Day 234: Friday, April 26, 2013
Port to Port: Alligator River Marina to Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
Underway: 7:45 am Motor Off: 1:45 pm Miles Traveled: 33 Stayed At: Free Dock
First Things First: First play at a small town theatre.
Mile 84 to Mile 51: After a quiet but short night we were up early to see if today would be a good day to cross Albemarle Sound. The winds were light and the sun was shining and several boats has already headed out early so it looked like a go. We filled up our gas cans, checked the weather, used the restrooms and even squeezed in a quick and wonderful breakfast at the café before joining the boat parade heading north.
Conditions were ideal. There was only a light chop and the wind was on our nose for the first hour or so. There are two routes to take – one goes more east through some bigger water and the other veers west and then north through the narrow and quiet Dismal Swamp cut. We chose the latter. More than half the boats went the other way – expecially the power boats.
We made good time and were cruising at 5.5 mph. We were able to raise the sails for the last 20 miles and cruised along on a beautiful spring day at 6 mph under full sail across Albemarle Sound and up to Elizabeth City. They have a bunch of free docks available for cruisers. As we were approaching the town, a familiar power boat came slowly up behind us and we soon were chatting with our friends Roger and Dorothy on Slow Churn. We had passed them again and they caught up again. What a nice surprise. We slid into they slip right beside them where Gus – part of the local welcoming committee – grabbed our lines to help up dock.
Elizabeth City tries to be the City of Hospitality they live up to their name. Friends of guys named Fred Fearing and Joe Kramer, who started this idea to help boaters, work to continue the tradition. They have an international reputation for their hospitality. They even sponsor regular wine and cheese get togethers and, in season, provide fresh cut flowers to visitors from rose bushes transplanted from Joe Kramers original garden. What a great place to visit.
The Visitors Bureau was only a block away and they gave us the codes to the bathrooms and information on groceries and other activities. They even were willing to drop people off at the grocery store. They mentioned a play being presented at the local theatre – The Dixie Girls Swim Club. We have been wanting to take in a local play so we bought tickets for this evening. (You never know what the day will bring on the Great Loop). We went out to dinner with Slow Churn and enjoyed sharing stories again. They are staying an extra day here too so we will get to spend more time tomorrow hanging out and exploring.
The play was hilarious and we met some other boaters there too – Paul and Judy on the Four Seas parked two boats down from us. Just in the last couple of days, we have met probably a dozen new people on some kind of adventure on lots of different kinds of boats. Plus all of the local people at the marinas and towns we visit. We love hearing all of the stories and getting to know our fellow travelers. It’s a wonderful life on the Great Loop.
