CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: BAYS, SOUNDS, INLETS AND JUST PLAIN WIDE RIVERS

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: BAYS, SOUNDS, INLETS AND JUST PLAIN WIDE RIVERS

Not all our travel on the Intracoastal Waterway provides us intimacy with nature. The canals, cuts and narrow rivers which we travel have offered up every kind of wading bird and shore bird. They’ve also been home to tons of porpoises and manatees – and, shudder, alligators. Recently, in North Carolina and Virginia, the canals and cuts have been lined with cypress trees, both living and dead. The dead ones just lie down near the banks, and you have to watch to make sure they don’t break loose and injure a boat propeller. We have motored along these narrow passageways alone, for the most part. There is a lot of North Carolina and Virginia along the ICW that is undeveloped. I don’t know that it can be developed – I hope not – but right now it’s there for the viewing and oohing and aahing as we float by.

In stark contrast to the canals, cuts and narrow rivers, there are the bays, sounds, inlets and very wide rivers. These bodies of water keep the Admiral awake at night, worrying about whether a storm will rise as we try to cross, or whether we’ll run aground in the shallow waters, as the winds blow the currents every which way. I don’t take many photos of our crossings of these supersized water holders, because there are few birds and even less vegetation. You get the feeling of being on an ocean, although you can still see land 10 or 15 miles away, if you squint (as I do) or use binoculars (as the Admiral does). There are birds who have nested on the day markers, call them ospreys, and there are seagulls trailing our wake hoping for fish to pop out of the water. There are crab traps, some dangerously close to the channel of the ICW. And the channels on these vast waterways are maybe 20-30 feet across, with shallows on both sides going down to a mere 2 feet.

 Like clockwork, every time we plan to cross a bay, inlet, sound or wide river, the Weather Channel shows severe thunderstorms on the move “in the area”. So far, the Weather Channel has been rather accurate, and we have dodged more than one lightning bolt, as we have battled with the winds and currents in these mega bodies of water. Just yesterday we faced one of our tougher challenges – Albemarle Sound. This is what our navigation book tells us: “The 14-mile-crossing can be very sloppy because winds from almost any quarter tend to funnel either up or down the long, straight sound. Because of its uniformly shallow depth, even a light wind can quickly create rough, confused seas. Another danger on Albemarle Sound is the collection of trap markers, often right on the route.” Well, I’m here to tell you that Albemarle Sound did not disappoint. And all the preparation by the Admiral paid off. We somehow avoided the major thunderstorm that hit the Sound about an hour after we were clear – this is a first! But everything else that was described as part of the Albemarle Sound adventure came blasting at us. The winds, the currents, the white caps, the crab traps in the channel, the shallow depths – 14 miles of this! And in Slow Motion, that’s a good two hours. If you ride in the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cup for two hours as you fly down the Matterhorn in a log raft, that might approximate the “ride” that Albemarle Sound gives you.

Today we met the Currituck Sound and the wide North Landing River, which has submerged pilings to protect the dredged channel. Yes, that’s right – submerged pilings which you have to know about and avoid, and you can do that only by staying in the channel. Is it easy to stay in the channel? Nosirree! The wind wants to drive you out of the channel into the submerged pilings or the crab traps, or the downed cypress logs, or the shallow waters. I mean, the wind WANTS to do this. It’s not a matter of “circumstances beyond our control”. It’s a mean wind which has always had its way on this Sound and, like the trolls under the bridge, is not going to let you make a clean passage. Once you realize that you are in an intellectual battle with the wind, you know you have been on the ICW maybe a tad too long. But seriously, this wind seems to know exactly what it is doing. It is not helping us cross the Sound. It is not helping us stay in the channel. It is not pushing us faster across the Sound. It is doing everything in its power to disrupt and destroy. Do you remember the Greek God of the winds, blowing at ships to make them run aground? I think that Greek God has moved to the ICW. Greece has enough trouble these days without Aeolian winds. Oh yes, I’ve fantasized holding my fist in the air, yelling a threat of prosecution to the God of Wind – maritime mayhem has to be a felony. But most of the time, I cower in a corner of the fly bridge, holding down every navigation book and paper, praying that the Wind God will spare us to traverse yet another inlet, sound, bay or very wide river.

We’re back to basic marinas. No more luxury. Bare bones showers with no decorations. No towels. No pools. No exercise rooms. Camping in a boat.The folks at these, shall we say, inexpensive, marinas, are just as nice as the folks at the upscale marinas. Maybe even nicer, to make up for the lack of amenities. They come out to greet us, help us tie up Slow Motion, tell us where the head is and give us the WIFI network name. Then we’re on our own. The marina last night offered a convenience store with candy and ice cream. That’s all I really need to survive. Midway Marina at Coinjock – the home of the KitKat bar and the giant ice cream sandwich -- a marina I will fondly remember. The marina tonight, Atlantic Yacht Basin (what a hoity toity name!), gave us a shoulder bag with a pen and a screwdriver in it. And they have a first class boat yard here, with crafts people who can do anything you want done on your boat. So who needs frills, when you can spend thousands on the basics?

Tomorrow, we face our first lock, the Great Bridge Lock, to be exact. First we have to get through the Great Bridge (8 foot closed vertical clearance; Slow Motion is 19 feet tall). Then we get “locked in”, and we get moved along for 600 feet until we get disgorged at the northern end. But that’s tomorrow’s blog. Stay tuned. And avoid those inlets, sounds, bays and very wide rivers – unless you have an “in” with the God of Wind.