The day before we left Cambridge, Suzanne did laundry at the Hyatt’s River Marsh Marina.  We said our goodbyes to Judith and John who manage the marina.  The following morning (10/29), we left the Hyatt at 9:10 AM.  The day was gray but pleasant.  Suzanne was a little cold, so Al put a blanket over her while she sat in our pilot house.  It took about 5-1/2 hours to get to Solomons, Maryland where we anchored up Back Creek. 

After a pleasant night’s sleep, we left Solomons, we enjoyed slowly cruising out of Back Creek at dawn.  Our cruise that day was pleasant without any issues.  We pulled into Fishing Bay near Deltaville, Virginia for the first time and set the anchor. 

After watching the sun rise on Saturday morning, we left Fishing Bay following two sailboats and cruising about a quarter mile next to another trawler.  As we got closer to Norfolk, the wind began to build as a head wind to 20 and 25 knots.  As we entered the channel going into the Elizabeth River, our knot meter read 30 knots. We pulled into the Tidewater Yacht Marina in Portsmouth to pump out.  It was a tight fit and one that Al had to creatively maneuver Mon Amie  in order to get pumped out and finally pull into a slip.  After washing Mon Amie and taking a shower, we had a delightful dinner at the marina’s restaurant.  It was a particularly pleasant Halloween night, great food and a table next to the window overlooking the lights of Norfolk’s sky line with a bright full moon.

Sunday, November 1st was a cold, rainy day.  We decided to hunker down and stay in our slip for another night.  We watched the football games and had a good night’s sleep. 

Monday was our most challenging day of the first two weeks.  We had to sit and wait for bridges with what seemed like dozens of other boats of all sizes and types.  At one point, Al hit the horn to as a 32 foot Sundancer was backing into Mon Amie.  As we were cruising the Currituck Sound, we were following a line of boats including one of about 60 feet named Andrew III which looked like a houseboat.   All of a sudden Andrew turned sideways and anchored.  The captain’s wife said that they were taking on water and her husband was in the engine room. He ended up letting us all know that he stopped the leak and could make it to Coinjock on one engine. 

We tied up at at Midway Marina in Coinjock after backing into a small inlet at the Midway marina then had dinner at their family style restaurant. From Coinjock, we crossed the Albermarle Sound, entered the Alligator River and ended in the Alligator River Marina.  That was an experience in itself!  The fellow who helped tie us up was a transient boater there to get some fuel.  The owner was not there and the harbormaster was ill.  Al did get someone to call the owner.  She arrived, helped us pump out then helped us tie up in a slip.  Next to us were two Canadian trawlers who we saw off and on for the next few days.

The owners of the marina in Belhaven, North Carolina were super.  Although the Belhaven Waterway Marina is small, it has large white fenders, and the owners not only tied us up at the dock but effortlessly hooked up our electric power for us.  Al took the opportunity to give Mon Amie a good bath.

On November 5th, we entered Oriental and for the first time put Mon Amie bow into a slip.  The weather was beautiful.  Suzanne did laundry while Al worked in the engine room.  The first night’s dinner was a delicious cheeseburger at the marina’s Tiki bar.  The following day, our friends, Glenna and Joseph Sevage, picked us up, took us to the Food Lion supermarket and made dinner for us at their home. 

After two nights in Oriental, we headed south to Swansboro and stayed at Casper’s marina.  On Sunday, we cruised to Wrightsville Beach.  Wow!  We were the last boat to go thru the bridge.  As we crossed the bridge, it seemed as if there were hundreds of boats all bunched up.  The marina did not have our reservations but did take us in.  We wedged Mon Amie’s 15 foot beam into a 15-1/2 foot wide slip.  It took two marina hands to help wedge us in. 

Monday morning, everything was quiet when we left the marina.  This day we passed our first dredging barge.  The wind was behind us for following seas on the Cape Fear River.  We arrived in St. James Plantation Marina just after noontime. This marina is a well protected one.  After washing down Mon Amie and taking a shower, Al called Ed Clark.  Ed and Linda were neighbors of Suzanne and Al in 1980 to 1984 in Lexington, Kentucky.  This was the first meeting of the four of us in 22 years. We stayed at their home Monday night thru Wednesday night.  What a delightful time!  It took all that time just to bring each other up to date. The weather was stormy with Wednesday’s rain being about 4 inches.  Due to the winds, we extended the stay two more nights. We finally left St. James Plantation on Saturday morning.  

Next stop......Myrtle Beach.

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