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You are welcome to apply any part of this article to your own personal use. Please do NOT publish any part of the article or apply any part of it to any non-personal use without the express written concent of the author.
Hey, wait a minute... What are we doing in Norfolk? We were supposed to go out the Oregon Inlet by Roanoke Island, North Carolina, for a straight shot at Newport, Rhode Island. We should be reporting from Newport instead of Norfolk. What happened?
The short version is that in checking with local captains for local knowledge we elected to forego that route.
The Outer Banks are a series of long, narrow islands that have been thrown up by storms. Inlets between the islands open and close with some regularity. Oregon Inlet is shoaling these days and would have already been closed if it were not dredged each season. While there's enough depth for us in the channel, the shoaling is encroaching into the channel itself at several locations. We would have to follow close behind one of the local charter or commercial fishing boats in order to avoid going aground.
If that were not enough, we discovered that the current can run as high as eight or nine knots at maximum ebb, slightly lower at maximum flood. Thus if we were to attempt the inlet at other than slack water, or at least very close to then, we would run a serious risk. We could either be carried out of control into the bridge fender system as we approached. Or we would actually be carried backwards while motoring full ahead. Sportfishers capable of thirty knots can make it through, but only with a very, very experienced local skipper at the helm.
To make things worse, if there's any kind of an easterly component to the wind (the normal condition there), then the seas have been known to kick up something fierce. So even if we were to go through at slack water, there would be no guarantee that we would be able to transit Oregon Inlet safely.
This is not to say that it would be impossible for us to get out the inlet. We could anchor just inside the inlet waiting for slack water, then follow one of the professionals out. But the risk was not something we were willing to take.
That left us with another choice: retreat to the next all-weather inlet south of us, Morehead City, or go north to Norfolk at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. We elected to continue northward.
But as long as we were in Roanoke Island, we might as well explore the area. We went into the Salty Dawg Marina where we were treated quite graciously. They let us use their car to tour the area.
That gave us access to the Wright Brothers Memorial at Kitty Hawk, a most informative and enjoyable excursion. Like most of us we knew that the Wright Brothers were the first to fly in a powered machine. What we didn't know was how much work they put into the venture. Among other things they invented a wind tunnel to develop their own lift/drag data when they found that the then available scientific tables were faulty. They year before they attempted their powered flight they made more than a thousand flights in just one month in a glider to test the flight controls they had recently invented - rudder, elevator and ailerons. All fixed-wing aircraft, including the Space Shuttle, use these very same controls in some form or other.
Roanoke Island is the location of Sir Walter Raleigh's so-called "Lost Colony," the first English colony in North America. Currently at the sight the local people produce a show, "The Lost Colony," that depicts the events surrounding its establishment. They have been producing that particular show every summer since 1937. It was a wonderful production, entertaining as well as informative. Any visitor to the island should see it.
In Manteo (pronounced MAN-tea-oh) there is a locally built replica of a sixteenth century ship, the Elizabeth II. She is manned by volunteers who dress and speak in the manner of sailors in Elizabethan times. A "settlement" ashore is also manned by volunteers acting in period.
The Elizabethan Gardens were fun to explore. On Tuesdays there's a one-woman show, "Elizabeth R." The setting is a private room known only to Queen Elizabeth, and the Spanish Armada is known to be approaching. The show brought a number of historical events into perspective for us.
It was particularly interesting to meet several people as we left the performance of "Elizabeth R." One was Chris, one of the Elizabeth II volunteers with whom we discussed things nautical. Another was a woman who was in performances of "The Lost Colony" in 1934 and 1935, before the current production was started. Besides giving us a more detailed history of the production, she told us what it was like on Roanoke when she was little girl. No one was concerned about hurricanes then. When the waters would rise due to storm surge, the kids would get in boats and sail down the street. She said it was great fun.
We left the Salty Dawg Marina on Thursday, heading for Elizabeth City. There wasn't enough wind to sail, so we had to motor.
Elizabeth City was a treat. We were welcomed by Fred, the "Rose Buddy." This gentleman welcomed all visitors to the (free) town docks with a rose for each lady aboard. If there were more than four boats he would also host a wine and cheese party that evening about six blocks away. Fred, now in his late 80s, has been doing this since 1983.
From Elizabeth City, we headed to the Dismal Swamp. The canal through the "swamp" was originally surveyed by one George Washington when he was a young man. It is thick with a variety of trees, from hardwoods to softwoods. Unfortunately it is also thick with several varieties of biting flies. They like to stay low, down by your feet. Mosquito repellent didn't keep them away. Until I put on long pants, socks and shoes, I was getting bitten often and frequently had to retreat into the pilothouse to steer.
From the Dismal Swamp it was a short run into Norfolk. We left the channel to pick up a boat part we had ordered earlier in the week. The supplier has a dock in the back of his building, so we had easy access for pick-up.
We have friends who live in the area, friends whom we haven't seen in a number of years. They chauffeured us around for a day, showing us the Battle of Yorktown site and a local history museum.
This morning was spent on installing the boat part that we had picked up on our way here. This afternoon was spent resting and writing.
Tomorrow we head out for Newport, expecting a three-day trip.
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