Oct. 29, 2026 Onward to the "Other" Washington

 Thurs.-Sun.  10/29-11/1, 2026   Slade Creek to Washington Town Docks   40 miles and 4.2 hours

Our original plan was to head from the Belhaven area to Beaufort, NC and spend 2 nights there.  Unfortunately, the marina could only accommodate us for Thursday night.  Decisions. Decisions.  Since we really wanted to spend two days in Beaufort, we figured waiting until next week might get us a 2-night reservation.   So, we checked the charts and decided a cruise up the Pamlico River to Washington, NC would make a good side trip.  Stopped there one time by car and it looked interesting. Rave reviews from boater friends who overwintered there and liked it so much they moved there. Decided we'd make it a long weekend stop if they could accommodate us.  Quick reply of "yes" had us lined up for 4 nights. Thursday through Sunday.  We'll anchor out Monday on the way to Beaufort.  Even got confirmed reservations there for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Seems it all worked out in the end.   

Good nights sleep at Slade Creek anchorage.  Winds died down a bit overnight.  Anchor held steady. Had a couple of sailboats pull into the anchorage later in the day and spend the night.  Relatively short cruising day planned for us so once again no rush in the morning as we see the sailboats pulling anchor and departing. Pleased with this anchorage compared to the potentially more exposed one we've used in the past up the Pango Creek.  

Checking the sailboats at anchor as the sun rises

The protective tree line catching the rising sun

Finally get moving around 10AM.   Pretty open waters out the Pungo River and out onto the Pamlico River.  Ninety-degree turn to starboard and a relatively long straight shot towards the narrowing headwaters and the town of Washington. Oftentimes referred to as "Original Washington" or "Little Washington" to distinguish it from Washington DC.  It was the first town named after George Washington.   Bit of a side trip as it takes three hours up the Pamlico with not too much to see. Mostly undeveloped natural shoreline with a few areas of scattered houses.   Make it past the Coastal Railroad Swing Bridge guarding the entrance to Washington and get a warm greeting and assistance with an easy side tie to E dock.   Redevelopment efforts in the late 90's resulted in the waterfront area docks and park.  Removed some of the town's history taking away the remnants of its once thriving commercial wharfs and shipbuilding shops. Local waters had become too shallow for any sort of large vessels. Made the open spaces available to the public and the waterfront available to pleasure boaters helping give the town a new identity.  Main Street is behind it.  View from the waterfront is the back side of the buildings on Main St.  Quick walk downtown reveals numerous restaurants, shops, museum, theatre, ice cream shop and two breweries.   Reminds me of Georgetown, SC, Brunswick, GA. or Lewes. DE., where Main Street stretches down several blocks with an active and varied vibe. 

Dockmaster says the 120 year old railroad bridge is the oldest in NC.  Passing
 through, it looked every bit that age.  Impressive that it still opens and closes daily

View of town from our dock

The Riverwalk and park area.  Gets plenty of activity. Walkers, runners and lookies.

View down Main Street.  Nice trees.  Even play "Yacht Rock" music via speakers

Historic Turnage Theatre.  Has an amazing amount of activities

Art on the street features blue crabs. 

Pretty sure this one is sponsored by the local Garden Club

Great Indian Summer weather Thursday and Friday. Temperatures reaching the sunny 80's. Winds finally settling down for a few days.  Lots of people out and about.  Can tell we're back down south as everyone we pass gives a smile and a "Hey", Hello", "How are you" greeting as we walk along the waterfront.  We head for the Underground Railroad Museum housed in an old Seaboard Coastline Railroad caboose.  Small museum but curator captivated us with story after story about the secret symbols and methods of communication between slaves and abolitionists.   Took us through a spelling lesson demonstration never saying a letter but using symbols in a song to get us to spell out "Washington". Gave us a little history of the town's days as a commercial shipping center and how that was the method used for most slave escapes from here. Even talked a little about her childhood days in Washington as a segregated town. Told a humorous story on herself - maybe true, maybe not.   As a young girl she went with her mom to a department store in town.  Was all excited to see the water fountains marked "colored" and "white".  Went to the one marked "colored" and tried it several times.  Told her mom, "It's not working".  Mother pushed the button and water came out just as it had for her.  She exclaimed to her mom " But where are the colors?" she had expected to see in the water.  We wound up spending 2 hours in that caboose turned museum just listening and learning.   Afterwards, grabbed a beer and some very good NY style pizza from Pitt Street Brewery.  Great views as it sits right on the river.  

Underground Railway Museum housed in this old caboose

Yeah.  I know.  Weird selections for a flight.

Saturday we took in the N.C Estuarian Museum. The Albemarle and Pamlico sounds are the second largest estuaries in the US.  Nice information about the importance of the area for the health of wildlife and protection from the ocean.  Did not realize it but just past the Hiway 17 bridge in town the water becomes the Tar River.  It's the defining line between the 215 miles of fresh waters upstream and the brackish waters of the Pamlico River.   Back to Pitt St. Brewery again and some eastern NC BBQ for dinner.  Watched the Clemson-FSU football game Saturday evening.  Held at FSU who was favored, but we managed to play decently most of the game and came away with a win.  Still gonna be a tough finish to our season going forward.  Sunday sort of a lazier day.  Daylight savings time ended - hate how early it will be getting dark.  Spent the morning giving the boat a freshwater washdown. Took a walking tour of some of the historic houses in town using a brochure we picked up at the welcome center.  There are three early houses dating back to the late 1700's.  Then most of their historic houses are from the reconstruction period after the civil war.   British used Washington as a military supply base during the Revolutionary war.  Stored munitions here. Used the abundant forests to provide wood for ships and masts.  And of course, resin from the pine trees to make tar for waterproofing the ships.  When they left after the war they destroyed the town on the way out.   Then during the civil war when Union forces held Wilmington, Charleston and Savannah, this was a major supply center for the Confederacy.   Union forces eventually took control, and the town was once again burned as they left.   Then an accidental fire took out much of the downtown and wharfs in the early 1900's.  Sort of amazing that any houses survived.  It does make for a bit of a hodge podge. Unlike a lot of older towns with well-defined several block areas of historic houses clustered together, the ones here are sort of scattered around town.  Made for a nice walk seeking each one out.  

The Myers House built in 1780 holds the distinction of being the oldest house in Washington. 

1899 Methodist Church is the 4th sanctuary on this site and home to
Washington's oldest congregation. The unique turret is a town landmark.  

The 1890 Moss house - a triple A frame. Dormer roof, attic roof and porch roof

.

The 1829 Elmwood House.  An original plantation house used as a Union hospital
 during the civil war.  Featured in Harpers Weekly in 1857 as one of the
south's most distinguished homes.  Now a B&B.

Worked up a thirst so stopped at Two Rivers Brewery for a flight.  Had to try both breweries.  Their mango fruited wheat beer was surprisingly refreshing after that walk. Seems to always be something happening in this town for amusement.  A crowd had gathered for Sunday afternoon music bingo at the brewery while I was there.  We grabbed an early dinner at The Loco Social Mexican restaurant where they had entertainment with live music from JD and Clay.  Plenty of entertainment all weekend with bands, karaoke, open mikes, theatre, ghost walks, Halloween kids in the park, etc... 

Getting in the Halloween spirit.  This house had at least 6 full size witches on
their porch.  I would have been too scared to ring the doorbell as a kid.
Maybe that was their plan?? 

Selfie at the bear statue in the park. 

JD and Clay.   Fun to watch JD play the flute, sax and keyboard while also singing.

Finished the day watching recordings (thank you again Starlink, Fubo and Apple TV) of the Jaguars dominant win over the Colts and then the F1 race from Mexico City where Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver ever at just 20 years old to win the Drivers' Championship. Amazing!! Overall, a good fun long weekend in Washington and certainly worth taking the side trip off the ICW for a visit.

Sunset over the river

Journey for Oct. 29, 2026

Oct. 28, 2026 Time for a Short Easy Cruising Day

 Wed. Oct. 28, 2026   Tuckahoe Creek Anchor to Slade Creek Anchor   40 miles and 4.5 hours

Good night's sleep after that long exhausting trip on Tuesday. Winds blew 10+ all night which held us tight in position and the anchorage provided enough protection that waves were just constant ripples.  Decided that we would make it a short cruising day today.   No rush this morning.  Nice leisurely breakfast and anchor didn't come up until 9:30 making us the last boat to leave. 

Watching as our friends on Apres Sail make an early morning departure for Belhaven

This anchorage leads straight out onto the Alligator-Pungo canal - a 20+ mile long man-made canal connecting these two bodies of water.  It's 10 miles straight as an arrow, then a slight kink and another 10 straight miles. Scenery is pretty redundant. Trees, scrub pine barrens and marshland taking you through extremely tannin tinted waters.  Trying to play nice with the other boaters.  Slowing down to let the fast boats get by quickly and then slowing down again when passing sailboats so as not to wake them. 

Starting our cruise on the Alligator-Pungo canal. Straight as far as you can see

Interesting Hinckley flybridge Zeus.  Making 26 mph with water jet propulsion

NC watermen setting crab pots.  Doing a great job keeping them off the channel

This is NC low country.  Marsh, swamps, forests.

The bridge.  Marks the halfway point and the kink in the canal

There used to be numerous markers like this one at 120 miles south of Norfolk. 
 Most have disappeared over the years.  Always liked seeing them to check our progress.

Make it to the Pungo River which opens up as a wide body of water.  Like most of these waters, it's fairly shallow so once again we follow closely to the marked channel. Fellow Loopers on Apres Sail and Kissed Some Frogs make Belhaven their stop for the night.   Our original plan was to anchor up Pungo Creek which we've used in the past.  But these NE winds have me searching for an alternative and decide to check out Slade Creek a bit further along.  Couple of miles up a wide twisting tree lined creek and we drop anchor in a spot offering us some protection.  Anchored and secured by 2:00, so have the afternoon to chill and relax.  Plans for the next few days finally came together.  We'll be making an unplanned side trip! 

Finally exiting off the canal and onto the Pungo River

Tree line at our anchorage helping to break the wind

Journey for Oct. 28, 2026

Oct. 27, 2026 A Long Day gets us to North Carolina

Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026   Top Rack Marina to Tuckahoe Anchorage    96 miles and 11 hours

Up at 5:45 AM for an early morning departure.  We need to be in line at the Great Bridge Lock for their 7:20 AM opening. Requires that we drop our dock lines and cast off by 6:50 AM. Several boats already ahead of us and more coming around the corner per AIS.  Timing is critical this morning.   The 7:20 lockage gets us to the Great Bridge Bridge for its 8 AM opening.   Then it's a half hour run to the Centerville Bridge for their 8:30 opening.   Get through it and another half hour run to the North Landing Bridge for their 9 AM opening.   King tides from the full moon resulted in a couple of opening cancellations yesterday, so we want to get on our way before high tide.  Snowbird migration continues.  Lock is full of boats. We make a perfectly timed parade until after the North Landing Bridge at which point the fast boats jump on plane and take off.  We're in a group of 3 boats traveling at about 10mph and feel smug leaving the slow sailboats behind.  

Boats arriving and lining up behind us waiting for the lock gates to open

Gates open and we're 4th in line behind this nice Hinckley Love You Tons

Secured to the wall and waiting for boats to fill the opposite side

Out of the lock and headed to the bridge with the rising sun blazing in our eyes

Parade of boats behind us still coming through the bridge

Gorgeous 100-year-old steel and teak beauty was waiting at the Centerville lock

We are on the Chesapeake and Albemarle Route of the ICW which winds its way through some canals, some natural winding river and some open bays.  Most of what looks like open waters is actually very shallow.  Staying in the marked channel is essential and requires constant attention to our charts and the depth finder.   Nice sunny warm day.  Gets into the lower 70's by late afternoon.   Pass by Coinjock Marina - no stopping today for their prime rib dinner.  

Typical waters along the Albemarle - Chesapeake Route

Make our way to the Albemarle Sound.  Fairly nice conditions.   NE breeze has been starting to build, but waves are minimal.   Water across this wide-open expanse is only 15-20' deep so winds can kick up nasty waves in a hurry. We get across without issue and enter the snaking channel into the head of the Alligator River.  A long, wide and open north to south running body of water.  The NE breeze is a bit stronger, and waves are starting to make us wallow.  Going to be worse tomorrow after a full night of winds so glad we're getting this out of the way today.   At the Alligator River Swing Bridge we get a quick passage with no waiting from the attentive bridgetender.   Construction continues on the new high-rise bridge that will replace it.  

This nice Marlow yacht passed us on the way to the bridge

Bohemia rode our wake the entire day right into the anchorage. 
Interesting aluminum hulled vessel

Construction on the new Alligator River high rise bridge is ongoing

Old swing bridge will soon be just a distant memory.  Sort of sad as it's
been an iconic part of our ICW trips all the way back to the 1990's

Got to the south end of the river where it narrows down and after a few twists and turns we find our anchorage for the night - Tuckahoe Point.   Bohemia has been following close in our wake since the start of the day and also pulls in.  Long day and we're happy to finally get the anchor down.    Multiple sailboats already anchored here along with our friends on Apres Sail who came through from the Dismal Swamp route earlier in the day.  Working on options for where to go over the next couple days.  Stay tuned.

Too busy fixing dinner to catch the actual sunset.  This was all we got.

Journey for Oct. 27, 2026

Oct. 26, 2026 Finishing up with the Chesapeake Bay

Monday, Oct. 26, 2026  Jackson Creek Anchorage to Top Rack Marina  64 miles and 7.5 hours

Decided to make an early departure from Jackson Creek.  Great anchorage. Good scenery.  No wind. No waves. No worries. Slept like a baby!  But up with the sun to get the anchor raised by 7:30 and get on our way.   Unexpected greeting by a dolphin in the anchorage as we were raising the anchor.  We'll mark this up as a good anchorage for future use.  Easy in and out from the bay and rare all-around wind protection. 

The full moon finally setting as a new day begins

A little fog on the land but thankfully none out on the water

Dolphin surfaced a few times by us as we were raising the anchor.

Picture perfect Chesapeake waterfront 

Exiting the anchorage.  Couple of houses catching the morning sunrise.

Working our way out to open water with the sun straight in our eyes

We'll be fighting an incoming tide and lose roughly 1 mph for the entire trip down the bay to Norfolk.   Nice sunny day.  Light NW breeze and short waves on our stern. Made the trip riding from the flybridge enjoyable.  Pretty straight shot down the lower bay.  Just a bit of wallowing as we worked our way past Mobjack Bay where the extra fetch generated slightly bigger waves.   Minimal sights to see other than other boaters.   Crossed paths with New Journey.  You may recall that was the 100' Nordhavn yacht that protected us from the nor'easter back in Portland ME.  They did an overnight offshore passage and were coming across the lower bay to Yorktown just as we were headed down. Always find it interesting the way you cross paths with boats you know. 

 Giving way to this tug crossing our path at 15mph and crashing through some waves

New Journey headed towards Yorktown. Pretty sure those 4-5' offshore seas
 were barely noticed by this beast constructed for around-the-world cruising.

Made it into Norfolk.  All the usual sights.  Lots of military craft of all sorts being worked on. Cargo ships being unloaded.  Downtown marinas and buildings.  Overall, traffic didn't seem too bad today.  Couple of tows.  Some tugs helping push a military ship out the river.   Mostly just pleasure boats heading south.   Got lucky with the three railroad bridges.  All of them in the raised position which hasn't happened in our last several transits.  We always seem to get held up by at least one of them. Makes it nice and easy to keep on schedule. 

Giving the ship Pautucket a wide berth as the tugs push her out the river

Couple of aircraft carriers were being upgraded at Newport News shipyard

Pretty good variety of military vessels in port

Waterside marina in downtown Norfolk

General Dynamics shipyard working on this one in drydock. 
Seems like it's a good candidate for toppling over.

Black Hawk headed for Coinjock.   He'll be running several hours in the dark.

Norfolk Southern Railroad bridge waiting for us in the raised position

Made it to Top Rack Marina a little after 3pm.   We were hoping to get through the Great Bridge Lock and Bridge today, but no room for us at Atlantic Yacht Basin.   We've stayed here before and it gives us a good starting place to catch an early morning transit. 

Top Rack Marina faces right onto the ICW. We can expect wake
 from occasional passing tows throughout the night

Journey for Oct. 26, 2026