Goat Island to Logging Camp, ICW 101

Yes, that is Frost!

 We are off to an early start today, up at 6:15am and jumping into clothes since it was 28^oF last night and a tepid 35^oF inside the boat.  Bob started the generator to warm things up a bit and I washed down the foredeck to get the ice off the deck and bowsprit so we would not slip bringing up the anchor.  

 

 The view all around was magical with low whispy fog over the water and the sun just rising.    As Bob started the engine the silence continued.  No hiss, click, hum or buzz.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zero.  I immediately decided that the best course for action was to start a crock pot dinner and be as invisible as possible.  Bob started thinking and checking and troubleshooting and after finding nothing wrong he “hot wired” the engine and it started right up.   

Soon we were unhooked and headed downriver but in a short time Bob found something we had missed.  There was a low bridge just on the north side of Elizabeth City and the next opening was at 8:30.  We opened her up and sped downriver at a speedy 7.6 knots to reach the bridge with 7 minutes to spare.  Isn't GPS wonderful!!  On the other side was Elizabeth City which is self-described as being the friendliest town for boaters and it did have a large selection of places to tie up.   

We took a turn by the dock front park to note the name of the Krogen 42 “Forever Exploring” tied up at the wharf.  Soon we were heading down the Pasquatank River to cross Albemarle Sound.  Two sailboat were ahead of us as we crossed the Sound but we couldn’t seem to gain on them significantly.  Low bridges are great equalizers and there was one on Hwy 64 at the mouth of the Alligator River.  The bridge tender delayed opening a bit and by the time we passed through the swing bridge we were only 7 minutes behind the second sailboat in front of us.  

 By now the sun was shining in through the Pilot House windows and we were down to t-shirts and shorts, basking in the sun like lizards with the door open.  Continuing down the ICW we were anchored at Loggers Camp, Mile 101 at 3:30pm, had early showers to take advantage of the hot water without running the generator and settled in for dinner, steaming hot from the crockpot. I think this is the way to go though I need to experiment with spices since I am trying to cook with minimal salt.  We have a canal to go through tomorrow but at 15 miles long we don’t have time to transit it today.