Floriana

We crossed the Neuse River for about 8 miles and arrived at Oriental, North Carolina. Abbiamo attraversato il fiume Neuse per circa 8 miglia e siamo arrivati a Oriental, nella Carolina del Nord. The northerlies were still blowing at 20/25 knots and the stepped waves made the crossing uncomfortable. The decision was made to take…

Leaving Belhaven early and heading for Oriental, North Carolina. Partenza di mattina presto da Belhaven per Oriental, Nord Carolina. Predominantly northerly winds allowed us to sail at a comfortable 6.8 knots through the Bay River and down the Goose Neck Creek Island Canal. Here we saw shrimp boats tied up to their docks. I quickly…

Belhaven, N. Carolina Belhaven is a town from a bygone era. People there are super friendly (Mayberry RFD type friendly!), and the streets are clean and quiet. The Gingerbread Bakery is a small, low-key diner with a yummy breakfast menu that includes grits, my favorite breakfast food. And the Ace Hardware store has everything you…

Coming out of the Pungo Canal, we passed under the Wilkerson Creek Bridge, marking the end of the canal and the entrance to the Pungo River. Here we encountered the switching of the buoys….something that we were warned to be vigilant about! Up until that point, we were heading with red buoys to starboard (right).…

Our crossing of the Albermarle Sound was uneventful and we actually were able to sail down to the Alligator River/Pungo Canal due to the northerlies that were still prevalent. La nostra traversata dell’Albermarle Sound è stata raoida e piacevole con tutte le vele spiegate fino al fiume Alligator / Pungo Canal. The interesting thing about…

Rookie Mistake #1 – Never trust the weather forecast. If they say 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 25 knots, you prepare for 20 to 25 knots with gusts to 30! Which is what happened to Floriana during the early morning hours of October 23rd. The forecast predicted winds from the north at 15…

When you’re traveling south in a boat, you quickly realize that speaking with people that have done this trip numerous times before is extremely helpful. Our good friends Bob and Peggy VanTassel are seasoned sailors, and their knowledge has been invaluable to us. While Claudio gets advice on routes and anchorages, Peggy gives me the…

This morning we left Salt Pond Marina and headed to Norfolk Virginia, where the famous Intercoastal Waterway starts. The ICW is like a boat highway, which is over 1,200 miles long, and will bring us ultimately into Lake Worth Florida. The sail was beautiful….until we got to the entrance to Hampton Roads Harbor. Questa mattina…

The first half of the 45-mile journey from Fishing Bay in Deltaville to Salt Pond Marina in Hampton (both in Virginia) was as nasty as it could be. Over 25 knots of southerly wind on the nose churned the waters and made the ride uncomfortable, to say the least. On the other hand, once the…

After a peaceful night’s sleep, Cladio and I took the dinghy to the Fishing Bay Marina, situated just in front of our boat. This quaint marina caters to all type and size boats and has all the amenities of a well-run marina; a pool, showers and laundry facilities. For a nominal fee, you are given…