Carolina’s Great Adventure
Bob and I departed New Bern on July 14, 2021 - our 42nd wedding anniversary. We had been sent off by “our tribe”. It was a wonderful soirée facilitated by Paul and Nicole Deering. If we knew the party would be that good, we would have left more often!
The morning we left was a bit hectic. We’re not used to having to pack. On Sofia we had everything we owned- she was our only home. Now we had to actually decide what to bring and what to leave. It was a real sh*t-show at our house for a couple of days. We still forgot some minor and major things. Luckily Amazon delivers just about anywhere and,in most cases, faster than to NewBern.
It was a perfect morning to depart. Wayne and Gaye came by for a last good-bye and brought Bob back from dropping the truck at home. We finished filling our water tanks, dropped our lines and slipped silently out of our slip. We were off.
We spent our first night in the Pungo River. Anchored very successfully and had a wonderfully peaceful night (read”no bug attacks”).
We traveled up the Pungo crossed the Albemarle Sound - without incident- and then up the North River to Coinjock. Where in the Hell is Coinjock! We took space at the dock and actually managed to eat dinner in the restaurant. Bob tried the famous rib eye while I stuck to seafood. It was a delightful evening again.
The following day we had a leisurely day up to Atlantic Yacht Basin. We knew we would not make Norfolk with all the bridges and the lock to traverse, so we enjoyed another evening tied to the wall.
On Saturday the 17th we arrived in Norfolk. We usually stay in Portsmouth at Ocean Marine Yacht Center but they didn’t answer their radio or phone. Neither did Tidewater Yacht Marina, another of our favorites. I’m still waiting for someone to call me back. I guess if I said a needed dockage for 5 months for a 100’ yacht they may have returned my call. It’s o.k. Forced us to try somewhere new and we may never go back to those other places. We crossed the River to Norfolk and stayed at Waterside Marina. Great place, right in downtown at the water front park and Waterside Center. Lots to watch, restaurants right there, bike/walking trail. They had just rebuilt- brand new floating docks, great dock hands, nice restrooms - though a bit of a walk. We’ll go back here. We stayed Saturday and Sunday waiting out some funky weather which really never materialized where we were. Better safe than sorry.
We rode our bikes and took advantage of the restaurants. We even got an Uber and went provisioning. Those who know us know we normally ride to the grocery- 2 miles is close for us- but it was just too hot. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Norfolk though it was HOT! We now had to decide if we went up the Chesapeake or off shore. You add 3-4 days to your trip up the Chesapeake as apposed to the overnight off shore but weather would dictate.
Monday morning we said goodbye to Norfolk and headed up through Norfolk and into the bay. We spent that night at anchor in the Wicomico River. Afternoon thunderstorms were plaguing the area but once again they skirted around us. But, in case you’ve forgotten, the biting flies are still plaguing the bay! This is two shatters taped together after each broke. We call it Thor. It’s very effective on these flies.
Thor the avenger!
Next we anchored in the South River just south of Annapolis. It was a lovely spot once the fishing boats finished racing to their home dock.
Day 3 on the Chesapeake had us positioning for our transit through the C(Chesapeake) & D(elaware) Canal. Timing is important or you’re bucking a current of up to 2.8k. We would have to approach in the mid-afternoon. We planned to stay in Bohemia River but found it shoaled in and very shallow so instead we backtracked to the Sassafras River. It started raining as we pulled into the anchorage but was finished before we found the perfect spot and dropped the anchor. I am getting really good at deploying and retrieving the anchor by now but I do wish I had some short boots to wear so I didn’t always end with wet feet!
We had a lazy morning the next day. No hurrying necessary. Though when we pulled the anchor up we had about 20 lbs. of shells and mud stuck to it. I spent 15 minutes trying to loosen the muck so we could get the anchor up. We had to wait on the tide so we were in no rush. Glad we waited - look who was coming through-
We made it to the canal just before slack and started our 14 mile float through the canal to the Delaware River. Because we had to enter so late in the day, we’d be anchoring again in Reedy Point anchorage. We’ve been here before on Sofira and a are well acquainted with this stop. It’s directly across from a nuclear energy facility.
We followed a sailboat into the anchorage and there were about 3 other boats already there. No problem - Reedy has lots of room. Unfortunately our first attempt to set the anchor failed with 250’ of chain out - chain that came back up super mucky. It was a good half hour before we got it washed and retrieved. Now to pick a new better possible shallower spot. Bob found the perfect place and this time the anchor set.
The next morning we’d have to get up and out early to catch the outgoing tide and scoot through the Cape May Canal to Utsch’s Marina for a few days. We had to meet with a notary to complete the refinancing of our house. Sayonara, BB&T. They were the worst after Florence and I vowed to ditch them ASAP. We have stopped in Cape May all our trips north, so we know the town quite well and enjoy riding our bikes here. It was hot the first day but then a cool front settled in and we didn’t need air conditioning and we’re able to ride our bikes to the grocery -twice- and the pharmacy and the liquor store. We also ordered some things from Amazon with 2 day delivery and met with the notary. It was a very successful stay in Cape May.
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| Preparing for a provision run. |
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| Carolina at dock |
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| Ready to ride our groceries home |
Now we are traveling off shore up the coast of NJ. The Intracoastal is basically nonexistent in NJ. What there is of it is squirrelly, requires careful playing of the tides and you’ll still run aground. Off shore there’s lots of water and fewer boats! Weather is always a concern when you’re in the big ocean but I think I’ve found a good window. It will take us about 18-20 hours to NYC. We’ll sail through the night taking turns at the helm. We’re about 1/3 of the way there as I write this. We are 3 miles off shore and still have two bars of cell service. Tomorrow we’ll anchor at Sandy Hook and have a day to recuperate and catch up on sleep.
I’ll write more in a week and catch you up. If you want to join us on our journey, send us a text, email or call. We love company.
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