Elizabeth City to Manteo

June 18, 2013

The next morning, we woke at 5:45 AM and got the boat ready to cross the Albemarle Sound to Manteo. Charlie researched the wind and wave forecast which predicted one foot waves. However, when we got out in the sound, the waves became chaotic and sometimes were 2- 3 feet. It seems that since the sound is relatively shallow, the waves can get kicked up with even a small breeze.  The worst part, however, were the tons of crab pots that we had to maneuver around!  The waves made it even more difficult to calculate.  It caused us to be very alert as we constantly weaved in and out all away across the sound.  Eventually, we could see our path to Manteo and we called around 11:30 AM to Manteo Waterfront Marina to reserve a slip. The dockmaster warned us to be careful coming into Shallowbag Bay due to the shoals.  He said he updated Active Captain with the situation.   We made it in with no problems and docked at the waterfront.  Manteo lies due west of and close to the OuterBanks of North Carolina.  It is most known for the first settlers who landed on Roanoke Island  in 1587 and produced the first child born in the New World – Virginia Dare.  Additionally, these settlers disappeared and went down in history as “The Lost Colony.”  But modern day Manteo is a beautiful, historic town, with a wooden boardwalk that winds around the shore. The amenities at the Marina were perfect. After getting the boat secure, we filled up our water tank using our new RV water filter which attached to the hose and filtered the water before it went into the tank. We cleaned out our bilges with a Turkey Baster (much easier than a manual bilge pump when it is a small amount of water) and then we rode our bikes to the Piggly Wiggly to pick up some orange juice and salt.  Bella rode in my basket and was quite happy she was not being left aboard the boat.   The previous four times we locked her in her crate on this trip, we would return to Rainshadow with Bella greeting us at the cockpit door.  She hated being left on the boat and she would wiggle her way out of the crate somehow.  When we returned from the grocery and before we left for dinner, we decided to cable tie all but one of the zippers closed.  While eating a delicious dinner at Ortega’z Mexican Restaurant, Charlie and I wondered if Bella would be able to figure out how to get out of the crate this time.  Perhaps we finally had the upper hand.   Wrong.  Bella was at the door, happy to see us return. Anyway, no damage was done. We ended the day on top of Rainshadow watching kids jump into the water from the bridge that goes over to the Lost Colony historical site. They were having a blast, while the parents watched from the boardwalk right next to a sign that read, “Swimming can be dangerous"…I guess wearing out the kids so they slept that night took precedence over any associated  health consequences.

Rainshadow docked in Manteo

Jumping and Swimming

Ignoring the cautions