Many of you may be wondering what, where, why, and with whom our journey continued and ended. Well it's been quite a trip - but ending not exactly the way we expected. We left Oriental on March 28, spent three days traveling. First day we bumped bottom leaving Oriental, the water is skinny and even if you don't cut corners, that's buoys, you can end up in heavy mud. I told Dave that if we got stuck on the mud without even leaving it means we would stay longer. The river gods were on our side for we crossed the Neuse, Pamlico, and Pungo rivers as well as Bay River and Goose Creek. We arrived in Belhaven (birthplace of the Inter Coastal Waterway) in the afternoon. Tied into the River Forest marina, great showers, helpful dock master and nice small town. In the morning we left before sunrise because it was going to be a long day, cruising at 8 knots took eight hours nonstop. We headed Northwest and into the Alligator River and the Alligator / Pungo Canal. This is a strange place, a ditch dug by the Army Corp to provide access from one waterway to the next and kept open for barges and commercial traffic. It's important that the boat stay in the center as much as possible except when passing or meeting another boat coming in the opposite direction. There are huge stumps from downed trees just below the water. The ones you can see are enough for any boat owner to know that a sharp lookout needs to be kept. We had to wait for the Alligator Swing Bridge to open, which it does every half hour and then pass into the Albemarle Sound, a large body of water that is well marked with red triangles and green squares each numbered so that your exact location is known. Dave likes the electronic charts provided by NOAA, I prefer the paper, to open a chart book that I follow as we go along, much like the old fashion road maps that gas stations gave out free of charge. Remember those? So onto Coinjock, the only stop with a marina, store and restaurant between Belhaven and Portsmouth VA. Most boater stop there. We had a good supper, the best crab cakes and enough prime-rib to last three more meals. A fellow tied up in back of us and we introduced ourselves and told him a bit about the Richard & Arnold. To our surprise he said, "I looked the boat up, you guys are famous." I had to laugh at that, not the reaction I expected. I think David Dunlap must have something to do with that because of his book Mapping Provincetown.
Next stop Rebel Marina, Norfolk, VA. One of the best places we've ever visited, minus the helicopters that flew close over head, but hey thank God they are there. The Briggs family was so helpful, kind, and knowledgeable that I can't say enough about them. For the week we spent at the marina the wind continued unabated, 20-30 and higher with gusts to 50, and then it turned and blew from the north 20-30-40-50. What a week. Now that I look back I believe the wind gods were looking after us. Dave was not well, he had been complaining of rib pain for weeks (refusing to go to a doctor). Well our son, the master mariner with a BS in Navigation told his dad that he shouldn't take mom off shore until he got checked out because holy moly what would she do if something happened to him while we were voyaging? So Dave and I borrowed a car and went to the Urgent Care office, from there we were sent to the ER at the DePaul hospital where he was admitted. Three days later, totally exhausted, we stepped onto a plane that flew us up up and away. Three planes later, that same day we landed in Provincetown. The medical news is not good. Three broken ribs (Pathological fractures) and some serious lung problem. We are glad to be home. I can look out the kitchen window and see a full moon coming up over Truro. I imagine the same moon over Oriental. We plan on beating it, rising above, and fighting every step of the way. I probably won't be writing much in the coming weeks, but I will let everyone know how the captain is doing. He's actually watching 'Deadliest Catch' as I write. All prayers are welcome. Thanks for your support. Nothing like coming home to family and friends. God Bless you all. Fair winds.
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