Day 20...South Lake to Mariners' Wharf, Elizabeth City, N.C.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

     Today we left our anchorage at 6:40 a.m. because we knew we were going to have to cross Albemarle Sound. 

Sunrise

     Albemarle Sound is a wide-open stretch of water.  It is a very large estuary.  Look up what an estuary is Lily, Eli, Drew, Morgan, John and William.  It is the largest freshwater sound in North America.  We hoped the sooner we left the better our chance that the wind would be light and the waves would be small.  When we started across, we couldn’t see the other side.  The wind wasn’t very strong at first but got stronger as the day progressed.  Do you remember the day that we crossed Winyah Bay?  Well add at least 50% more bumping to that story and you’ll have today.  

     The windchime was bouncing and dinging constantly

 AND the bell even clanged. The rope on the bell and the windchime were bouncing all around. The picture of the bell is terrible so just concentrate on the unnatural way the rope handle is.  It should be hanging straight down. 

     The TV even swung around because of all the pitching and rolling. 

Where the TV ended up in the hallway.

Where it started out in the salon.

   

  It was hard moving around myself.  Of course like on the sailboat, you always must have one hand holding onto the boat.  That’s why we have all of these handles all over the boat. 

     Before we reached Elizabeth City, we had to thread our way between rows and rows of crab pot buoys.  One time Gary even had to weave his way between them to keep from catching them on the propeller.  The waves were too high to get a picture.  Maybe on the way back.  

      The Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station is the largest USCG Air Station on the East Coast.  It is also home to one of the United States’ few airship factories.  We think that’s where the blimp was.

     We covered 38 miles in about 8 hours and 25 minutes because of the direction of the wind and waves.  If we had been able to steer a straight course toward our destination, we would have made better time but would have had the waves on our side.  We would have rolled instead of bounced.  I’d rather bounce than roll any day. 

      While I was working on the blog, guess what Gary was doing?  If you guessed reading, you'd be correct.  I think he's read more books than I have so far.

     This is a picture from the stern of our boat at Mariners' Wharf in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

     The photo theme for today could only be water since that’s all we saw until the end of the day, but I’m not going to put you through looking at water pictures again.  We are going to be here for two days so I’ll write more about the dock and town tomorrow.