Cape May, NJ to Oriental, NC

We had a very pleasant trip off shore from Cape May to Portsmouth, Va., getting just ahead of a gale. We were happy to be in a marina until the winds died and enjoyed a ferry ride into Norfolk and a fun tour of the battleship Wisconsin and the Nauticus Museum. We were fortunate again to be ahead of another gale when we travelled down the beautiful Dismal Swamp route of the ICW, anchoring all by ourselves near Goat Island in the lovely Pasquatank River. We grabbed a 1 day window to get across the often unruly Albermarle Sound and were grateful to stop at a new-to-us, very protected anchorage way up the Alligator River, recommended by our buddies on Sailin' Shoes. With no signal to get a weather update, we waited to leave there until yesterday at noon, when it looked like heavy rain and wind had let up. We had a beautiful afternoon going through the Alligator-Pungo Canal, oblivious to the conditions out in the rivers. We were greeted, upon exiting the Canal, with rough conditions and winds in the 30s. We made a quick turn into the north part of the Pungo River and found good protection for the night. By this morning, winds had died down and we had an easy trip down to Oriental where we are at a dock so Dave can watch Ohio State play!
We plan on leaving here tomorrow, anchoring tomorrow night, then taking advantage of a nice 2 day window to go off shore from Beaufort to Hilton Head. Yes, 2 more overnights, but even here it's getting into the 40s at night later this week. Just a little further...Read more