First 200 miles of the ICW

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First 200 miles down the ICW(and NOEL)

Captain Crusty NOV 4 2007

Well we weathered Tropical Storm NOEL and are hiding in Oriental NC in Whittiker Creek.  We have met several boats here with kids and it is a pack of approximately 15 boat kids tramping about.  We had a wonderful Holloween here including a hayride and tons of candy.  Oriental is very supportive of cruisers. 

We left Norfolk on Oct. 23 and headed down the Dismal Swamp side of the ICW.  My very first action on the ICW was to run aground at the entrance of the Dismal Swamp.  The Dismal is a very cool, narrow, overgrown canal with lots of swamp vegitation and overhanging trees with spanish moss.  We spent a wonderful night at the first lock (deep creek) and our experience with Robert the lock operator was fascinating and educational for the kids.  Robert is incredibly knowledgable and also a great breakfast cook (swamp pigs in a blanket and coffee).  The Dismal was closing due to the drought so we needed to move on through.  We spent a couple of days tied up to the visitor centers dock waiting out some torrential rains (2.5 inches in 1 day) and got to stroll down the bike path along the swamp several times and meet some warm wonderful cruisers at the same time. 

We next made the run to Elizabeth City and the free town dock (2 days there) and explored the lovely town trying to rejuvenate the waterfront and also welcoming to cruisers.  Again we waited out 2 days of rain and spent the time with the same cruisers we partied with in the Dismal. 

After Elizabeth City we did a 77 mile day that included the Pongo River, Albemarle Sound, and Aligator River.  The Ablemarle and Alligator are considered the worse waters of the ICW and they lived up to their reputation.  We had up to 30 knot winds in the Ablemarle and 35 knots and 5 ft following seas in the Alligator.  It was extremely hairy and nail biting for the whole run until we reached the canal that calmed to a mellow run.  Unfortunately Rachel Fell ill after this long day and we spent the next day in Belhaven at the Hospital (it will take care of itself) and after 9 hours in the emergency room we found out that Rachel was going to be OK and would not need surgery but would require a couple of days to get back to herself.

From Belhaven we sailed to Oriental to figure out what to do about Tropical Storm NOEL.  We eventually hid out on a Piling finger pier (not a Maine thing but a challenge that includes trying to figure out how to tie up to 6 posts without destroying our floating home).  We ended up getting about 36 hours of strong wind and a building tide that resulted in the water rising 5 feet and flooding down town Oriental (thats why the houses are built on stilts).  We met several boats with kids and spent 3 days at a park playing football and running amok.

We leave on Nov 5 for Beaufort NC and new experiences now after making new friends and waiting out a serious storm.  We are almost 200 miles into the ICW with about 900 to go before we make FLA.  Hope the temperature stays above freezing and the family holds together.  We are learning to talk to each other and realize that no one is above the rest (including Captain Crusty).