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Published: June 17th 2017
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Geo: 36.3015, -76.2198
Stayed at the Town Docks for two nights. Very windy!
Nov. 4th, 2014 – We are in Elizabeth City, NC!
Hello All,
We arrived in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, this morning at 11:30am. All is well - but a bit cold.
Our first two days were great - warm and wonderful! As most of you saw on our track, our first night was spent at Hospital Point, downtown Norfolk. We had a good, warm day and everything went very well. We anchored smoothly, (thanks to our practice day in Deltaville) and we enjoyed dinner while watching the boat traffic go through the downtown area. We had a good dinner, and watched the sun set. The wind picked up overnight, and Tony was up a number of times during the night to check on our anchor. We didn't move an inch. It seemed to have a sold hold. On day two, we got up early with plans to make the first bridge and lock openings. In fact, we were ready so early that we actually sat back down and enjoyed our coffee for an extra 15 minutes. Those few minutes later, we went to lift anchor, only to find that the anchor was stuck. Tony tried everything - dragging it forward to role it, side to side, around in circles. It was caught on something...and well, it still is. After an hour of trying to free ourselves from the bottom at Hospital Point with no luck, Tony cut our anchor and about 25 feet of chain loose. We left our #1 anchor behind at Hospital Point. (Jimmy, when we have your car down here, our first point of order is to go buy another anchor and more chain!) So anchor #2 has been moved up to anchor #1 - with no backup.
The rest of day two went very well. We enjoyed the warmth of the protected Dismal Swamp, and I got to experience two locks for the first time. Neat!
Our second night was spent just on the south side of the South Mills lock (North Carolina) in a small unused waterway that has an old shipping dock. Our spreaders were hitting the tree branches but it was worth it for the peace and quiet of a protected spot. Today, we did a short run down the rest of the Dismal Swamp and into the Panquotank River to Elizabeth City.
Not sure what's going on
with our AIS...we've had different friends email to tell us different things. Most people were able to follow us for the first night and then lost us after Norfolk. The track only stays on for about 12-16 hours. Then it seems to disappear. As long as you have our MMSI # you can use any service you want...I just found Marine Traffic to be the easiest one - but it seems to be changing. If anyone finds an AIS Tracking site that works better than Marine Traffic, please let me know. I can see that we are currently "out of range" but I assure you we are in the welcoming little town of Elizabeth City. Tony's going to check it out after he finishes his Diesel runs. There is a gas station just up the street so he's doing trips back and forth with a jerry can and our dock cart.
Last night the temps dropped and we had a REALLY cold night. Today was windy and cold - even Tony (Mr. All-season-shorts) was in his storm pants!!!
We are watching the weather to see what our next move will be. I will likely not email to say where we are
Leaving Elizabeth City…
…sailing into the sunset!
LIfe. Is. Good. heading, but instead will email with a recap of where we've been when we arrive somewhere that we have wifi access. Since we are calling in to US Boarder and Customs every night to fulfill our cruising permit, we can accept calls on our American cell phone should you wish to call us.
We are on the Elizabeth City town docks tonight, with three other Canadian sailboats! We're flocking. 😊
Love and Kisses! xo
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