We've just seen our first Canada Geese, squirrels and pines since we returned. We have had spotty Internet signal through these patches of North Carolinian marsh and wilderness so it proved difficult to have a chance to update the blog again.
We left Morehead City Wednesday and had a terrific sail up the Pamlico River to the Sound where we found an anchorage.We're travelling with Tony and Stu on Georgia E, a sailboat from Toronto, and we are finding great comfort in having another boat to chat things over.
The forecast had suggested the weather was moderating but it really didn't. We commenced down the Alligator River and as we got closer to the narrows of the river as it spills into Albermarle Sound, the waves grew and the wind took us on the nose. Messenger's bow was sprayed with the dark brown tannin-stained waters and we started to worry about trying to cross the notorious Sound in these conditions. The decision was taken out of our hands when the Alligator River Bridge was closed due to high winds (gusts up to 30 knots) and so Messenger and Georgia E had to retrace 7 miles back to an anchorage with a bit of marsh to hold back the winds and squalls. We ended up passing a quiet night and crossed the Sound yesterday with strong easterlies but at least we could motorsail and plow through the winds. Elizabeth and Reg were a touch seasick but soon recovered once we got back on the North Landing River.
Then it grew cold and damp and grey and we started having trouble finding a suitable place to stop. We had expected that a couple of anchorages in our Waterway Guide would be deep enough but Georgia E, always the willing guinea pig with her shallower draft found that wasn't the case.
We tried again and again but kept pressing on, even a few marinas were closed as it was Good Friday or business had been bad and they had closed up for good.
Finally, we reached Great Bridge and managed to squeeze our two boats into the Free Dock - making the day an 84-mile run. We were tired.
We fell into bed and then this morning started heading through a series of bridges and the Great Bridge lock to make our way another 12 miles to Norfolk. We are going to Portsmouth, actually, next door to Tidewater Marina where we'll spend Easter there with our friends on Endurance. The three of us will do potlock and maybe the Easter Bunny will come.
We're starting to see Canada Geese, squirrels and evergreens like at home and it's making all of us quite homesick. Aidan said yesterday it even felt cold enough to feel like home.
Today a soft south wind blowing 20 knots is clearing the skies and warming us up.
We'll stop a few days in Norfolk and the five of us can get off and away from each other, as we've been cooped up together for four days (without showers) and we're getting a bit crazy. I'm actually surprised at how well we did fare, considering the circumstances. Reg found a place way at the back of the boat the night we had to turn back, tuning into his iPod and trying to imagine himself away, I think, as we each sought out a piece of space to ourselves. Aidan and Elizabeth are a bit more acclimatized to life on board but even they are happy to be going to Norfolk.
We'll do some sightseeing perhaps and I can do a monster LAUNDRY and showers and big boat cleanup.
Then we'll plan our trip through the Chesapeake and get ready to jump out in a couple of weeks to New York. The Great Bridge lock is positioned midway between Charleston and New York.
We're getting closer.
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