Portsmouth to Coinjock via the VA Cut

Cool as it might have sounded to be traversing the Dismal Swamp over Halloween, we opted for the VA Cut because of depth. The morning departure was a respectable 8:30, a nice break to be able to see the sun before leaving, but it did make for a late arrival in Coinjock. Coinjock is about the only place to stop along the VA Cut and therefore the slips come at a premium. We had quite a time squeezing in to the Midway Marina & Motel docks shortly after 6 pm. Part of the reason for the late arrival was the timing or mis-timing at several bridges and at the Great Bridge Lock. We did a lot of hurry up and wait during the first half of the day. We then pushed on pretty rapidly to get in before dark. The day was brisk and the breeze was mostly on the nose, so no one even attempted a sail today.
We sent Pekabu III into two possible anchorages as he is the shoalest draft of any of us, and he touched both times, so we pressed on. We all gathered aboard Pekabu III after supper to celebrate Pete's birthday with a pumpkin cake that Maureen had baked. While we were gathered, we received a phone call from Mike (& Bev) Davis (Ayewash), our CCYC webmaster extrodinaire, who was at a CCYC dinner with Rich and Diane (Scimitar), Al and Vicky (Rhiannon) and Mike and Marie (Prego). If there was anyone else there, we couldn't tell as the volume was pretty loud. The news from there was that Mike and Marie had sailed a 400 and are seriously considering buying it. We look forward to welcoming them to the 400 family!
We are now in NC and it has taken me over an hour to load the pictures for this blog entry. (No 3G signal here.) Tomorrow night we hope to reach the beginning of the Alligator River/Pungo River Canal entrance, and we know there is probably still NO cell phone signal in that area. I'll write, but don't know when I'll be able to send it.
~~~_/)~~~M&D

Dan caught the early skyline this morning before we headed out of Portsmouth.

From morning until night, today was a parade. From the cityscape of Portsmouth to the edges of Currituck Sound.

The trip through the Great Bridge Lock took longer than expected because we had gone through a draw bridge three miles earlier with 15 sailboats and at least 10 powerboats and the majority had reached the lock before we did. No room for us. We had to wait for an hour for the next lift. It turned out to be only 4 inches or so. The #2 was showing when we entered and by the time Pekabu led the way out of the lock, the #2 was just barely covered. You can see the lock open in the first picture, closing in the next and then all of us nestled inside.

Just one more eagle shot. He looked pretty regal perched on that lonely tree.