Trawler Punches on the IntraCoastal Waterway

Friday morning was chilly at 40 degrees, clear and not as windy as predicted with winds less than 10 mph. I held out hope for an easy trip up the Chesapeake Bay. A friend of mine Nick Koch drove down from Richmond to make the trip with me while Sandra took Nick's car back to our house in Lancaster, VA.
There was a lot of traffic as we turned past the Navy Base including a naval vessel coming in just as we made it to Ft Monroe. Swells were about two feet at that point with NW winds. As we reached the mouth of the York River seas were about 3 feet, but still OK. At the York River shipping channel we came close as Navy Vessel 78 came out at high speed. There was also a large tug going at the same speed next to the navy vessel and another ocean going tug at full speed coming in. The three vessels together made a nasty large 4 plus foot cross-chop that really rolled my boat. Once past the York River the bay settled down to about 1 foot and into the Rappahannock River it became calm for a period before we docked. I then started to clean the boat, defrost the refrigerator and change the engine oil while it was still warm, knowing the next day would start in the 30's. When I checked the bilge I realized my raw water pump now was really shot with the amount it was leaking past the seal. A good thing the trip was at an end.
The big surprise was Saturday morning when we awoke to 4 inches of snow!!!!!! We are happy to be on land again, but always sad to leave the boat after a good trip and thankfully warm temperatures except for the last 2 days.
Today's Stats: Location Lancaster, Virginia home dock, distance 64.3 NM, 74 SM, time 8.27 hrs, speed 7.76 knots, 8.93 mph

Punches in the Snow:

Contrary to the forecast there was little wind this morning at Great Bridge. Last night we had a nice meal at the local Italian Restaurant. We can see why people like to stop here, everything is very close. I was also able to get a Wi-Fi Internet connection from Atlantic Yacht Basic across the ICW from our free dock. It was 46 degrees this morning, not the coldest of the trip, but close. At 8 am we locked thru the Great Bridge Lock. There were only 2 other boats with us and the we only went up about a foot. We then had one more restricted bridge and made that a little early. Three miles down the ICW at MM 5.8 the Railroad Bridge blocked our progress for about 20 minutes. From there it was just a short trip to the South Ferry Basin in Portsmouth where we will spend the night. We plan to do some advance planning for our fall MTOA Rendezvous while we are here. The forecast for going up the Bay and home tomorrow looks OK right now, 1 foot seas, west wind at 10-15 MPH.
Today Stats: :Location Portsmouth, VA, ICW MM 0.6, distance 12.58 miles, time 2.63 hrs, speed 4.78 mph, 4.15 knots

Punches at the foot of High Street, Portsmouth, VA

We decided to do a short day and wait for the cold front to pass. The weather called for cloudly, but by mid-afternoon we had near 80 degrees and sun ahead of the storms. We did have one shower on our way from Coinjock and with the south wind in Currituck Sound we had 1-2 foot rollers behind us. There we two bridges to open today and with the aid of the GPS we timed both within 5 minutes of opening time. We are now tied up to a free dock just below the Great Bridge Lock/Bridge. Tomorrow we plan to make the short 12 mile trip up to Portsmouth, VA.
Today's Stats:Location, Great Bridge, VA ICW MM 12.1, distance 36.56 miles, time, 4.75 hrs, speed 7.70 mph, 6.69 knots.

Great Bridge, VA from the bow of Punches:

The moon was full as the sun came up over Slade Creek in calm warm conditions. Listening to the forecast we know this could be our last day in shorts as a coldfront comes closer. Today's run took us through the 20 miles of the straight Alligator-Pungo Canal and then into the wide waters of the Alligator River. Until we hit the river is was very calm, then a NE breeze about 10 knots started. As is typical with the Alligator and Albemarle Sound it quickly developed a 1 foot chop, but we still had a good ride all the way across. Just as we reached North Landing River on the other side we were stopped by a coast Guard 25 foot boat. Even with a boarding in the last year they boarded us again!!! We have now been boarded more times than we can count and wonder what we have that attracts the CG??? The CG now has a handheld device for the boarding checklist and prints a little form at the end of the process - very high tech.
Tonight we are at Midway Marina in Coinjock, NC. The weather looks iffy for a few days and we will probably delay at least one day before trying to go up the Chesapeake Bay after we reach Norfolk. We filled up today with fuel, 159 gallons at $2.15 per gallon.
Today's Stats: Location Midway Marina, Coinjock, NC, ICW MM 49.5, distance 93.54 miles, time, 10.42 hours, average speed 8.98 mph, 7.8 knots

The day started warm in the lower 60's and calm but cloudly. We had one bridge to open about 30 minutes after starting and then with favorable currents we started the long trip down Bouge Sound Sound toward Moorehead City, NC. At this point on the ICW you are actually heading almost due East. At Moorehead the channel makes a big turn and once again you are going northeast. We passed a few trawlers we had passed on previous days: "Nomad" and "Seaquel". "Seaquel" it turn out had wintered just north of us in FT. Pierce, Florida. After listening to the weather we decided to pass our first anchorage at about 1 Pm and tackle the open water of the Neuse. River and Pamlico Sound. Winds and seas were very light and after that we reached our second anchorage around 4:40 pm. Again we decided to press on given the great weather. We now crossed the Pamlico River and into the Pungo River. This is an almost undeveloped section of North Carolina and very easy on the eyes. The pines are in full bloom and by evening the whole boat had a yellow coast of pollen. Tonight we are in an anchorage I have never tried called Slade Creek about 8 miles south of Bellhaven, NC. You can only get in if you have a GPS plotter because the entrance is unmarked. There is nothing but untouched shoreline - great!!!!! We will evaluate the weather tonight and early tomorrow and decide if to press on across Albermarle Sound tomorrow or Wednesday.
Today's Stats: Location: Slade Creek, NC ICW MM 140, distance 105.7 miles, time 11.65 hours, average speed 9.07 mph, 7.88 knots

Sunset over Slade Creek, NC ICW MM 140

Today is not my favorite part of the ICW. There are three low old WPA-era bridges along this section. The restrictions ( one opens every half hour, the others only on the hour ) mean that you either have to be able to do 15 mph ( not possible in my boat ), or crawl and then wait. The morning was very nice with light winds, clear and about 60 degrees. It warmed to about 70. We made the first bridge at Wrightsville Beach about 6 minutes early. From there I opened up a little to to 9 knots to make the next bridge 5 miles further. I get there, ask for the 9:30 am opening and he then tells me I can clear without an opening. All my guides say the Firgure 8 Bridge has 21 feet, but we had 23 feet at near high tide. From there it is 17.4 miles to the Surf City Bridge. Even at my slowest speed we arrives about 20 minutes early for the 2 pm opening. Once thru there we had a short ride to our usual anchorage in Camp Lejeune, Mile Hammock Bay. There are no exercises going on and we saw military families fishing and launching their boats in the basin. The GPS does make one thing about waiting for bridges better. I have each bridge as a waypoint and know exactly how long it takes to get to the bridge. Instead of hanging out with a crowd where there is no room I hang back and then use the GPS to arrive near the opening time. This worked especially well in Wrightsville where the channel is solid marinas in front of the bridge.
Today's Stats: Location Mile Hammock Bay, Camp LeJeune, NC, ICW MM 244.5, distance 51.54 miles, time 7.75 hrs, speed 6.65 mph, 5.78 knots