Date - October 2nd - October 9th 1997 (seven days)

Crew list:

Don Boyd (your correspondent)

Marek Parnell (Scurvy Dog #3 "The Evil One")

Keeth Stone (Scurvy Dog #4 "The Round Man")

Miles traveled - 205 (statute miles as measured by ICW)

Engine hours - 33

Sailing hours -4

Money spent:

Food / beer / ice / snacks on board - $65.00

Diesel / gas / marina fees / lock fees - $ 30.00

Charts / guides / port fees - $ 0.00

Eating out / drinking out / touring - $30.00

Aprox. total this leg - $125.00

High temperature this period ... 34.2¡C

Lowest temperature this period ... 7.0¡C

Scurvy Dog #3 and I left Norfolk and traveled through the Great Dismal Swamp, on constant alert for snakes, alligators, "Dueling Banjo Music" and the sound of squealing pigs. I am pleased to report that there were no sightings nor incidents and in fact our trip through was anything but "Dismal". The swamp has a canal built through it, the oldest operating man-made water way in North America, built by slaves between 1793 and 1804, it really is a pleasant look at the south. The weather had been great, and was in fact hot, unseasonably so, with highs topping 90¡ f! Just what we needed for the Swamp!

A lock at one end raises boats up eight feet to the canal, whose water is fresh and because it' filtered through the peat of a Cyprus swamp, dark tea in color. We stopped at a free dock (FREE IS GOOD!!!) in the middle of the canal for the night and rafted with a few other boats enjoying the facilities of the Dismal Welcome Center

It was at the Centers phone booths that I tried to call my mother. In the United States, you can not get a long distance telephone number to make a collect call without paying for it, or using a calling card. I had no change, and no calling card and wasted 30 minutes attempting to get my mothers new phone number from a variety of long distance carriers including Bell, Sprint, MCI, TGIF, @$*@#@#**!!!! and other little communication Nazi's.

Finally I just gave up and stood there by the phone stewing, when, and I am not making any of this up, the phone rang! I picked it up and heard a crackling computer type voice on the other end. I concentrated very hard but could not understand what the voice wanted so instructed it to phone back. A few minutes later the phone rang again and this time the voice was a little more comprehensible so I told him to try again.

By now Scurvy Dog #3 had arrived and witnessed a couple more attempts until at call #6, I finally could understand the guys voice at the other end!

"Where are you?" he asked me.

"I'm at the Great Dismal Swamp Welcome Centre I answered, " Who do you want to talk to?" thinking that he may be trying to get hold of one of the other boats staying over night.

"The Dismal Swamp!! Is that an amusement park or something?" he asked

" No, it's just a swamp in North Carolina. You're trying to call North Carolina aren't you?" I asked now thinking that the guy had dialled the wrong State or something.

"I know it's North Carolina because of the area code, I just wanted to see whether I could make a long distance call for free off my computer! I'm calling all the States tonight from Australia mate! How's the weather?"

I couldn't believe it. Here was a guy calling all over the place at the phone companies expense while 25 minutes earlier I couldn't convince any of the very same companies to charge my mother so she could speak to me. I fumed all night.

The changing of the Scurvy Dogs took place October 4th, by me renting car from Elizabeth City (More FREE docks!!!) and dropping Marek off at Williamsburg Virginia and picking up Keeth at Norfolk International. Lots of driving but Scurvy Dog#4 and I got back in time to go treated to the famous "Rose Bud Societies welcome party for visiting yachtsman. (More FREE food and beer!! What a country!)

The trip through the Sounds of North Carolina can be one of the most delightful parts of the trip south, or one of the nastiest slogs depending on the weather. Luckily the weather was perfect, if not a tad hot with day time highs close to 90. We Passed through Albemarle Sound (Pronounced by local fishermen as " Al-bgf-gee-aug Aug-see ya-all"), the Alligator river (Pronounced by local fishermen as " All-gee-aug Gat-see Rav-huh ya-all"), Pamlico sound (Pronounced by local fishermen as " Paw-bgf-gee-aug Aug-see ya-all") finally stopping at Beaufort, (Pronounced by local fishermen as "Bow- fart Capt'n").

The Sounds are some of the nicest, and least discovered cruising area's in North America. The largest, Pamlico is over 95 miles long and 25 miles wide. The fishing and Crabbing is pretty good, (no saltwater licence required), and people are legitimately friendly. Cruising facilities and safe anchorages abound. It's unofficial capital is Beaufort, where the ICW becomes "the ditch".

Beaufort is another one of those towns that lives and breaths sailing. On the day we arrived it also lived and breathed at 95¡ f for the third straight day, hot even by North Carolina standards. Scurvy Dog and I search town for places where cool drinks could be found and stayed an extra night to double check that local watering holes maintained standards through-out the week.

Till the next instalment!

 

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