Since the day I met Rocky nearly 10 years ago, he’s been talking about the Intracoastal Waterway. ICW for short. In fact, this entire sailing thing all started in 2013 because of a new found interest in the Great Loop, resulting in the purchase of our first boat.
The AICW (Atlantic Intracoastal waterway) is the stretch of the Great Loop along the east coast from Norfolk VA, down to Florida. Which is exactly where our journey began as we left the Chesapeake and headed into the Elizabeth River.
Our first stop was in Portsmouth, VA. We tied up at the free town docks. This is where we would wait out the remnants of Hurricane Nicole. Lucky for us, our late departure from Annapolis meant we missed the real blows and mostly just had some rain. We had a couple days enjoying the town. Hitting up some of the local spots, visiting the Naval Shipyard Museum, before heading out to the official start of the AICW.
The bridges in the upper part of the ICW come one after the next. I had to get over my fear every time we went under a bridge with the promised 65 ft clearance, trusting that our air draft was in fact 58 feet. Then there are the lift & swing bridges which either open at set times or you hail the bridge tender on VHF to request an opening. And most important, don’t forget to thank them for the opening once you’re through!
Going through Great Bridge Lock was a new experience for both of us. It was pretty neat to see the workings of a lock first hand. We learned that this particular lock not only changes water levels to allow vessels to pass through, but it also protects the local ecosystem. Salty water flows from the Elizabeth River side and freshwater flows from up from the Currituck Sound. Of course right as it was our turn to enter, a commercial tug boat arrived and snuck in ahead of us making us wait another full cycle. It was 2 hours just to get through the lock and the bridge up ahead.
Click Here! to see a timelapse we took starting from Great Bridge Lock.
We anchored that night just south of the Pungo Ferry Bridge before the sun set. The ICW is not a waterway you want to transit at night. With its twists and turns, random logs and tree stumps, it’s safer to have daylight on your side.
From there we headed down the North Landing River where we passed the Coinjock Marina & Restaurant. Home of the infamous prime rib. We’ll have to try it another time! It’s too cold and we wanted to keep heading south. We did get to see some friends from our sailing club back in NY who were tied up. Said our hellos and snapped photos of each other’s boats. Who doesn’t love a boat shot with the crew on board!
We crossed the Albemarle Sound and headed down the Alligator River. We stopped for the night at the top of the Alligator River – Pungo River Canal. We were one of many boats, just waiting for daybreak to make our way through.
The northern end of the canal is absolutely beautiful. They say there are alligators and black bears around. I was on watch all day but saw nothing! Maybe next time.
Our peaceful morning quickly came to an end when a group of sport fisherman approached off our stern. The lead boat did what he was supposed to do. Slowed WAY down. The 2nd boat gassed it right off our port side, creating a 4 foot wake that we surfed directly down HARD into the bottom of the canal. The whole boat lurched forward and sideways. We heard and felt the crash. The most terrifying sound & feeling. Wondering if our trip was coming to an end, I ran down below to check the bilge. No water rushing in, that was a good sign. After some choice words to him from Rocky on the VHF we were underway again, weary of every other power boat heading our way.
We’d planned to stop for the night at RE Mayo. They’re known for fresh seafood and “darn near free” docks. But in classic Blue Pearl fashion, we kept moving knowing there were a couple hours left of daylight to take advantage of. It was very cool to see all their shrimp boats! Found a quaint anchorage in Bear Creek for the night.
And finally, what we hope would be our last stretch of the ICW we were headed to Beaufort, NC. We stopped off in Oriental, NC to top off our fuel & water. We arrived to a very crowded anchorage in Taylor Creek. I counted 22 boats. There looks to be an amazing weather window for heading offshore to Florida and I think everyone has the same idea.
First order of business – Rocky needed to dive the boat. In addition to adjusting the pitch on our max-prop & greasing her up, we needed to inspect the bottom from the unfortunate canal incident. There’s a little damage on the leading edge of the keel, but nothing that needs urgent attention. As they say, your boat can handle more than you can (I was left with a sore bruise on my low back).
As I wrap this up, Rocky is finishing our list of projects before we join the parade heading out into the Atlantic. Now I need to go make our captain a hearty breakfast so we can get the heck outta here!
-LS
Blue Pearl Sailing 
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