Monday, May 3, 2021.
Sunny, Temp: 82/65, Humidity: 99/62%, Top Wind: S13 mph, Precip: YES! ⛈, Miles Traveled: 46
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This was a get-up-early kind of day to try to beat the weather. We had 46 miles to go, which at normal speed would take five hours. The forecast was for SW winds 10-15 this morning, then a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Wind would be picking up a bit by 11:00, so we wanted to beat feet. Thanks for the tie-up and hamburger, Alligator River! We pulled out at 6:35, and we were maybe the fourth or fifth boat out of ten to leave…. everybody had the same idea today. The Albemarle Sound can be one of the gnarliest bodies of water on the whole loop – not to be messed with.
We were pleasantly surprised at how calm the water was. 🤗 The wind was southwest, and we were traveling mostly west today, so the ride wasn’t bad! We had to weave our way through crab pots, and eventually went out to the middle of the sound for clear motoring.
After getting through the crab pots, we decided it was a swell idea to go fast. It was wide open water, no other boats around to worry about wakes, and let’s take advantage of the good water conditions. So we zoomed at 20mph for 1.5 hours, which cut 1.5 hours out of our trip! Woo-hoo! Yes… it burned far more than twice the fuel to get there in half the time, but we were ok with that, since we’d avoid worse conditions later. We knew from looking at pictures that the docking situation in Edenton was going to be tight, and there would be no help on the dock. Getting there with light wind was ideal.
This is our approach to the town.
There is an old (relocated) lighthouse in the marina, and we’d been instructed that the entrance to the marina was to the left of the lighthouse. At least there’s a good breakwater here, which is nice. We rounded the bend, and then had to figure out which slip was ours. We were told #6 on the west side, and it would be 4th from the T-head. We found it (actually the 3rd), and Captain got us turned around and slid us in ever so carefully.
The finger pier is only maybe six feet long, so we needed to get tucked in as far as possible so that we could get off of the boat. The wind cooperated nicely, and Captain was able to just nudge her in as I fended off and tossed lines over pilings. The pilings at the bow have a bit more room since the bow curves in. The big booty of the Girl has just enough room to squeeze a fender in on each side!
The wind was blowing from the port side, so the fender on the starboard side stays pretty squished. Talk about threading the needle to get docked!
Here was our route today. Yellow was about 20mph. Green is about 9mph.
We are the only ones here. Edenton offers two nights free, including power, as an incentive to get people to come. How great is that?! They are part of the Albemarle Loop promotion which several towns and marinas participate in.
It’s a cute little waterfront with the lighthouse and other historic buildings, as well as a big park with a big playground.
This picture gives a little bit of an idea of the glove 🧤 we are snuggly fitted into. We went and checked in with the park-master and told him we were snuggly tied off. He said we could move to a larger slip if we’d like. `🤷♀️. Why move now! We’re in and have just enough room to fender up.
I walked out on the breakwater dock and got a nice picture of the lighthouse. It is one of MANY historic buildings in Edenton.
The Roanoke River Lighthouse sits in its permanent location overlooking Edenton Bay. The lighthouse was originally located on screw-pilings in the Albemarle Sound marking the entrance to the Roanoke River near Plymouth. The lighthouse is believed to be the last surviving example in the United States of a squarer frame building built for a screw-pile base. The lighthouse was in commission from 1887 until 1941. There are tours offered, just not today (Monday).
Hey – it was only 10:30am when we arrived, so we could go have some breakfast! 😋 There is a coffee shop just up the road that has pastries and all kinds of good stuff
This is a popular place with locals! There were several mismatched tables and chairs but very cutely done, and most of them occupied by folks chatting over coffee. We each ordered a fancy foo-foo coffee latte and pastry, and joined the scene. Yum!
Outside we walked up the main street just to see what is here. We found this old Taylor Theatre and we saw that they still show first run movies here! It doesn’t show well in the picture, but there are three roof levels to the building, rising higher in the back.
This is just a municipal building down by the marina. I don’t think it is historical, but there is a statue of General Lee in remembrance of the fallen Confederate soldiers.
This is the Visitors Center at the waterfront, the Penelope Barker House. Thomas and Penelope Barker built the house in 1782. Originally located two blocks north, the house was rolled to its present site in 1952. Once it arrived, it was turned 180 degrees so the front on the house now faces the water. Visitors enter through the back door, which in the South means you are very welcome and expected to come back often. Penelope organized the Edenton Tea Party: On October 25, 1774, 51 women signed their names to a petition resolving not to buy or use British goods on which they had to pay taxes. The better-know Boston Tea Party was conducted by men, wearing costumes to protect their identity. At the time, according to Diane Silcox-Jarrett, Barker said: “Maybe it has only been men who have protested the king up to now. That only means we women have taken too long to let our voices be heard. We are signing our names to a document, not hiding ourselves behind costumes like the men in Boston did at their tea party. The British will know who we are.” Barker rejected the notion of hiding and instead publicly affixed signatures to the proclamation, which was published in London newspapers.
We checked the weather forecast, and the thunderstorm was going to be here around 3:00. We decided to take the 1:30 departure of a little 45 minute trolley tour of the town to learn about some of the town’s history. It was very interesting, and there is really a lot of great history here!
This is the Cupola House built in 1758. There are tours offered of it and its large gardens.
We checked the forecast and decided to go home. This was kind of a cool picture of the lighthouse with the storm coming in behind it.
Here is what was coming! Not terrible… but we got some good thunderous-boomus, lightning, and a good boat washin!!
Check this out! It was raining so hard that we couldn’t see the land and trees across the way.
The storm came through at about 3:00 and lasted for only about an hour. One thing about being tucked so tightly into this spot is that we don’t bang around much! We don’t even really rock and roll… we just sort of bobble and bounce around like a big bobble-head doll. We stayed home the rest of the evening and I fixed some chicken teriyaki for dinner…. one of Kenny’s favorites. We’ll be here tomorrow so we can go exploring then.