with a picture of the restaurant/inn. It's a better choice for a picture than the marina, which doesn't look as if much has been done in the past 20 years, and it wasn't new or modern 20 years ago! In its favor, though, is that everything seems to work okay, the people are lovely and helpful. We had dinner at the restaurant, which was good, but the service was disorganized and slow. Peter and I got our meals fairly quickly, but the couple who joined us waited more than an hour to get their food. The weather is lousy although it's warming up. Peter has a cold and it's much better being at the dock than at anchor, IMO.