Albemarle Sound is a formidable body of water that gives some sailors a washing machine ride so we were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves as we crossed the 20 mile stretch in calm conditions with the early morning sunshine glinting in our eyes. As we pulled into Elizabeth City a reception party of boaters was on hand to take our lines. The process of getting aft lines onto poles and forward lines onto the dock, with following waves that want to chase you straight up the middle of Main Street, is one that unites boaties. The city provides a free dock and Sam, the ‘official greeter’ was soon on hand to give us the lay of the land. At 4.30pm we were treated to wine and cheese, a welcome by the Mayor and the presentation of roses to the ladies, in the ‘Rose Buddies’ tradition.
After four days without having stepped on land, we spent a couple of days in Elizabeth City visiting the library, laundrymat, and local history museum. Some places get hold of you and make it hard to leave and so it was when it came time to cast off and the motor wouldn’t fire up. This was a first for us. John spent the best part of a day below decks trying to solve the problem. Lloyd, the local mechanic, diagnosed battery problems but wouldn’t accept any payment as he said “I haven’t lifted a wrench yet”. Jim from the ‘Linda Mae’ next door handed over a unit to jump start the motor; Sam, the town greeter, drove John to the garage to have the batteries tested (they were fine); and Don from ‘Impulse’ popped in with practical assistance. In the end some heavy duty cleaning of the battery terminals did the job.
By the time we were ready to leave, people were saying “you can’t leave now. We have the Annual Potato Festival coming up this weekend” so we stayed for the rubber ducky race, Black Beard pirate show, Farmers Market, street music and 1950s hydroplane races.
A couple of days later, when I asked Lloyd how he was getting on with his school work, he said “I’m mowing down the units like a lawnmower in the Elizabeth City Potato Festival ride-on mower races". Perhaps the unit on similes and metaphors was not lost on him. His English teacher will be pleased.
Bow Waves from America
- Cruising the Great Loop
- Boating, travel and family fun are our motivation for trying something new. We heard about the Great Loop five years ago and this sounded just like the right adventure for us. We are a family of four from New Zealand. We have taken leave from school, rented the house and packed our bags. Bow waves is the blog that will follow us as we endeavour to buy a boat and cruise the Great Loop (America's Great Circle Route). We have membership of the AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association) and will begin our journey on the Intracoastal Waterway in the Fort Lauderdale area.