 Sunday, May 30...Awoke this morning to
rain. Pearce decided it was a good time to do some engine
maintenance. Not only had the engine compartment cooled off overnight, the
rain had also cooled things off a bit. Still, he came up glistening with
sweat. We watched quite a few fishermen cast their nets for their bait
fish.  They would watch the water very carefully, cast the net, and pull up
a bucket-full of bait fish. Pearce pulled up the anchor and climbed to the
bridge as we got underway in a light rain and mist. Kay stayed where it
was dry and the visibility was better. We passed a tent encampment on the
beach. I hope they had enough card games to keep them busy until the sun
came out at noon. We were invited to Bobbie and Bill Crawford's home for
dinner and the night. We've known them for many years but until we started
traveling the ICW, we usually just zoomed past the Wilmington area.  We
alerted them as we approached their dock near marker 100 north of Wrightsville
Beach on the ICW. They came out to wave, and Pearce thought about trying
to pull up to their dock. Bobbie waved very frantically -- it was less
that 2 feet and even at high tide can only be used by shallow draft boats.
We went a few miles farther to the Harbor Village Marina in Hampstead which has
not increased its $1.20/foot price. Kay did the laundry in a meticulously
clean room (even the lint traps had been cleaned out) and relaxed in the
beautiful lounge while the clothes were cleaning. It was a long trip
around the marina from our slip to the office, but they provided a golf cart to
get around. The Crawfords picked us up, and we had a wonderful evening
visiting with many of their friends who had been invited to dinner. Bobbie
made a very large seafood paella. It was delicious, but the great part was
there was enough leftovers so we took home a doggie bag.
Monday, May 31...After a quiet night and a nice crab
quiche breakfast, Bobbie and Bill drove us back to the marina. They helped
us cast off the lines, and we were heading up the ICW when we realized that we
had not filled the water tanks. Back we went and spent a good half hour
filling up. Off again to arrive a few miles further north at the Surf City
Swing Bridge 10 minutes after it closed -- we had to wait 50 minutes for the
next opening. Now if Pearce had filled the tanks yesterday while Kay was
doing the laundry.... An uneventful afternoon and a short day.  We
passed more osprey nests with hatched babies. One had Mom, Pop, and a
bunch of fuzzy heads. We came through the area around the New River Inlet,
giving the blue cans that marked some sunken obstruction a wide berth.  There were a few places were we had only 5 feet under the keel, but we followed
the marks carefully and had no problems. We're anchored at Mile Hammock
Bay which is just south of Camp LeJeune. This is a great anchorage used by
many sailboats (and a few trawlers) who find the trip between Wrightsville Beach
and Beaufort too long a day. The shoreline used to be restricted to the
military, but we see many boats being loaded on trailers parked near the
ramp. I guess the military is sharing their access to the waterway.
Tuesday, June 1...The military reclaimed their
waterfront and were doing some kind of exercise with a tug boat and
dinghies.  Several fishermen came on down and launched their boats while we
were getting underway. We were the last boat in the anchorage -- five
sailboats and a trawler had left. We caught up with the last sailboat as
we passed through Morehead City almost 40 miles north. I wonder what time
they had to leave to get that far before we caught up to them? Their
sailboat must have been cranking. Last fall I was completely charmed when
we saw our first dolphins in the bay north of Beaufort and Morehead City.
Today as we passed through that area we watched many dolphins frolicking through
the water. Several came along side and skimmed the wake and rolled in the
side wave off of Kibon. One dolphin rolled over so far we could see his
pink tummy and hear the loud splash as he landed.
We crossed the Neuse River with the wind from the northwest which gave us a good
rock as the waves hit us broadside. Fortunately, the day was good, the
wind was not too strong, and the crossing was only four miles. We came
into the harbor at Oriental and headed toward the town dock which is free.
There was a 38 foot sailboat from Canada on one side and a smaller trawler on
the other side. There was room behind the trawler, so Pearce asked if it
would be OK for us to tie up behind them, and maybe they could pull ahead a few
feet. The wife said, "No." The husband came out and said,
"Sure." Kay jumped off as Pearce turned Kibon around. The
husband helped Kay tie up the lines while the wife checked the little bit of
clearance between the boats. She said, "There seems to be enough room after
all!." They also said they would be leaving early
in the morning and wanted to be sure that they could get out. When we
heard that "early" meant 8 am, we said, "No problem, we'll get
out of your way."
We all held an impromptu Happy Hour on the dock when we found out that the
sailboat (which we had seen anchored in Carolina Beach) was owned by a Canadian
couple who had bought it in Germany and had recently crossed the Atlantic by way
of the Canary Islands over to the Caribbean. They are on their way back to
Canada, but their future plans include a return to the Caribbean and a trip to
the Pacific Coast. They have dreams and plans from there. The most
interesting part of them is that they are young 40 year olds who have quit their
jobs to be able to do what they want to do while they are still able to do
it. They agree that they may have to go back to work at some time so that
they can continue their dream. One of the "old" guys on the dock
was really jealous that they could do all that in their youth and he had to wait
until he was 62 to retire. But he is no slouch. He and his wife have
cruised the coast of New England and Nova Scotia and have just returned from a
winter in the Bahamas. We're meeting people who are doing their dreams.
I forgot to say why we came into the town dock instead of into the Smith's
dock. Typical of our planning ahead (partly because we never know how fast
we are really traveling and because we can never really plan ahead), we didn't
call Eulene and Bob Smith until a few days ago. They are gone, maybe for a
few days, maybe for an extended vacation. We're sorry we won't have a
chance to get together with them, but we should have planned ahead.
Wednesday, June 2, 2004... Oriental is such a lovely little village we decided
to stay another day. Many years ago we almost bought property here so we rode
our bikes around revisiting, resting and shopping. We had lunch at
the newest marina in Oriental next to the Oriental Yacht Club -- really great
sandwiches -- and later in the day we joined the happy hour at the at the
Oriental Marina which is right next to the town dock. Nothing like having
everything right handy! Back to the boat for dinner and an early bedtime.
Thursday, June 3, 2004...The captains on the big boats
started their motors early, but Pearce was already up.  We were underway by
6:30 and headed down the Neuse River. Kay wants to know why some of the
rivers here in North Carolina are rivers, and some of the larger bodies of water
are called sounds, but why are a few very BIG rivers that should qualify as
sounds still called rivers? Anyway, we headed down the Neuse River which
is at least 9 miles wide, rounded the terrible Maw Point (just read the guide
books to hear the terrible stories about dumb sailors who couldn't read their
charts) and into Bay River which brought us into another ditch across another peninsula
in North Carolina. We crossed into the Pamlico River. A
Looper who lived up the river in Washington, NC had invited fellow Loopers to
stop by, but since it was 33 miles up the river, and since we travel at 7/8
knots per hour, we decided that it would be quite a side trip. I guess I
would invite fellow sailors to visit us on Great South Bay, but since it is 30
some miles east of the New York waterway, I don't think we'll get too many
takers.
We passed by Belhaven, NC and continued up the Pungo River into the Pungo-Alligator
Canal. A huge grass fire was refreshing an island off to starboard making
a smoky haze throughout the area. Pearce took a loooong nap while Kay aimed Kibon straight down this
canal. One nap, one lunch, one more nap, and we finally got to the end of
the canal. We came into the Alligator River which is in the land mass west
of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This was where we were last year
when  we contacted some Looper friends and headed out to Roanoke Island for a
visit along part of the Banks. We are anchored here for the night and
watched all the sailboats we had passed pass us on their way down the
river. Since there is only a marina and a questionable anchorage before
the crossing of Albemarle Sound, I wonder where they are going?
Speaking of where are they going... we were flown over by many military jets
heading northeast when we first anchored about 4 pm. Now it is 9 pm
and all those jets are heading southwest. Where are they going?
Luckily, Pearce is a sound sleeper.
Friday, June 4, 2004...Kay was up early and had
to convince Pearce that the sun was up and it was time to leave. Those
early sailboats were already heading down the river. As we followed them,
those jets kept zooming over us, either practicing maneuvers or just burning
fuel to chase each other. This area is  National Forest and swamp, so the
only people they were disturbing were the boat people. It was beginning to
get a bit bumpy as we approached the Alligator River Swing Bridge which carries
the road from Columbia, NC across to Manteo on Roanoke Island and then on to the
Outer Banks. We went into the Alligator Marina to get some of Miss
Wanda's $1.149 diesel. Wanda Pritchett owns, operates and is the maitre-d'-in-charge
of everything that happens at Alligator Marina and is the main reason why
many boaters keep returning. We wanted to stay over, but it was only  ten-o'clock
and too early to stop. After fueling we headed back toward Albemarle Sound and
Elizabeth City, thirty miles further north. We weren't a half mile out when the
wind kicked up, the sky blackened and the radar pictured a huge thunderstorm
closing in. A quick U-Turn... back to Miss Wanda's to safely tuck in just before
the storm hit.  We
were in a tornado warning with water spouts sighted only a mile away for the
next hour, huddled inside the boat waiting for it to pass. Alligator Marina is a
great place to wait out a tornado -- or just stop over for the night. The
special in Miss Wanda's restaurant was Prime Rib -- eat your heart out, Steve,
it was the very best with no fat and only $9.99 -- and the morning paper was delivered
to each boat.
 Saturday,
June 5, 2004... The storm passed, wind calmed, Albemarle Sound looked quiet from
the dock so we headed out. It stayed fairly calm for about ten miles then got
choppier and choppier. We pulled into Elizabeth City, The Harbor of
Hospitality before lunch. We've been in Elizabeth City before -- last fall
just after hurricane Isabel blew through -- and it continues to be a
delight.
We had lunch at the City Wine Sellar Bakery and then
took a short walk around the corner to see what movie was playing.  It's
Harry Potter's Prisoner of Azbekan. We had two choices -- 3 or 7
o'clock, and we chose the earlier show. This is an unique theatre.
They've set up tables in the back where one can order a meal to consume while
watching the movie. I think the evening meal starts an hour before the
movie. We enjoyed the movie and got out in time to go to the wine and
cheese party that the Rose Buddies host whenever there are 5 or more boats at
the dock. Fred Fearing had been on the dock earlier issuing the
invitation, but one of the ladies on another boat talked right through his
invitation. We thought he was indicating the same place we had gone
several evenings last fall, but we were mistaken. We couldn't find them,
so we went back to Kibon, helped tie up another boat, and watched the lead-in to
the Belmont Stakes. Everyone was hoping Smarty Jones would make the
triple, but Birdstone was faster. We also
watched with sadness the news of President Reagan's death.
 Sunday, June 6, 2004...Pearce woke up early and went
out for a walk. He came back to pick up some quarters to buy the Sunday
paper. Kay was thinking about something special for Sunday breakfast when
the sailboats said they were getting ready to make the 8:30 opening of the
Elizabeth Bridge. If we made that opening we should also make the 11
o'clock opening of the South Mills Lock/Bridge. So off we went.
Pearce was accustomed to making wonderful breakfasts when we were in
Florida. Now that we take off so early in the morning, Kay has had to
assume those duties. No wonderful breakfasts, just coffee, juice, and
something simple. Somewhere down the line we'll become reacquainted with
good breakfasts.  Meanwhile, we continued up the Pasquotank River as it
narrowed and narrowed and eventually became Turner's Cut on the way up to the
Dismal Swamp. Last year when we came down this route, we couldn't figure
out why they called it the Dismal Swamp, because this is one of the most
beautiful routes we have encountered. We still think this is much better
than the Virginia Cut which we took north last year. There are all sorts
of information and history about this area, dating from George Washington's
surveying of the area, his ownership of the land that later became the Dismal
Swamp, and the development of this major waterway from the sounds of North
Carolina to the protected harbor of Norfolk.
We stopped just before the bridge at Deep Creek.
Pearce read the newspaper and Kay went over to the grocery store just a few
steps...steps...steps away. While she was away the bridge/lock master
inquired as to our intentions. Pearce acknowledged that the admiral was
soon to be back, and we would like to pass through the bridge but would be
stopping at the dock just before the lock. We were very lucky.  What
used to be a free dock is now occupied by a party boat that is here from Friday
9am to Saturday 11 am and from Sunday 11 am to Monday 11 am. Fortunately,
the boat was not able to make its trip down the canal this weekend, and we were
able to occupy why used to be a "free dock" established by a former
boater. It continues to be available at all other times. We talked
to the lockmaster, Robert Peake, who had originally alerted us to the
elimination of any funding for the Atlantic ICW. Although letters and
e-mails have been sent to government officials during the past months, it is
still imperative that we continue to impress our Congressmen and Senators that
even the recreational boaters bring money to the towns up and down the
waterway. Even though we anchor out a lot and don't use the marinas that
many other boaters do, we will spend several thousand dollars on our trip from
Florida to New York this year. Multiply that by the thousands of
snow-birds that travel twice a year!
Tomorrow we move on to Norfolk, gateway to the Chesapeake.
We'll stay a few days in Hampton, VA, and visit some old friends before heading
up the big bay. This page has grown enough, so click to the next -- as it grows
-- "Chesapeake".
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Cruisin' The Loop Aboard Kibon