Thursday 6/5 – Thursday 6/12
With our minds filled if not momentarily with art, science, history, culture, facts, dates and figures, we depart our very memorable visit in Washington DC. Our next destination to New York Harbor once again involves our truck and trailer as we wish to avoid transiting Delaware Bay, the New Jersey ICW and the Atlantic coast with Puffin, as well as saving/gaining time to visit more desirable locations. This departure/arrival scenario involves a bit of a logistical weave. First, we drive our truck from the DC marina to acquire our trailer at a storage facility located out of town, take both to the launch ramp, get a ride back to the marina, motor the boat to the launch ramp, put the boat on the trailer, drive the rig to our next destination in New York, find a suitable launch ramp and an appropriate marina there, launch the boat, motor the boat to the marina, get a ride back to the launch ramp, drive the truck and trailer to our future planned pick-up point( Waterford, NY -beginning of the Erie Canal), store both at an arranged location, rent a car and finally drive back to our boat at the NY marina. WHEW! In short, we docked Puffin at Liberty Harbor Marina in New Jersey, directly across from lower Manhattan and conveniently located to the transit systems of the city. We did utilize the rental car for the first day, challenging the traffic in the big city, but getting an overview of the Big Apple. We enjoyed our week long stay visiting the typical highlights; Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Empire State Building, Time Square, Central Park, Wall Street, Battery Park, Brooklyn Bridge and of course the World Trade Center Site. The weather was very unseasonably hot for a few days, so we even spent some time keeping cool at the library. This BIG CITY is a bit overwhelming with lots of people, lots of tall buildings, and lots of taxis.

Gassin' Up (OUCH!)

Storing The Rig In Waterford

Takin' The Subway

Times Square

Empire State Building

East River View

Brooklyn Bridge







Crossing The Bridge

Wall Street

Wishing For Luck With The Bull

Rush Hour

World Trade Center Site

New WTC Illustration

Ellis Island







Statue Of Liberty

Inside View To The Top







View From The Lady

Saturday 5/10 – Wednesday 6/4
Early Saturday morning, we depart Sarah Creek back into the York River and upon entering Chesapeake Bay, we attempt to make as much northerly headway towards the mouth of the Potomac River. The deteriorating weather however dictates that we cut our plans short, so we make way for the refuge of Deltaville Marina, which turns out to be the location of Transition & Honga. Sunday, all of us in the marina encounter unbelievable winds, rain and storm surge causing the boats to madly dance about. In fact, several boats in the harbor drag anchor and with the docks awash, Honga nearly breaks away from her slip as the cleats are torn off the docks. Puffin leaks badly as the Sunbrella cockpit cover is no contest for the intense driving rain. With the forecast calling for very strong winds to continue for the next few days, our plans to make it up the Potomac in time for our arranged tour of the White House is not looking possible by boat. We opt to trailer Puffin to Washington DC, so with our looper friends taking me (Glenn) to the rental car agency in Williamsburg, I drive to Charleston to pick up our rig and return later the next day. Puffin is hauled out on her trailer the following day and by that evening we are parked at a Walmart near Washington DC. The next morning Puffin is launched and motored to Gang Plank Marina located in the Washington Channel, making our visit very convenient to the many DC attractions. During the next 3 weeks, Royce and I not only get our tour of the White House, we visit nearly every Smithsonian museum, visit the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Viet Nam Memorial, ride to the top of the Washington Monument, tour the Capital including the Senate and House while in session, listen to a concert at the Kennedy Center, go to Arlington Cemetery, go to Mount Vernon, go to Annapolis Naval Academy and even watch money being printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The many beautiful and grand buildings of our Capital are impressive indeed.



Soupy On The Chesapeake

Picking Up the Rig In Charleston

Wash DC Scenes

Money Maker

Arlington

JFK

Air & Space Museum

DC Metro





Mount Vernon

Saturday 5/3 – Friday 5/9
Elizabeth City is very boater friendly and tradition prevailing, all of the visiting boaters are greeted with roses and invited to a dock party from the “Rose Buddies”. Having explored the town, the Museum of the Albemarle and reprovisioned, we depart Sunday morning and continue north on the now narrow and winding Pasquotank River, heading on the 18 mile scenic route to South Mills Lock (Mile 33) where Puffin is raised 8 feet to the Great Dismal Swamp Canal. We raft up at the Welcome Center dock (Mile 28) for the evening to tour the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center and have fun meeting the other cruisers at an improptu dock party. Next morning as we make way for the other end of the Dismal Canal (22 miles in total length) at Deep Creek Lock (Mile 10.5), we leave North Carolina and cross into Virginia. The lock lowers Puffin the 8 feet into Deep Creek leading into the Elizabeth River and soon the scenery makes a dramatic change as we approach Norfolk, VA., mile 0 and the “official” beginning of the 1,243 mile-long Atlantic ICW to Key West, Florida. Passing by an array of merchant and Navy vessels, we arrive at Ocean Marine Yacht Center where we find moorage and our looper friends onboard Transition and Honga. We spend the next few days exploring this fascinating maritime hub, especially enjoying Nauticus, the National Marine Center and home of the battleship Wisconsin. With a forecast predicting deteriorating conditions, we decide to move on and as opposed to the past, the ICW route is officially ended and is no longer shown on the GPS as a magenta line. With our future route up the Chesapeake Bay dictated by us, we create waypoints for a course up the York River to arrive for our late afternoon anchorage up Sarah Creek. The next morning we move to York River Yacht Haven, the marina at Sarah Creek where the staff furnishes transportation to Yorktown Victory Center. From here, we catch a shuttle to Jamestown exploring the historic grounds of James Fort, the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. After visiting the very interesting and historically educational museums at Jamestown, we return to the marina where the staff allows us to borrow the courtesy car for the rest of the day. We take the opportunity to make a whirlwind tour of the many historic homes and sites of Yorktown, the locale of the victorious Revolutionary War battle leading to our independence. The following day, our heads once again spin with history as we visit the extensive grounds of Williamsburg.



Royce at Rose Buddies Party

Albermarle Museum

Shad Boat

Pasquotank River

South Mills Lock

Dismal Swamp Canal

Rafted Up at Welcome Center

Dismal Party

Norfolk Waterfront

Battleship Wisconsin

Jamestown

James Fort










Yorktown Victory Monument

Governor & General Nelson House in Yorktown

Williamsburg Governor's Palace

Virginia's Capital Building

Williamsburg Episcopal Church

Sunday 4/27 – Friday 5/2
Puffin departs Beaufort and resumes her northerly ICW track on Core Creek, then Adams Creek until arriving at the Neuse River, the widest river in the United States. With the weather cooperating,(the river can be very challenging otherwise), we decide to take a side-trip up the Neuse to New Bern to visit our looper friends, Doug and Kathie of m/v "Winnie W". New Bern, founded in 1710 is the second oldest town in North Carolina and features more than 450 historic sites registered on the National Register of Historic Places. Arriving at the Sheraton Hotel New Bern Marina late that afternoon, we again meet up with Transition & Honga and have a enjoyable evening aboard Honga for drinks and appetizers. The next day, Royce and I walk around town taking in some of those historic sites and that evening, all of us are invited for a wonderful dinner at Doug and Kathie's home in New Bern. Tuesday morning everyone departs New Bern and has a favorable weather trip back down the Neuse to the town of Oriental, N.C. After we anchor Puffin in the harbor adjacent to Oriental Marina (Mile 182), Royce and I dinghy in for a reunion with our Canadian looper friends, Joan and MaryLou of Catnip Too who were on their way back by car from their attendance at the Spring AGLCA(Looper) Rendezvous held in Charleston, S.C. Later that afternoon, all of the loopers gather for dinner at a local restaurant. Very early Wednesday morning, Puffin weighs anchor in hopes of lighter morning winds to continue down the wide Neuse River, but as we approach Maw Point Shoal in Pamlico Sound, we encounter uncomfortable conditions for several hours until we enter the shelter of the Pungo River, giving us calm passage until arriving at Dowry Creek Marina (Mile 132) where we take on fuel and water as well as showers for the crew. After anchoring Puffin a short way up the creek near the marina, we dinghy back to the marina to join our friends for happy hour. With a long day ahead of us, we along with our friends depart early morning to transit the relatively narrow, shallow but scenic Alligator River-Pungo River Canal until reaching the wide and deep Alligator River. Continuing on to the head of the Alligator River where it meets the infamous Albermarle Sound( can be very challenging to cross), we find a sheltered anchorage from the windy conditions up the Little Alligator River (Mile 82) for the evening. Puffin & crew decide to take the Dismal Swamp route to Norfolk, VA while our looper friends opt for the Virginia Cut path thru the Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal. At first light, the winds seem relatively light and with a moderate forecast of 10 to 15 knots, and a threat of a cold front creating deteriorating conditions for the upcoming days, all of us decide to go for it and cross the 14 miles of the often challenging body of water of Albermarle Sound. As we make our way across, the shallow depths and increasing winds begin to create rough and confused seas. The winds continue to increase well beyond the forecast, approaching 20 to 25 knots with higher gusts generating very knarly beam seas. By tacking along our course line, Puffin & crew survive the very rough crossing and get some relief as we enter the Pasquotank River. Although still very sloppy, we continue on until finally arriving at the calm harbor of Elizabeth City. (Mile 51) What A Relief!! After tying up at the free downtown docks at Mariner's Wharf, Royce and I celebrate our accomplishment and reward ourselves with delicious pastries at the local bakery.



Home & Dock along the creek




New Bern City Hall

Bradham's Pharmacy-Pepsi's beginning

Great Ol' New Bern Hardware Store

Dinner at Doug & Kathie's

Kickin' Back in Oriental

Royce & Jill at Dowry Creek Marina

Little Alligator Creek Anchorage

Blimp Hanger along the Windy Pasquotank River





Safely Tied at Elizabeth City