Belhaven - Dowery Creek Marina to Goose Creek - alone - Oriental

On Oct 29, I set off from Dowrey Creek Marina, ready for the adventure ahead.  Three days later, feeling the urge to explore further, I spontaneously decided to anchor outside the Marina with Mark, embracing the unpredictability of the journey. 

After anchoring outside the marina, I discovered Mark had departed for our next stop - Orient.  He reported nice winds, so I decided to leave too. 

Following Mark's lead by about two hours, we spent a blissful five hours basking in the beauty of the natural surroundings and the pleasant weather. Our journey led us to anchor at the serene Goose Creek  , a picturesque and isolated anchorage that treated us to another breathtaking starry night. 

The next morning, I watched the flotilla depart Dowrey Creek and head to my creek, joining them as they docked at Oriental. 

We had some beer on the marina lawn and supper at a nice little restaurant called M&M. I had the soft-shell crab. 

The next morning, I was up at 7 AM, ready for another day of adventure. I noticed a boat had left the free dock, and without hesitation, I swiftly maneuvered to secure the spot, showcasing my resourcefulness and quick decision-making. 

Later, I had the pleasure of walking with Kathy, exploring the town, visiting a West Marine Express, and doing a small grocery run at the Piggly Wiggly.  The highlight of the day was my birthday supper at the Silo, where I enjoyed good food, great music, and the company of friends like Wally, Nate, Robbie, and Esteban.

Belhaven - Dowry Creek Marina

On the way to Belhaven, I had to pick up some fuel before the bridge.  

I docked at Dowry Creek Marina. 

I picked up the new Windlass and bow roller from Polvige and installed them.  It took about two hours.  

We had a group supper at the club restaurant.

The next day, we had a shrimp party at the clubhouse.  

The next day was rainy, and I got a lot of PC work done in the clubhouse.

 

Alligator Pungo River anchorage

There was no cell coverage at the anchorage near Tuckahoe on the Alligator River. 

Lovely sunset and spectacular starry night.

The next day, we sailed to Dowry Creek Marina.  My Windlass failed, and I had to raise the anchor by hand.  Good news - a new windlass was awaiting at Dowry Creek Marina.

 

The next morning, we headed to Dowry Creek, where my windlass drum had a stripped thread on the spindle, or possibly the new drum.  I had to haul the anchor up by hand.  Fortunately, a new windlass was waiting for me at Dowry Creek Marina with a new bow roller.

During the hauling anchor, I stopped the Raymarine track and had to start a new one.  The Raymarine anchor alarm makes stopping and deleting the current track easy.  It happened last year when I was coming back from Quebec City.  Fortunately, the track stopped but was not deleted.  But it was a few miles later on the Alligator River where I discovered the track had stopped before I started a new one.

A nearly serious incident occurred as we approached Dowry Creek Marina.  I was far from Midnight and Fair.  I put the autopilot on, aiming for the marina about 2 miles ahead.  I wasn't paying attention when I heard Mark blow his horn, and I realized I was just inches from sideswiping Midnight.  Apparently, Midnight was not watching out either.

Nice marina, wi-fi at the dock sucked.  I replaced the windlass and installed the new bow roller in about two hours.  It turns out the solenoid terminal was slightly stripped, so I used some washers as spacers to cover the stripped threads.  Needed a beer after that.  Luckily, I decided to order the new Windlass.

We had a great group supper with music from Unforgettable.

Dismal Swamp

I got up at 6 to shower and prepare for our group departure from Hampton to the Dismal Swamp.  We are a convoy of 8 sailboats.

  

As we left Hampton Bay, a thick fog covered the Eastern side of the bay, including the central commercial channel.  We stayed out of the channel where two freighters came through, completely invisible but blowing their fog horns.

We made an announcement that we were all going to cross the channel at N22 together.  
Eventually, the fog cleared and we had a good view of Norfolk, but missed much of the Naval shipyard.

 

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Next, we waited for a train bridge to open.  The bridge was undergoing maintenance so they did not leave it open.  There were easily fifteen boats waiting for the bridge to open.  After some complaining over the VHF and cell phone, they opened the bridge for us, but we missed the 11 AM lock cycle and had to anchor and wait until 13:30, when the lock-master squeezed all ten boats into the lock. 

After cycling the lock, we had to wait for the lock master to open the car bridge a mile down.  
28 miles to the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center where we rafted up for the night.   

The second half of the Dismal Swamp was broader, more profound and curvier.  The second lock was not much more organized than the first lock.  Boats heading north were rude and demanded we get out of their way. 

We eventually locked through together and motored our way to Dowery Creek.