Welcome to Wendy on the Water! I have created this site to chronicle our adventures of buying a sailboat and learning to sail in midlife. Join me, my husband Charro, and our three pups in our search for fair winds and following seas.
All Phases Complete
All phases of our big boat moving journey our now complete. Time to breathe. 🙂
It has been a busy couple of days since our return to Virginia. One day post arrival, we turned right around to head back to New Bern to retrieve my car from Northwest Creek Marina. We all quite literally piled into Charro’s two-seater convertible for the first leg of the nearly nine hour round-trip drive.
On our way south, we stopped at the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center to purchase our commemorative tees and hats and snap a couple of photos of the water. Hard to believe we had just motored through the area two days prior.
Yesterday, there was little rest for the weary. Charro hopped into town to run some errands, and I spent a few hours deep cleaning our boat’s very dirty interior. It sure felt good to put our girl back to rights!
Today, finally, we begin a nice three day stretch of down time before we head back to Roanoke on Sunday. We have no plans to take the boat out at all. We are just going to chill out in our new slip and enjoy the quiet and the view.
When I reflect on all that we accomplished on our week long voyage, I continue to feel so proud. There were so many “firsts”.
- Provisioning for the possibility of being on the water for a straight week
- Traversing large bodies of water in unfavorable conditions
- Overnighting at anchor
- Using the VHF radio to hail other boaters and bridge and lock tenders
- Locking
- Following nautical charts
- Docking for the night at a marina other than our own-and in high winds!
- Getting the pups through the stress of having to potty on a boat
As many of you know, we have not been sailors for very long. It was only two years ago that we decided to pursue this dream. We were each approaching the big 5-0 and came to realize that life was moving fast. If we didn’t take the leap then, we never would. And so, here we are. Already on our second sailboat, having a blast, and learning more every single day. I can’t wait to see where our next big adventure will take us.
Fair winds,
Wendy
Home
We did it. 235 nautical miles over 6 days (+ 1 day of rest due to bad weather). We made it home!
We hauled up anchor yesterday morning (Monday) at 7:15 and began the last day of our adventure. As I said in my previous post, I don’t know what happened with the forecast, but what it said and what we experienced were two different things. The Chesapeake Bay was supposed to see 1 foot waves and winds out of the southwest, which would have helped push us north. Instead, winds blew out of the west, hitting us directly on our beam and causing us to roll. Waves were more in the 2-3 foot range. It was quite uncomfortable for the first couple of hours. Steadily, though, by late morning, the winds began to subside, and by the time we were a couple of hours from the Rappahannock River, the water turned beautiful.
Roughly 7 hrs. from our morning departure, the Robert O. Norris Bridge came into view. We were back in our home waters, and only about an hour away.
Finally, around 3 pm, after 7 days of travel, we arrived at Green 1LC, the entrance to the channel into Locklies Creek. We. Were. Home.
This trip was five months in the planning and I still can’t believe we actually did it. To be honest, I think I am still processing the events of the past week. I have more thoughts I would like to share, but it is late and I am so very tired. I will write again tomorrow.
Thank you again for following our big journey. 🙂
Fair winds,
Wendy
An Extraordinary Day
Hello all. Before I begin, here is a little eye candy for you. I took these shots from our gorgeous anchorage spot on Sunday.
As I write this, it is 12:00 on Monday. I am actually typing this post from the cockpit as we motor north on the Chesapeake Bay! I don’t know who wrote today’s forecast, but this morning winds were definitely not out of the SW and DEFINITELY not 10-15 knots. Instead we saw 15 -20 knots out of the west (gusts in the 20’s) with 2-3 ft waves. Things have finally calmed down. Winds are currently 10 knots out of the west.
It has been extremely annoying to have to navigate through and around more crab pot lines. They seem to appear out of nowhere. They are the bane of a boater’s existence.
Yesterday morning when we awoke, Charro presented me with the wild hair he got in the middle of the night. He suggested that instead of anchoring for the night at the end of the Dismal Swamp Canal, that we keep on going all the way through Hampton Roads and anchor at Willoughby Bay in Norfolk. It would put us home one day sooner. So that’s exactly what we did. We departed our anchorage at 6:15 am yesterday morning and arrived at our stopping place at 5:15 pm. We ran an 11 hour day. We must be mad!
To say it was an incredible day would be a vast understatement. From the wild, unspoiled beauty of the Dismal Swamp Canal to the stretch of colossal warships at Norfolk Naval Station, we were certainly not unspoiled for choice of things to gawk at.
I don’t know why they call it the Dismal Swamp because it is not dismal at all! It is stunning. The four hour run from end to end was calm and smooth. The canal has a controlling depth of 6 ft., however we found the depths yesterday to be anywhere from 6-9 ft. There was no duckweed to contend with and no bugs at all – in fact, we haven’t had a single issue with bugs anywhere (well except for the flypocalypse we are experiencing on our boat today!). That was a huge relief.
From the entrance to the canal outside of South Mills Lock, and for a some time beyond Deep Creek Lock, we traveled in a caravan of four other boats. We met a very nice couple from Rhode Island and had some nice chitchat back and forth on the radio. We even exchanged photos we had taken of each other’s vessel.
Locking was a brand new experience for us. We both had such nerves going in, but the lock tenders at both South Mills and Deep Creek were extremely kind and helpful. Both open on a schedule, so you have to be sure to time your arrivals. We were all a few minutes early to the 8:30 am opening, so we put the anchor down and held steady until we received the all-clear to proceed. One by one, each boat entered the lock. We were instructed ahead of time via radio that it would be a port side tie-up and that we needed to have a 25 foot minimum line on both bow and stern. As we sidled up to the wall, the lock tender grabbed the bow line I was holding and secured us to a piling above the wall. Then he secured the stern line in Charro’s hand.
Both gates closed and water began filling the lock. We were slowly raised up by about 8 feet. Then the exit gate opened and we proceeded on our way.
We all made it to the end of the canal in time for the 1:30 opening of Deep Creek Lock. The bridge tender, who also serves double-duty as lock tender, raised Deep Creek Bridge. As soon as we all cleared it, he jumped into his car to drive to the lock 1/4 mile away. The water was then lowered 8 ft. and we proceeded on.
From there it was a short jaunt to the I-64 bridge.
After the I-64 Bridge, we came to the Norfolk Southern #7 Railroad Bridge and the Gilmerton Bridge. The railroad bridge is normally open, however, a train was crossing and we had to wait. At that point, we were in the company of an enormous barge pushing a tug, two of our fellow canal travelers, a catamaran, and several rather rude speed boat drivers. We literally drove in circles waiting out the train delay. Finally, the bridge tender gave the all-clear and we proceeded through Gilmerton Bridge.
The 10 nautical mile stretch through Hampton Roads was a sight to see! I am thankful we traveled through on a Sunday when commercial and military traffic is minimal. I imagine it can get quite hairy on a weekday. The most impressive section was passing warship after warship after warship. You don’t realize how LARGE they are until you see them up close. Unfortunately, I do not have photos of them. Marine military police patrol and guard the area and it is said that they don’t care for it when people take photos. It’s a security thing. We didn’t want to do anything that might provoke them to stop us.
After a day full of adventures, we finally made it to our anchor spot just outside of Willoughby Bay. The location lies next to a naval base, and according to others, the military routinely conducts helicopter maneuvers. Charro was so hopeful, but sadly since it was Sunday all was quiet.
I did snap this photo of an aircraft carrier across the bay from where we were anchored.
As I said before it was an extraordinary day. This whole trip has been extraordinary and one for the memory books.
At this moment, we are 6 miles from the Rappahannock River and just a few hours from home. If all continues to go well, we’ll be sleeping in our new slip at our marina tonight!
I will update again tomorrow.
Fair winds,
Wendy
Quick Update
Hello everybody. Tonight’s update is going to be quick because I am completely exhausted. We totally changed our plans from yesterday. Instead of tying up at the end of the Dismal Swamp Canal tonight, we instead pushed on and made it all the way to the entrance of the Chesapeake Bay!! It was an 11 hour run and we are currently anchored outside of Willoughby Bay in Norfolk, VA. We are located just north of a naval base. I have so many photos to share, as today was an extraordinary day full of new experiences and variety. I will do that soon. Because we traveled so far today, we should actually be able to make it all the way home tomorrow. What an incredible experience this has been.
Fair winds,
Wendy
Albemarle Sound and Pasquotank River
This morning we shoved off the marina dock at 7:30. Winds were still up, but much calmer than yesterday.
We had one little snag as we were departing, and I am still replaying the potential horror of it in my mind. We had our bow line wrapped too many times around the piling at the dock, and when I let go of the bitter end (the end of the rope) to pull it onboard and release us for departure, it resisted sliding off. Charro already had us in gear at that point, moving us forward. Thank God that thing unraveled at the last minute. There was a large yacht docked in front of us. Had the line not let go, our stern would have swung around and we would have hit their boat. I truly believe you learn the most through mistakes. That is one I do not intend for us to make again!
From the marina to the end of the Alligator River, it was a quick three miles or so, and then we entered into the Albemarle Sound. Winds today were blowing 10-15 knots with waves at 2 ft. About half way across the 11 mile run, it got very rolly. The waves were hitting us on the beam, which rolled us a fair amount from side to side. Maybe my perspective has changed since the second day of our journey, but it didn’t unnerve me nearly as much as the day we crossed the Pamlico and Pungo Rivers. We managed between 6-7 knots of speed and made it across the Sound in about 2 hrs. (I forgot to jot down the exact time).
From the Albemarle Sound, we entered into the Pasquotank River. By that point the wind was on our stern, which helped push us along and minimized the boat’s motion.
Roughly two hours later, we arrived in Elizabeth City, where almost immediately, we came to the Elizabeth City Bridge (a drawbridge). We hailed the bridge tender for an opening. There was one boat in front of us and the tender was waiting on a third to arrive behind us. So for maybe ten minutes or so, we circled and held until we received the all-clear to motor through. I couldn’t help but sing the chorus, “When you get caught between the moon and New York City” while we waited.
There was one more bridge to cross before we arrived at our spot for the night – the Norfolk Southern Railroad Swing Bridge. It usually remains open, and today it was. Although you really couldn’t tell if it was open or not until you were practically at the darn gate! Regardless, I had my air horn ready to sound the signal request if needed.
A short ride later (around 1:15), we arrived at our chosen anchorage. The entirety of our journey today was just shy of 6 hrs. Hard to believe, but in total, we have already traversed 137 nautical miles! That means we are past the halfway point with 98 left to go! Barring unforeseen weather or circumstances, we should arrive at our home marina in Topping, VA on Tuesday.
We are currently stopped for the night in a truly beautiful, scenic, peaceful spot on the Pasquotank River, just outside of the ICW next to Goat Island. This is my absolute favorite spot so far! Since we arrived, we have seen three fisherman in johnboats and only two other ICW travelers. We are hopeful that the lack of transiters means we won’t have much competition to tie up at the free dock tomorrow.
We appreciate all who are keeping up with our journey. Thank you for following along!
Sunday’s Goal: 29 nautical miles
Our plan for tomorrow is to depart super duper early (6:00 ish) to take advantage of the first lock opening time of 8:30 am (South Mills Lock). After locking, we will cross through South Mills Bridge and then make the 4 hour journey through the scenic Dismal Swamp Canal. Our plan is to tie up at the bulkhead at the end of the canal, just before Deep Creek Lock.
Fair winds,
Wendy
Wendy on the Water 