The Day after Sandy, some Blue Sky Alligator River Marina, NC

Monday was an uneventful day for us. Ms Wanda the owner of the marina offered to drive us into town for dinner. She thought maybe we were getting a little stir crazy. We had Dinner at the Good Time Tavern, then she drove us through town, giving us some of the history. It was a pleasant outing. Tuesday the sun finally started to break through the cloud though the wind still came in gusts over 25 kts we only had fits of sprinkles if that. We watch TV and saw the mess in NJ remembering the places we visited on our way down here.  The Lindsay C  Warren Bridge, a 2.8 mile long bridge over the Alligator river with a clearance of only 15 ft is a draw bridge and it is closed  "until further notice".  They won't open if there is a possibility of 30  mph winds. I did see some crab pots out close to shore but the boats and 'pots' are still on shore.   We are walking around - I am taking pictures, tomorrow we will start putting Cool Hand back to 'normal' and get ready to continue south. 

Thank you - everyone for your prayers and thoughts, Tom and I greatly appreciated them. Keep leaving comments - 

Waiting for warm weather and Fair winds.

Monday - rain, wind, rain and more rain and more wind

Sunday did not let up on the wind or rain. I cooked soup/stew and added cottage cheese and mandarin oranges for dinner, taking it up to the house. Dottie, Hass and Morse (cat) joined staying in the house enjoyed having a hot meal for dinner. We laughed at the slim pickings on TV, watched the news and weather  then loaded up our stuff for the trek back to the boat. We have a few leaks from being water logged, everything feels damp in the boat, condensation collects on the large hatch in the V berth and our entrance hatch so we have wet spots scattered about. 

The temperature has started to drop and Monday morning we woke to a beeping sound, our anchor alarm. When we arrived in this slip the dept was 10.2' now it was 6' - we are OK but it was quite a shock. The water was relatively calm out in the sound. Now we wait for for surge to come in. The good news - Sandy is north of us now, wind has changed direction to WNW, however it looks like we still have tomorrow to contend with the aftermath of Sandy, more rain and wind.

Hass, Dottie and Tom

we have reached saturation levels and creating
a new pond

this was almost empty when we arrived - 

Tom in foul weather gear

Our little home we could run to 

you can see how much the water level dropped.

Alligator River Marnia - waiting out hurricane Sandy 10-28

Here we sit ......

It looks like we will be whipped by the outside edges of Sandy, nothing that Cool Hand hasn't seen before. Tom has adjust our lines several times the last few days to accommodate for the shift in wind direction so we are not bouncing around a great deal.  This is Sunday and the Shell gas station is closed, we are well stocked on board so not really a problem. Dotty and Hass are in the house not 20' from the boat where there is a small living room type lounge. Dotty had knee replacement surgery in August and is still working on her recovery. Getting on and off the boat is tricky so they thought it best to be on dry land. I am going to make soup/stew later for dinner and we will take it over and share a meal. 

So far we have had a great deal of rain. We thought it would give Cool Hand a good wash down, but instead the wind has brought bits of leaves and stuff to replace or add to what was already here. We took down our dodger and Bimini so getting in and out is wet, no way around it. We have had small windows of no rain, but it quickly starts up again. We are relatively dry inside, a small dribble comes down the mast and now that it is cooling off condensation is gathering around the hatch in the front V berth. Water, water everywhere -----  

Tucked in and waiting...

Tom and Laura

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Elizabeth City, Pasquotank River, Albemarle Sound

Just a few words about Elizabeth City NC. -- Well a few words won't do it- there are several Marinas there but why! the city has finger piers and a long wall for boaters to tie up at. People in the park come and help you, even the ex-mayor was down to lend a hand. There are free bike to use. We needed propane and they drove Tom to have the tank filled. They have a Rose Buddies reception for new arrivals when there are more than 4 boats, we were part of 14 arriving. There was a quilt store within walking distance (Christmas fabric for ornaments I am making) and great restaurants. 

We woke anxious to be off, Sandy is roaring up the Atlantic and we wanted to be tied down. Besides we had heard that crossing the Albemarle Sound can be dicey in bad weather. We had glass, no wind, fog shrouding the land, and a fiery sun rise- a photographers dream. I have over 300 photographs, here are just a few.

Everyone wanted an early start - some were going further
south that we were

Elizabeth City, NC in the early morning light

Sun rise as we were leaving

Heavy fog on land - but the water was clear.

U. S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City was commissioned on August 15, 1940 with four officers, 52 enlisted men and ten aircraft. The old Holowell Plantation near Elizabeth City was selected by the Coast Guard in 1938 for its potential strategic value as a seaplane base. During World War II, the Air Station was under U. S. Navy control conducting Search and Rescue (SAR), anti-submarine and training missions. Since then the Air Station's missions and assigned aircraft have shifted and grown with changing national priorities and technologies. In 1966 Air Station Elizabeth City expanded after absorbing the Air Stations in Bermuda and Argentina. In addition to the Air Station, Elizabeth City's Coast Guard complex includes the Aircraft Repair and Supply Center (AR&SC), Aviation Technical Training Center (ATTC),  Support Center, and Boat Station Elizabeth City.

TCOM is the only LTA company in the world with a facility devoted to aerostat and airship manufacture, assembly, flight test and training operations. This facility is located near Elizabeth City, NC, approximately a one hour drive south from Norfolk, VA.

Our facility's most prominent feature is an enormous all-weather metal hangar flanked by a paved flight operations area. At a length of 300 meters, the hangar can accommodate six fully inflated 71M® aerostats. The 500-ton clamshell doors allow ingress and egress of vehicles up to 150 feet in height.

Double Crested Cormorant

crab boat