Sunday, October 10, 2010 – Rodanthe Island, Pamlico Sound, NC

 
 
It was a gigantic fish fly hatch! Dead bugs and green slime was everywhere. Yuk! We tried washing off a bit of the gunk with our bucket, but left most of it for a later time when we could get to a marina and give her a good scrubbing.

Bugs or no bugs, the sunrise was fabulous and we kept on going. We glided through Coinjock, NC, a lovely little fishing village with two very nice marinas on either side of the channel. We were soon in Albemarle Sound and navigating our way to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Pamlico Sound. We passed Roanoke Island where Sir Walter Raleigh dreamed of establishing the first English-speaking colony in “the New World” in 1587. The colonists made their way to the island, built homes, had babies, but within three years, the inhabitants were gone without a trace.

At 6 pm, we anchored near an island of dredge spoils just off Old House Channel near Rodanthe Island and watched the birds come in for the night after a good day of fishing.

 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, October 9, 2010 - North Landing River, ICW mile 37

 
 
 
 
We woke to a clear and sunny morning and were on our way at 7:45 am. It wasn’t long before we were in Norfolk and looking for a marina that sold diesel fuel. We stopped at the Portsmouth Boating Center for fuel and continued on through the Norfolk area. We traveled 55 miles in ten hours which doesn’t sound like much – until you consider that we had to pass through one lock and have five bridges opened for us.

We dropped anchor at 5:45 pm just outside of the channel in North Landing River. We weren’t expecting bad weather, so there wasn’t any concern for finding a good protected anchorage. In fact, we were hoping to find a bit of a breeze to cool things off after temperatures soared into the high 80’s during the afternoon. Just after sunset, we heard a loud humming which turned out to be thousands of beating insect wings. The bugs forced us inside where we turned out the lights and climbed under the covers at 8 pm! We could hear the bugs both inside and outside and dreaded the mess that would surely greet us in the morning!

 

Friday, October 8, 2010 - Hampton, VA

We stayed at anchor on this beautiful, sunny day and caught up on some maintenance and computer work. Gale changed the oil and all the filters, tightened up fittings, investigated a leak, lubricated the steering cables and then dinghied to the marina for a nice long shower. We even had time to finish the article on our Loop completion and submit it to AGLCA for inclusion in the next newsletter. It was a day well spent!

 

Thursday, October 7, 2010 - Hampton, VA

At 9 am, we took Blue Heron into the dock at the Hampton Public Pier where we could leave her all day for $5. They considered it “stopping by for lunch” and encouraged boaters to tie up for short stays if space was available.

Maureen said it was “All About Me Day!” She had an appointment at 11:30 am for a haircut, color, manicure and pedicure and she was looking forward to it! Her last haircut was in early July! While Maureen was at the salon, Gale figured out the local bus system and caught a ride into Newport News so he could take care of some business related to upgrading his Captain’s License. Maureen finished with her pampering before 3 pm and Gale was back from his trip about 4:30 pm. We filled the water tanks before leaving the dock and headed back to our favorite anchoring spot by the University.
 
 It was a much warmer evening than the last one, so we toasted another good day and watched the sailboats sail in and out of the harbor as the sun began to set.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - Hampton, VA

 

 
 
It was a glorious sunrise and a great day for traveling (unless you expected to sail). The sky was clear, the temperature was 58°F and there was no wind to start out. By the time we reached Hampton, Virginia, where we planned to anchor for the night, we had winds out of the west around 10 knots. The 45-mile cruise was a smooth one. We did put the mainsail up for awhile just to dry it out, but it didn’t really help us move along any faster. There were so many boats out traveling it looked like a mass exodus which, in a way, it probably was!

We arrived in Hampton and decided to throw the hook in front of Hampton University’s clocktower in about 3 feet of water just before 4 pm. We had just enough time to dinghy into Hampton Public Piers to get some information on bus routes and so Maureen could make an appointment at the nearby hair salon for tomorrow. Back at our anchorage shortly after 5 pm, we enjoyed looking at the lovely college campus with the fall colors and bright sunshine lighting up the background. The temperature only climbed up to about 68°F for the day so the evening was a bit chilly. Several small sailboats went out for a sail about an hour before sunset and it was fun to watch them tack back and forth.

 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010 - Deltaville, VA

It would have been a decent day to leave Deltaville; however, we were quite happy to stay where we were and wait for even better weather forecast for tomorrow. Brenda and Todd decided that they were going to hang out one more day (making it eleven for them!!) since the 1 to 2 foot seas predicted on Wednesday sounded better to them than the 2 to 3 footers today.

Gale and Todd ran into town to pick up a few items in the afternoon, but the girls stayed aboard their respective boats and kept busy. At 5 pm, The Lannings came over to Blue Heron for a stroganoff dinner and a round of “Catch Phrase.” Brenda made a wonderful banana cream pie for dessert that everyone raved about! Since we were all planning to leave in the morning, we made it an early night.

Monday, October 4, 2010 – Deltaville, VA

The forecast for the day was not good for cruising and nobody was moving. We had high wind, rain and cold temperatures. We spent the day on the boat trying to catch up on our correspondence and computer work. We’re not sure if computers have really made life easier?? Anyway, we were warm and cozy and relaxed.

Brenda and Todd had some soup they wanted to share tonight, so once more, Todd picked us up and brought us over to L2S for the evening. There was nothing wrong with our dinghy, but Todd already had his in the water and told us not to bother splashing ours. We had some great food and a lot of fun playing the now familiar game, “Think While You Drink.” Familiar, yes – but we weren’t any better at it this time!