Places, Stories, and Thoughts of the Atlantic ICW Catfish Point, NC to Norfolk, VA (Mile Zero! Final ICW stats!)

June 24-June 26, 2018
3 days. 103 days since start.
83 nautical miles. 1138 total since start.

Catfish Point to Elizabeth City
39 nautical miles. 1094 since start.
9 hours mostly sailing
The theme of our passages as we finished the previous blog post was the big water areas of the ICW and Outer Banks where we could sail and also where we needed to watch the weather more carefully. This leg would conclude those areas as we did the second half of the huge Alligator River and then crossed the Albemarle Sound (the next largest body of water after Pamlico Sound). We retraced our careful route out of Catfish Point then raised our sails and headed out the Alligator River. It was another good day for sailing as we entered the Albemarle and began our crossing not able to see the other side where we were headed. Another interesting thing about this spot is it is where the ICW splits, and you have two different choices of how to go the last 80 or so miles to the end at Norfolk. There is the Dismal Swamp Route more inland through the Dismal Swamp Canal and the Virginia Cut Route more toward the coast. Wanting to experience them both we decided to do one on the way up, and then later we will do the other on the way south. We chose the Dismal Swamp and headed toward Elizabeth City. As we neared the north side of the Albemarle Sound the wind began to pick up and move toward our nose. We entered the Pasquotank River just as the wind got all the way on our nose where we couldn’t sail any more. The last few hours were a pretty rough motor. The guide books don’t include the Pasquotank as part of the big waters that you need to watch the weather on, but I’m thinking they should. Anyways, we motored up as the distant Pasquotank banks tightened into a small river, and by the time we rounded the corner at Elizabeth City, the waters were smooth again. A successful passage!
At free dock 1 night
Elizabeth City has a few free docks that you can stay at for up to 48 hours. They do this to encourage boaters to stop and spend money in the city. We stayed at the one located at the local Christian community college. We walked around town to find some AC because it was seriously hot then had a nice night on the boat.

Elizabeth City to Chesapeake, VA
37 nautical miles. 1131 since start.
9.5 hours motoring
Leaving Elizabeth City we motored up the Pasquotank River as it grew narrower and narrower. This is a beautiful wooded area with very little development. Before long we made it to the South Mills Lock, our entrance to the Dismal Swamp Canal. We had a bit of excitement as the lock tender radioed to us that power was out in the city, and he couldn’t open the lock until it came back on. We did our best to grab some pilings and hold position in the very narrow waterway. There definitely wasn’t enough room to turn around. Finally though the power was restored, and we went through our first lock since last year in the Okeechobee Waterway. The Dismal Swamp Canal is very narrow and from time to time a tree may fall and block it or cause a hazard to navigation being submerged. There is barely enough room for two boats of any size to pass each other going opposite directions. This prompts many cruisers to take the Virginia Cut route. The wooded canal was beautiful though, and it was also a cooler day than the last week or so had been due to a weak front that just passed. We only came across a couple other boats and carefully passed each other. It was awesome to see the Welcome to Virginia sign as we entered our fifth and final state of the ICW. Also, the count down for the finish of our 1200 plus mile ICW transit was getting real as we saw the mile markers dip into the teens. We really enjoyed the 22 mile transit of the Dismal Swamp (other than the biting flies) and just kept a sharp watch out for stumps or trees. After passing through the Deep Creek Lock, we exited the canal for a successful passage. The Dismal Swamp has an amazing history. Check it out here.
At free dock 1 night
A few miles after we locked out of the canal, we came to our second free dock in as many nights. We were only 8 miles away from the end of the ICW, but after over 9 hours the easy side tie was just too inviting. Around the corner lay one of the busiest shipping areas in the US, and we wanted to do it rested. We turned in for a nice evening on the boat. (Chesapeake Yachts sometimes charges a small fee for staying at their dock so call them first before just tying up)

Chesapeake to Norfolk (Mile Zero!)
7 nautical miles. 1138 since start.
1.5 hours motoring
The next morning it was time to complete our journey (and begin our next adventure!). We motored up the Elizabeth River under lift bridges, past the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, container ship unloading areas, tug boats moving barges around, and all manner of small craft in between. There were even air craft carriers and lots of war ships. They say that in this area you have more military within 15 miles of you than anywhere else in the entire world…..by far! It really is amazing to see. And, with all the commercial shipping in the area too, you feel like you could get squashed at any moment. We definitely were on sharp look out. But, we made it through just fine and motored on between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk. We passed the ever more common free docks in Portsmouth and did a circle around Mile Zero! We had made it! It was an awesome journey that we’ll never forget, and we saw so many places that we had never seen before and would never have visited unless coming this way by boat. Places off the beaten path that are more worth visiting than a lot of the more common destinations people travel to. After circling Mile Zero, we motored back to the free docks at Portsmouth, tied up, and smiled. It was time to rest up for a few days before we started on the next adventure: The Chesapeake!

Here are our second half stats of the ICW trip along with a comparison to the first half and the totals:
Second Half (First Half)=Total
44 (59)=103 Total Days (about 3.5 months)
22 (21)=43 Different Stops
23 (26)=49 Nights at Anchor
4 (11)=15 Nights on Mooring
14 (22)=36 Nights at Dock (too many nights at docks blew the budget for May and June)
3 (0)=3 Nights at Free Dock
Very even split. The extra total days and days at dock in the first half were when we left the boat for a bit in Ft Lauderdale.
599 (539)=1138 Nautical Miles Traveled (1310 regular miles)
28.52 (25.67) Nautical Miles Average Passage Distance (32.82 and 29.54 regular miles respectively)
121.5 (105.5)=227 Hours Underway (almost 9 and a half days)
5.79 (5.02) Hours Average Transit
4 (3)=7 Passages Sailing with Motor Off
0 (3.5)=3.5 Passages Motor Sailing
17 (14.5)=31.5 Passages Motoring (ready for more sailing in the Chesapeake! $ spent on fuel April-June $607.19. $ in 3 previous months $129.76)
Again, even split with the longer distances attributed to our side trip to the Outer Banks.
Lindy’s favorite city: Beaufort, SC (first half was St Augustine, FL)
Lindy’s favorite anchorage: Ocracoke, NC (first half was Cumberland Island, GA)
Zach’s favorite city: Ocracoke, NC (first half was St Augustine, FL)
Zach’s favorite anchorage: Prince Creek, SC (first half was New Teakettle Creek, GA)