Thinking of you, Dad.

Less than an hour after leaving the Dismal Swamp Canal you are thrust into sensory overload, half a compass apart. You motor under a noisy interstate highway, past metal and debris recycling/processing factories, and then into the Norfolk Navel Shipyards. The Navy ships are a highlight.

We decided to anchor in downtown Norfolk, taking the advice of "Bill the lock guy". Fortunately, a few other cruisers were there, making the decision to stop easier. This anchorage is known for poor (anchor) holding and for being bumpy, due to the number of boats passing by. We had two days of calm weather and we were overall pleased with the anchorage. We went ashore on the Norfolk shore to see the battleship USS Wisconsin. It's quite impressive. (click the photo to make it large and get a better feel for the immensity of the ship)





My Dad is from Norfolk and we had fun walking around downtown, talking to him on the cellphone, all the while hoping to find the drug store where his father served the community as a pharmacist.

On the western shore is Portsmouth. We had heard of an Art Deco era theater that had been restored. The seating is arranged around dinner tables where you can enjoy a full dinner while watching the show. This months movie is Pirates of the Caribbean 4.



The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) begins, or ends, depending on your traveling direction, right in front of our anchorage at Hospital Point. Traveling north, we still had another 10 miles of Norfolk waterfront to navigate before entering the south end of the Chesapeake Bay. As we were making this transition, we were hailed on the marine radio by the Coast Guard. They politely ordered us to change course, moving outside the marked channel, allowing more room for the passing of a submarine. We didn't argue.


We had a nice sail, screecher only, up to Deltaville, VA. We dropped the hook in Fishing Bay and grabbed our bikes for a shore excursion. After traveling a few short blocks it became evident that a tornado had ravaged the area recently. We found a path of pine trees snapped in two and damage to a few of the country houses.
It wasn't until we peddled about 2 miles, to the two lane highway, that we found the worst damage. Downed trees, debris in the roadway, and houses with blue tarp roofs. There were roadside signs promoting "Beach Church", something we were familiar with from our time in the Bahamas. The next day we attended Zoar Baptist Church. The first photo was taken at the conclusion of the service. The second picture is of the church sanctuary, taken while biking back to the boat.



We have spent this week biking to thrift stores, consignment shops, the Farmers Market, 2 West Marine stores, and to the Deltaville Market for groceries, swimming in the pool at the marina, and completing minor repair jobs to the boat.

Mili and I fly home Saturday, July 2nd for time with the family. We plan to attend our annual Family Reunion, taking place at Amelia Island, Florida followed by another Mill and Ted adventure to Wyoming and Montana. We'll be back on the boat August 20th.
You can join us in keeping an eye on Morning Glory using the Fishing Bay webcam. http://www.fishingbay.com/webcam.php

Change is in the Wind

Mili is enjoying Facebook, so Ted is going to try his hand at blogging. Positive comments are welcome.

As we were leaving Manteo, a small town just inside the Outer Banks of NC, I got stupid for a few minutes. I was rushing to get out of the harbor before a large thunderstorm blew in. While sailing out the narrow channel with the mainsail up, the wind picked up to 30+ knots in an instant, resulting in a jibe. An unintended or accidental jibe results in the boom swinging from one side of the boat to the other, quickly and violently. The stupid part is that I have equipment to help prevent this, but in my rush I didn't set it up. All that to say that something was bound to break, and the main sheet block was the weak point.



The part has been shipped to the manufacturer for repair, hopefully. Replacement will really hurt the wallet.


Elizabeth City was the next port. This is a boater friendly city. They offer free dockage at the waterfront park. Grocery shopping, laundry, propane, and restaurants are nearby.

The arrival of this Seawind was a pleasant surprise. Our good friends, AJ and Lisa Jackson, were the previous owners. You might remember from last years posts that we sailed for a few months with them on Chesapeake Bay and along the Outer Banks.
You guys are missed.
The new owner, Josh, is enjoying the boat and is on his way to NY City. Guess where he calls home?



There was a cultural event in the park with food and music. I was pleasantly surprised that the music was good and thankful when it started to rain at about 7 PM. The park emptied quickly and we were back to peace and quiet.



Next, we traveled up the Dismal Swamp Canal, which is anything but dismal. There's a lot of interesting history about the construction and purpose of the canal. Google it.




The canal has two locks to control the amount of water leaving the area. Bill is the lock tender at the north end, Deep Creek, who takes pleasure discussing the history of the area and sharing ideas of what to do and see in the Norfolk area.




After "locking through", we returned to motoring towards Norfolk. We came across this boat and thought of our dear friends on Kaleo.


Ok, we miss you guys also.

OBX means Outer Banks

I think I may have whined a little bit about rough seas and long passages. Sorry if you heard that….truth is, all in all, nobody likes a long passage.

What we do like is a favorite anchorage after a long day’s sail. And lo and behold, here we are! In Ocracoke, North Carolina. This is one of my all time top-ten places to visit. When we were here last year, we thoroughly enjoyed biking around town with our friends, AJ and Lisa.

Lisa… the thrift shop wasn’t the same, but I did come up with $7 worth of treasures. This pic’s for you!

Yes, that's a brand new, wind-up shortwave radio from L.L. Bean. I think she charged me 2 bucks for that. And who doesn't need hula girl coasters?!? A banner day.

Oh! And guess who we've anchored next to!?

Either that, or we’ve upgraded. I could deal with a Catana 43!

Amy and Arthur, and their two kids are traveling in our same general direction…hope we get to know them better. Could make for some interesting radio hailing!

“Morning Glory, Morning Glory, Morning Glory- this is Morning Glory, Morning Glory”…etc. Oh my!- Hope we can do that just once.

A few more things I love about Coastal North Carolina…

Shrimp Boats

ClammersSaturday Craft Shows

I liked this Pirate Ship, too.

The captain, however, had his head in a hatch working on a recalcitrant carburetor.

He didn’t find it funny when they fired upon us with their fake cannon.

All about timing, eh, folks?

And did I mention finding old friends? Thanks to facebook, I’ve reconnected with friends from my childhood church, Allapattah Methodist. One of those youts is now Pastor Susan Lindblade, in Newport, North Carolina. Susan was sweet enough to drive down to Swansboro and take us to dinner when we sailed through last week. It was great to reconnect, talk about old times, and eat fried seafood. (We ARE in Coastal NC, after all!). We took a picture to prove we really did find each other- and to make other old friends jealous, so they’ll be on board for a get-together in the near future. Hope it works. The pic's on facebook, and I can't get it to move! Guess you'll have to go hunting for it, if you really want to. Another challenge.

It’s so good to be here, in Ocracoke. The weather isn’t favorable for leaving for another day or two…which makes me even happier! I could perch here for months! Matter of fact, I keep seeing vacation rentals… Whaddya think, kids? Could we do a family vacay here next year?

On The Road (Water?) Again...

One last "home adventure"- We were treated to a 2 day visit from our sailing friends, Matt and Christie- And then we were off! (They stopped in for a land visit as they were returning from the Bahamas...and we left town before they woke up on Wednesday morning...how's that for hospitality!?!- Hey, we warned 'em!).


The first leg of our journey involved a week on the ICW heading north from Key Largo (where Morning Glory was getting some fresh paint and fiberglass. She looks all spiffy now, thanks to our friends at Manatee Bay Boatyard).


Funny how the Intracoastal waterway looks a lot more familiar this time around! It's a year later-same route- but now we're old salts. Relatively speaking. Very loosely.
Speaking of old salts...we caught up with Matt and Christie again in Vero. It was a real treat to stop and spend the evening with them- and, of course, play a round of Mexican Train! We learned to play this Dominos game while in the Bahamas with the Texas Navy, and it's probably our favorite way to spend an evening with friends. Not too intense... allows for good conversation...and easy to learn. Come see us, we'll teach you! (I cheated...this pic of the game was taken on our back porch, during our "land visit"- we played then, too!)



As is our habit, we left our friends before the sun was up- Hit Titusville for two nights (and church on Sunday)... then on through Ponce Inlet as we headed out...
To sea sea sea
To see what we could see see see.
But all that we could see see see
was the vast expanse of sea sea sea for 3 loooong days.
After the second day, the first mate said to the captain, "I'm not having fun!" Well, once you are 20 miles off the coast, it takes awhile to shift gears and rethink one's destination. The good captain that Ted is, he started studying his charts and...24 hours later we were coming in at Cape Fear, NC. A total of 62 hours spent at sea. We covered a lot of distance- but I'm NOT doing that again. We saw one other sailboat, maybe five ships, and scores of friendly porpoises.

That's it. And tons and tons of blue water and blue sky. And that's all. No shoreline. No phones. No internet. Not even books, because I get seasick if I read. I do not get how people do trans-atlantic crossings. I would be a raving cabin-fevered lunatic. I guess you get my point. Enough.
Today was spent in a quiet creek in the marsh. Dinner was at a fish shack on the dock. Ice cream from Spike's in town. A nice walk down oak tree lined streets. Back to living the good life! (Thank you, Lord!) As I write this post, Ted's down below watching the Heat game...so he's happy, too!
Last year, things were all new, and there were so many pics! This year, not so many. Plus, we're in kind of a hurry, because this is really just a delivery trip. (with a deadline and plane tickets!) We're getting Morning Glory to a marina in Virginia for safe-keeping during hurricane season. Our plan is to return and jump on board in August, and do the Chesapeake tour again August through October. With only short passages. Lord Willing.
So maybe a post here and there....a pic now and then.... ok with that? K, thanks. :)
For your special pic of the night.... we passed this guy near New Smyrna Beach, FL. I think he's a collector. Of fish traps?You really need to click on this, enlarge it, and take a better look. Just do it!