Winnie-the-Pooh Visit

We had a visit by Mark and Joyce of Winnie-the-Pooh that we met on our trip home. They stopped on their way North this year and anchored in the Ellyson Creek right off our dock. It was great to visit with them.

We took them to our favorite restaurant and visited with Bruce, the owner and chef. We all had a great meal and time visiting.


Mark, Bruce, Bob, and Penny
Here are a couple of photos taken by Winnie-the-Pooh of the Pretty Penny underway.





We have had some amazing storms lately here at home. This is a photo taken Sunday evening by our neighbor Deb. The sky was almost completely red and she got a photo of a rainbow.


Rainbow over Ophelia

Morehead City, NC to HOME!!!

From Morehead City, the ICW passed through the Neuse River where Bob was fighting the current and the wind. At least it was not rough. We only rocked a little. Most of the trip on Thursday was through the Virginia Cut. This is a manmade narrow canal. The excitement comes when we reach the Great Bridge and the Lock.

By the time we reached the lock, there were about 3 boats in front of us and another 8 behind us. So when we came upon bridges that had to be opened, we all danced around trying to avoid hitting each other.



Entering the Lock

Great Bridge Lock


Leaving the Lock and passing under the Great Bridge

We stopped for the night at the Waterfront Marina in Norfolk. Bob washed the boat and I cleaned the windows, then I headed to the McArthur Mall (a treat for me!) and Bob headed to Hooters for wings and a beer (a treat for him!).


"Hoosier Daddy" passing us

That evening Joe and Monica came to meet us at the boat for dinner. Joe was a Navy Captain that Bob had worked with when he was at Price WaterhouseCoopers working on improving shipyard maintenance. Joe and Monica brought pork chops for the grill and we sat on the boat and had a great time catching up with them. Joe and Monica have purchased a Ranger Tug boat that they plan to use to cruise the ICW.



Bob, Monica, and Joe

Bob had us up again at 6 and underway by 6:30 for our last day. It was quite rough – the kind of day we would sit at anchor for in the Bahamas – but the Captain was anxious to be home now. To east the pain of the trip, Bob cranked up the speed and burned some fuel to get us home.

We’d arranged for our neighbors, John and Russ, to meet us at the dock and help re-set our dock lines since we had taken them with us. It was good to get home.

Thoughts on the trip – We both loved this adventure and are already planning what we will do differently next time and charting the islands we missed for the next trip. The Bahamas could not be more beautiful, more peaceful, or more friendly. You have to see the Bahamas by boat to really enjoy it. Just flying into Nassau for a week, just doesn’t do it. The Exuma Land and Sea Park was incredible, and you can only see that by boat. We learned a lot about the Bahamian culture and enjoyed every conversation we had. If it weren’t for tourists, the country would be a very poor place because it is next to impossible to grow any crops of any kind on the hard porous land. It is very hard to scrape a living off the land for sure.

So we will spend the summer upgrading the the electric system on the boat, fixing the generator, among other things on our list, and prepare to leave next fall as soon as the insurance company says it is OK to head back to the Bahamas.

This summer, we plan on taking the boat to some of the towns around the bay to keep the barnacles off the bottom and keep our skills practiced. If we visit anyplace interesting in the bay, I’ll do a posting, but otherwise, I’ll be reducing the number of posts at any rate. It has been fun documenting our trip and sharing it with friends and family. I’ve enjoyed the number of emails I’ve received and the comments posted on the blog. Thanks for reading and I hope you have enjoyed reading about our travles as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.


Entering the Little Wicomico River - Home at Last

Morehead City, NC to Coinjock, NC

From Morehead City, the ICW passed through the Neuse River where Bob was fighting the current and the wind. At least it was not rough. We only rocked a little.

We anchored for the night on Tuesday off North Dowry River in a very quiet anchorage.


Dusk on the North Dowry River


Sunset on the North Dowry River

Bob had us up very early and underway by 6:30 on Wednesday. We went over 80 miles on Wednesday ending at Coinjock Marina in the North Carolina Cut of the ICW in NC.


Early Morning at the Coinjock Marina dock


Leaving the Coinjock Marina

Coinjock Marina is famous for its 32 oz. prime ribs that the captain was lusting for. He pre-ordered the 16 oz. prime rib for me and we have enough leftovers for another meal.

Coinjock Marina is basically just one long dock along the East side of the North Carolina Cut. I spotted the “Hoosier Daddy” boat from Indianapolis. Having spent 40 years of my life in Indianapolis, I can guarantee that there is no body of water there that would hold this boat, but I do love the name.


"Hoosier Daddy"

We are now two days away from home! We will stop in Norfolk one night and then finish the trip on Friday. It’s funny that we both feel like the return trip up the ICW is taking longer than when we came South. It isn’t, but I guess it just feels that way because it isn’t all new to us now. We are able to make 80 miles a day on the return, whereas, we only did 50 miles a day on the way South. That was due to the fact that the days were shorter on the way south.