Fishing in Ocracoke

June 23, 2013

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Anchorage Marina is busy with charter fishing boats. This afternoon, the charter, Gecko, came into dock and unloaded their catch.  A large yellow fin tuna was the prize.

Gecko charter boat

I guess it is a little unusual to catch a yellow fin tuna that large.  The Gulfstream is so close to Ocracoke that they tend to catch some large fish.  Charlie has been impressed. He is now planning a trip to Ocracoke via the Ferry   He thinks he could do it in a day.  I heard the whooping and hollering on dock so I went down to see what was going on.  By the time I got to the deck, the young son of the gentleman who caught the tuna was dragging that prize all over the dock. He was a strong fella!

Yellow fin tuna

We investigated the island on our bikes today.  There is a paved, large bike path to the Hatteras Park beaches on the island.  While we sat enjoying the beach, we talked to a nice woman who lived part of the year on Manteo and part of the year on Ocracoke.  I asked her which she liked better, but she couldn’t decide.  What a life!  On the way back, we stopped by the Ocracoke lighthouse, which is not open to the public, by the way.  But it does present a nice photo op.

Ocracoke lighthouse

We shared a delicious ice cream at Sweet Tooth and then went to the museum dedicated to the pirate Blackbeard.  The nice woman let us take Bella in for the short video presentation.  Blackbeard’s real name was Edward Teach.  He was born in Bristol,  England and historians think he may have come from a wealthy family because, unlike other pirates, he could read and write.  He was captured, killed and beheaded aboard his ship in Ocracoke.  The order  to capture Blackbeard came from the governor of Virginia, Spotswood.  Royal Navy Lieutenant Maynard was chosen to lead the mission.

On November 22, 1718, the heated battle took place. Maynard’s two ships, Jane and Ranger, were both fired upon by Blackbeard. Ranger was badly damaged and several of Maynard’s crew died instantly. When Jane was hit, Maynard instructed his crewmen to go below and the entire ship took on the illusion of death. In the smoke and fire of battle, Blackbeard was fooled into leading a charge aboard Maynard’s vessel. Maynard and his men surprised the pirates and proceeded to cut them down one by one. After suffering twenty-five stab wounds and five bullets from the vicious battle, Blackbeard died. 

http://www.nps.gov/caha/historyculture/blackbeard.htm

Blackbeard's last battle

Our little Blackbeard

In the afternoon, we enjoyed music by a local band The Dye Wells. We think she sounds a little like Amy Winehouse.

Cruising to Ocracoke

June 22, 2013

This morning we headed to Ocracoke. We left out of Shallowbag Bay and headed for Roanoke Sound and then over to Old House Channel.  

Bridge over Roanoke Sound

  We passed several islands, one must have been a bird sanctuary.  I snapped some pictures, but they were pretty far away, so I did not post the picture. I have been using my i-phone to snap the videos and pictures and editing them as well. It works most of the time, but not for evening or distance, unfortunately.

 The water had a very light chop and was not bad at all.   We just had to watch out for the sports fisherman who came barreling by us on our port side with no warning.  Once we got out in the Palmico Sound, the water became a little rougher.  There were a few showers, but not another boat in sight.  As we approached the inlet into Ocracoke and Silver Lake, we began monitoring the Ferry traffic to understand the channel.  The Waterwide Guide and Active Captain warn that the Channel – Big Foot Slough Channel - is deep, but shoals often. They advise to watch the markers, because they may be different than the charts.  We also were watching the Ferry traffic because we heard you don’t want to be in the Channel if a Ferry needs to pass.  So after we felt we had an opening between the Ferry traffic, we entered the channel and  watched the markers carefully.  We made the sharp turn to port after passing south of the junction red over green marker.

Turn into Silver Lake

Silver Lake is very protected. We were staying at Anchorage Marina which is right next to the Ferry harbor. The dockmaster, Mike Leombruno, and his crew quickly got us tied up in a slip. This marina handles fishing charter boats every day, so they are very efficient.

Silver Lake at Anchorage Marina

Ferry

That night we bought fresh seafood (flounder and tuna) from a local store a short walk away and cooked it with some pasta.  Then we sat on the top deck of Rainshadow and enjoyed the evening.  The area is a hopping place. The ferry dock was busy loading and unloading the cars a few times a day, the charter fishing boats were unloading the catch, measuring, weighing and cleaning. At the same time, the restaurant on the dock was serving food and live entertainment. And the small street by the dock was being shared by cars, bikes and golf carts.  All existing in quiet, laid back harmony.

Bella waiting for the right moment

Last day in Manteo

June 21, 2013

This was our last day in Manteo and it has been a lazy day.  The National Sailing Association departed leaving some slips open. So the boat that was behind us, Splashdown, moved to a t- head.  Shortly after they left, a boat that made the trip from Suffolk pulled in behind us.  As soon as they docked, almost everyone in the boat went running to the bridge to jump off.  They said it was a tradition to dock at Manteo and jump off the bridge.  According to the locals, the signs designating possible unsafe water are old and the water has been tested and is safe but the regulators won’t let them take the signs down. At any rate, it appears everyone is surviving and having a blast.

We were visited by Chrissy from animal control and she took a report and said they would handle the situation. Apparently the dog that bothered us yesterday has been a problem in the past. After that, we pedaled our bikes to the grocery store to stock up on a  few provisions and then Charlie tested the dingy motor and we took a short ride down the creek in it.  Everything worked fine, but it is an immense amount of work to get the dingy on and off the davits. There has to be a better way, but we are not going to worry about that today.

Lighthouse on our way to the grocery

I took some photos of the town because we enjoyed it so much. We had a flight of beer at the Full Moon Brewery which was a tiny spot, but very cozy and very good.

Full Moon Brewery

We ate at Poor Richards restaurant which is right on the dock.  It serves breakfast and lunch at the dock entrance and dinner at the pub entrance off the street.  We ate a delicious breakfast and dinner there. For dinner we shared a grilled chicken salad and hamburger.  It was a good meal and I would highly recommend it!  BEWARE of sitting in the first table on the left for breakfast, however. There is a local  who has staked claim to it.  She became very agitated when another customer began to sit at that table the morning we ate breakfast there.  

Poor Richards Restaurant

In the evening, we were met by our kids who drove down for the night. The youngest was joining us for the rest of the trip. We sat on top of Rainshadow watching the sunset with a full moon in the background. A ghost tour was being led along the boardwalk with the leader holding a swinging light.  It was a splendid way to spend our last day on Roanoke Island.

 

Evening on Rainshadow

Another day in Manteo

June 20, 2013

Today was a windy, cool day. The marina is full of boats.  There is a group from the National Sailing Association and this afternoon a few boats from the Hampton Yacht Club pulled in from their Intracoastal Waterway trip.  The marina was so full, they decided to dock a large boat right behind us. They had to run the electrical across our boat to get to the dock.  

New view from stern

The couple aboard the ship were very friendly and Charlie and the captain started sharing technology tips.  They both like www.activecaptain.com to get up to date information on shoaling and other cruising info for the waterways (including marinas and anchorage).   Activecaptain integrates into other tools as well. Charlie like to use the navypolar app  (in the app store it is called Polarview MX)  for a complimentary tool. Activecaptain is integrated into that tool.   The icons of flags can be clicked on to show marina ratings/info, the yellow cross skull is a hazard warning for shoaling, the green anchors are anchorage ratings/info.  We can click an icon and it will place our boat on the map and as we move the boat, our boat moves with the map.  The captain of the boat behind us said he uses the Garmin app on his ipad. He said you have to buy the charts, but it allows you to only load the charts you need. 

  Charlie also like the MarineUS app for the ipad and iphone.  A picture of that app is below.

It is a simple app, but the gps works well.  Our boat is the red dot.  We like to chart our trips and then take a picture from MarineUS using the ipad/iphone screen capture.   

We decided to go to Festival Park today which has a nice pedestrian walkway right beside the Manteo Waterfront Marina where we are docked.  We took Bella with us and it turned out to be a very nice park.  It has a history museum and a replica of the Elilzabeth II.   

Elizabeth II replica

We decided instead, to walk on the free path that follows the coastline of the small island park.  There is a nice stage on the water that hosts concerts on the lawn during the summer.  It was a quiet, pretty park. We decided we could walk Bella in the morning and the evening.  Even though the history center has hours 9-5, the park seems to be open all the time.

Festival Park Path

 

View from park path

Afterwards, we opted to take a bike ride down the bike path again.  The tourist information stated that the largest scuppernong grapevine (said to date to the 1500’s) on the island can be found on Mother Vineyard Road.  The literature reads,  “a delightful detour from the main path.. beautiful and serene."  We put Bella in her basket and biked to the detour.  We turned on Winery Rd from Mother Vineyard Road and decided it was so quiet that I could let Bella run beside our bikes on leash so she would get some exercise. Charlie was ahead of me and Bella chased him while I held on to her.  All was going well until we passed a home that had two loose dogs at the end of a driveway. I looked to my right and the dogs were charging me at full speed, barking viciously.  I yelled to Charlie who was around the bend, stopped my bike and straddled the bar still holding the leash for Bella.   I saw a lady come running down the driveway after her dogs.  In a split second, I had to make a decision. I could not get to Bella fast enough, but I was afraid to let her go because if she ran and they chased her, it could be fatal. In the next moment, one of the dogs took a hold of Bella’s back and bit her while tossing her aside and then going in for the kill.  All I could do was lunge my body at the dog and scream a very high pitch “NO!” – falling to the pavement with the bike still straddled between my legs.  I was expecting a blood bath, but my scream seemed to scare him .  He crouched down and looked me straight in the eye as I was now sprawled on the pavement right next to him.  The lady pulled him away.  Charlie came running up at that moment and picked Bella up and put her in the basket of the bike.  He helped me get up and detangle myself from the bike.  I went over to Bella. She wouldn’t let us touch her. She screamed and growled when we tried to check the wound. She was very scared and traumatized.   The lady put her dogs away and came to us. She said I was hurt and pointed to me knee. I looked down at my knee and it was scraped up pretty bad. Blood was rolling down.  She said she was so sorry and that I should have kicked the dog.  She asked me to come up to house so she could clean me up.  I stayed outside while she went in the house. She came out with a wash cloth and some bandage. I decided against the bandage. I asked her what was wrong with her dog. She said she didn’t know. She said that he does that to dogs on leashes. She has been working with him, but it doesn’t seem to be getting better. I told her he was vicious. She told me he had all his shots and she gave me her name and phone number. Charlie took a picture of the house in case we needed the address.

Bella was calmer by then and we checked her over. Unbelievably, she was not bleeding.  In fact, we couldn’t find the wound. I was in worse shape than she was.  We biked back to the boat with Charlie handling Bella in the basket. Soon we passed the Manteo police department and a policeman was sitting in his car.  We talked to him about the incident and he said it was not their territory, it was the sheriff’s territory and he gave us the non emergency number. Then he said, “But should I call an ambulance? You seem to be hurt pretty bad.”  I looked down at my knee and it was a bloody mess. But I really didn’t think it was a very deep wound, so I declined.  We got back to the boat and Charlie helped me clean the wound and put a bandage on it.  He biked to a pharmacy and purchased more hydrogen peroxide and bandages.    Charlie was very worried and suggested we cancel the boat trip.  But I really felt like I would be ok.  We then called the non emergency number, but they told us to call spca/animal control in the morning. (We just want to make sure the dog attack was on record.) 

Knee injury next day

Update:  In the morning Charlie called the SPCA.  They knew all about the story already. (Wow, communication is fast in a small town.)  They said they knew the lady with the dogs and she had posted the incident on Facebook.  She described her dog as “misbehaving” again.  They told us that the dogs had their shots and they have had problems with them before.

So much for a peaceful, serene detour.  Saturday  we head for Ocracoke.

Day two Manteo

June 19, 2013

We decided to stay in Manteo a few days.  I did a load of laundry at the marina and realized I should have brought quarters.  The wash was $1.50 and the dryer $1.00.  Charlie took a bike ride to Wells Fargo and brought back a roll of quarters for future washings.

We have been eating breakfast and lunch on the boat and enjoying dinner out.  This morning we had scrambled eggs and I made a strawberry banana smoothie in our new Bella Rocket.  It turned out well. After the laundry and breakfast, we put Bella in the crate and this time cabled tied ALL the zippers.  We decided to take a bike ride on the bike path that runs the length of Roanoke Island.  When you first leave Manteo, it is a narrow sidewalk, but after a few blocks it turns into a well paved bike path.  We were headed to Airport road to visit the aquarium which sits on Croatan Sound on the west side.  We soon found out that the bike path does not take you up Airport road.  We were forced to bike on a low shoulder road that had a posted 35 mile per hour speed limit.  Up to this point, the residents had been very courteous to us.  On airport road however, traffic was heavy and the cars were surpassing the speed limit and apparently did not have the time to wait for on coming traffic before passing us.  It was very scary.  We wondered where all the traffic was headed. The road only led to the aquarium and the airport.  Certainly everyone was not going to the airport.

When the road made a sharp left turn, we got off our bikes and walked them. The road was very curvy and we were afraid some crazy person was going to knock us off.  As we approached the aquarium, we found out where all the cars were headed.  The crazy drivers were not residents, but tourists. It was a cooler and overcast day. Everyone decided the aquarium was a good spot for the day.   The line appeared long to enter, but it moved quickly. The price for an adult was $8.00.  It was crowded, but we enjoyed ourselves.  The best tank was the last one which had several large sharks.  In fact, there was a poster that advertised you could spend $195 to swim with the sharks.  No thanks.

Shark tank on Roanoke Island

After confirming with aquarium management there were no alternate routes back to the marina, we walked our bikes around the curves of the road and then biked to the path. We made it back uninjured and Bella was still in her crate when we arrived!  I guess we just need to sacrifice a cable tie each time we leave her in the crate.  After lunch, we put Bella in my bike basket and we traveled the boardwalk until Marsh Light Marina.  Then we took a neighborhood road and I let Bella run and pull my bike as she chased Charlie’s bike which was in the lead.  Soon the road turned to a sidewalk and Bella went back into the basket. We followed the sidewalk to Stripers Bar and Grill on Bay Club Drive.  They have a happy hour special each day from 3:30 to 5:30 which includes a different drink special each day and half price crab legs and shrimp.    The special was our dinner.  We ate out back on the deck and Bella stayed with us. They even offered her a bowl of water.  It was windy on the point, but we were protected against the building.

Bella taking a bike ride to dinner

We went home and Charlie watched game four of the Stanley Cup finals and I worked on the blog.  Tomorrow we will visit Festival Park which has a walkway right next to the Marina.

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

Deep Creek to Elizabeth City

June 17, 2013

We woke up bright and early at 6:00 AM.  Bella needed a walk, so Charlie took Bella out and I cut up some strawberries for our Honey Nut Cheerio breakfast. We had set the coffee pot the night before, so it was brewing already.  After breakfast, we very easily left the dock and headed back north to make the turn toward the south into Deep Creek.  We needed to be at the Deep Creek locks by 8:30 opening. The chart books say that there is anchorage and tie up at the docks.  So we figured if we got there a little early, we would be ok. On the way, we passed about 6 large Benetau sailboats heading north. They were docking at near the mouth of Deep Creek.  We quickly reached the locks, which were closed. I wondered out loud where the sailboats had come from since 8:30 AM was the first opening.  After calling in to the dockmaster, we waited for instruction. First the dockmaster told us we would pull in on the starboard side and to have a long line on the bow and stern. He recommended fenders.  While Charlie maintained position, I put the lines and fenders on.  In about 10 minutes he called back and said he had six sailboats from the Benetau Boat Club coming into the lock also.  He needed to load them in from the starboard side which would push us to the front of the lock. He said when the water rushes in the boat will rise 8 to 10  feet and it could be quite a ride the closer to the front of the lock you are.  He asked if we would prefer to be port. We agreed and I changed the lines and fenders to port side.  I was a little worried how I was going to handle the lines and throw them up 8-10 feet and around a piling inside the lock. But the dockmaster, Robert, made it easy.   As Charlie pulled Rainshadow up to the port side, Robert, had a long boat hook. He took the line from my hands and easily placed it around  the piling.  I was told to hold the line at the bow and Charlie would hold the line in the stern. While we were waiting for the sailboat club, we secured the lines. 

Soon we saw the sailboats arrive.  One sailboat went up front on starboard, and three went behind that one. Then all of a sudden, a fifth came barreling up between us and another sailboat. The dockmaster yelled to Charlie, “Captain, defend your ship!” Charlie ran over to the starboard side of Rainshadow, ready for a collision. All of a sudden the sailboat put on the bow thrusters and expertly averted a  collision. The dockmaster said he was never so glad to see bow thrusters.  That same sailboat tied up to the sailboat next to us, so we were three abreast.  One more sailboat tied abreast to another behind us.  Once we were all in, the dockmaster explained that when he lets the water in, the boats in the front will have to work the stern lines aggressively to avoid the bows going into the sides of the locks and for the boats to not hit each other.  As the water came in, I videotaped on Vine and posted it.  I like using Vine because it has stop motion capability which was perfect for this very unique experience.  At one moment I was staring up at the dockmaster and a few minutes later, I was at eye level.

The Deep Creek Lock

Afterwards, the dockmaster stepped up to picnic table and gave us a brief history lesson on the Canal. George Washington built the canal 30 years before he became President.  He wanted to harvest the timber.  His crew built the canal by hand – from mile 7 to mile 23.  It is sometimes called Washington’s Ditch.  He cautioned us that while the sailboats need to worry about depth, they equally have to worry about logs and their masts hitting the canopies of trees.  Then the dockmaster blew a Conch to announce the opening of the lock.  After the last sailboat was through the lock, he somehow got to the bridge in front of us and opened that bridge as well.  We led the Benetau Club down Washington’s Ditch to the visitor center. We planned to spend an hour there and then head to the South Mill’s lock for the 3:30 opening.  Apparently, that was the Benetau’s plans also. So we figured we would have to line up in the same fashion in that lock. However, the depth is being lowered in that lock. We were all novices, unsure what that would entail.  As it turned out, this lock was a lot easier.  There was no rushing water or sterns of boast crashing against the side of the locks as their bows broke away.  After the water lowered about 8 feet,  we took off leading the six Benetaus to Elizabeth City, about 18 miles.

Canal

Benetaus and Rainshadow at Visitors Center

A storm was approaching and it looked wicked on the radar with rain, thunder and lightning.  As we began to meander down Turner’s Cut to the Pasquotank River, the rain began to fall. Charlie and I were glad from one perspective; our boat was being washed off from the salt water. But we were concerned about the lightning.  Additionally, we began to see submerged logs.  I radioed to alert the Benetaus as we passed each one.  The only visible part was the very top of them sticking out of the water, there are no markers and at some points the cut was so tight, you had to take a chance on depth. There was no relaxing on this part of the trip.  Everyone had to be alert. The good news, though, was  no one hit ground or a log and the storm ended up being a non event.

The Pasquotank River was beautiful after the rain. We went right through the swinging bridge at Lamb’s Marina. Not only was the bridge open, the tender’s hut was boarded up.  We knew we would not make the 5:30 opening of the Elizabeth City bridge, so we called the bridge tender and found out it would open on demand all night starting at 6 pm. That fit into our schedule perfectly. At 6 we radioed the tender and all of us sailed through into Elizabeth City.  The sailing vessels went to Mariner’s Wharf which is free but we decided to go to The Pelican Marina because we wanted Electricity and water. The cost was $35 no matter what size.   After docking however, we wondered if we made the right decision. Unfortunately, the Pelican Marina was on a busy road and the on the side of the bridge away from downtown.  By the time we crossed the bridge and got into downtown, most everything was closed.  In fact, many of the buildings were in disrepair or being sold.  The couple of restaurants open did not have seating outdoors for dogs.  So we went back to the boat and made dinner at home.  Tomorrow we would head to Manteo.

Pasquotank