Making Mile Marker Zero

**  Morehead City, NC to Norfolk, VA  **

Tackling more waterways than we can count (we counted one day) we made our way from Morehead City, NC to Norfolk, VA, arriving a few days before our looper rendezvous. We made it to Mile Marker 0 on the Intracoastal Waterway, with a few adventures along the 252 mile journey.

Morehead City, NC to Mile Marker 0, Norfolk, VA

The sun did shine again, and we were off in cool temps with sunshine for another side trip adventure to New Bern, NC, a forty five mile cruise from Morehead City, and 25 miles off the beaten path up the Neuse River.

We settled for our second choice in marinas as the first said it would be late summer / early fall for the next transient slip. What? The location provided easy access to downtown, but these were some of the worst docks we have stayed on, with little to no facilities, think gas station dock, and that would be generous. New Bern is a fantastic port, too bad they don’t have better transient docking options.

New Bern, NC

A laid back, charming, artsy, small town Americana, with a vibrant downtown, we were glad we took the path less chosen. The first mate had the captain strolling the streets, tucking into shops, carrying packages, as long as a watering hole was visited from time to time.

This is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, created by local pharmacist Caleb Bradham in 1893 and first marketed as “Brad’s Drink. The old pharmacy is now a Pepsi shrine, open daily with everything Pepsi. Just don’t try ordering Diet Coke in this town. We rode bikes down the tree lined waterfront taking in the charm for a few days.

Pepsi Town

New Bern is also home to more than 300 bears, statue bears that is, and one will see them all over town. One in particular bear caught our attention, the newest member of the sleuth, a Jimmy Buffet inspired bear. Who doesn’t love a little Jimmy Bear?

Jimmy Bear in New Bern

Cruising an easy 22 miles would have the Captain relaxing at the tiki bar for a midday drink on his birthday in Oriental, NC, a perfect spot for a celebration. And an afternoon with no boat chores. Now that’s a birthday! This is most likely our favorite dock setting. Now or Never sat aft in at the old school, 50’s era boutique inn / marina. The small lawn directly behind us, hosted a gathering of boaters, locals, and hotel guests enjoying the tiki bar, restaurant, and Adirondack chairs overlooking the harbor. The quaint marina holds just ten boats. We enjoyed dinner near the marina and the camaraderie of loopers on the lawn at sunset. It was a relaxing day to celebrate the one who keeps us on course and the Cummins diesels humming. Happy birthday Captain!

Birthday Boy in Oriental, NC

Rising early for a long day on the water, the weather forecast indicated we were in for some choppy seas as we headed through multiple waterways including skirting a large sound to our anchorage on the Alligator River for the night. We rocked and rolled for close to nine hours, times much worse than others, but always rolling. More wind and waves than expected, and much less desirable than Tasha cares for. Relief band for the win! Cruising 80 miles was our goal to set us up for a much better weather crossing of the Albemarle Sound the following day. We made it but it was a long rocky day. There wasn’t much to see on this cruise, the area is mostly tree lined banks. Our anchorage at the bottom of Alligator River was pretty rough the first few hours but the wind subsided and changed direction and we had a smooth night without having to keep one foot on the floor.

Rockin’ and Rollin’

Our eighty mile rocky cruise this day transited Now or Never through thirteen different waterways that make up the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is this area. The ICW is made up of numerous rivers, canals, creeks, cuts, lakes, passages, rivers, and sounds. Thousands of waterways are used to transit our country and at times we feel we have been in every one of them. When natural waterways didn’t connect, man stepped in and made the connections in the way of canals, allowing one to transit on the “inside” rather than the ocean.

13 Waterway Day

Thankfully, electronic charts and auto routing assist the captain in route planning each evening before we cruise. It is hard to fathom the challenges when only paper charts were available as navigation hazards change regularly. Navigating our waterways can be a challenging even with all the aids available today.

The waterways we transited from Oriental to Alligator River were:

Down Gale Creek 

Down Gale Creek / Upper Spring Creek Canal 

Down the Upper Spring Creek 

Down Goose Creek

Across Pamlico River

Up Pungo River

Into Wilkerson Creek

Down Pungo River / Alligator River Canal

Down Alligator River to anchorage

We pulled anchor in the morning around 6am to make our 50 mile cruise, including crossing the Albemarle Sound, arriving in Coinjock, in time for the captain to spend the afternoon disposing of the 10 pounds of salt the prior day deposited on Now or Never. We were covered thick. Sticky, crusty, SALT, no lost shaker here. As inland river boaters, we will never get used to the salt. It won’t be long and we will return to fresh water for the remainder of our loop. Thankful the weather cooperated, it was a pleasant cruise. We have heard the horror stories of those crossing in conditions that caught them off guard. Tasha’s weather planning worked for day two.

Coinjock, NC. Not known for anything except a safe place to tie up big boats and the Prime Rib. This would be a treat that included celebrating the Captains birthday again, and his upcoming two year heart tune-up anniversary. Our diet has changed considerably, but sometimes you just have to eat the Prime Rib. And that, we did! The jumbo cut, 32 ounces. We split it and had leftovers for an additional two meals.

Coinjock – big prime rib – big boats (Now or Never is third from the left)

Thirty eight miles further up the ICW, would land us at Atlantic Yacht Basin. Our cruise was precisely timed by the captain to get us through several bridges without having to wait long for openings. It’s no fun jockeying the boat in a narrow canal with wind and other obstacles waiting on openings and on this day his timing was perfect.

As we arrived at the boat yard, the memories of last summer came to mind. On the hard, no air, 95 degree weather, and our accident that led us there.

Boat yard blues 2023

We were thankful our visit here would be much shorter, simpler, and comfortable. The battery we weren’t able to source in Jacksonville, would be here waiting for us. The Yacht Basin couldn’t get it through their resources but allowed us to order it from Amazon and have it trucked here. Weighing in at 143 pounds, there weren’t many places that would accept delivery. They did, and we hired their team to install it.

Their team ended up being one guy and Dave, but that was ok with Dave. Captain Dave installed the 4 batteries in this bank several years ago, but he paid the price with his back later. A few more birthdays behind him, a bit wiser, and he paid for help. We hire very little out, so this was hard. Our captain prides himself being able to take care of most things on Now or Never and the savings are big because he does. We know that we would not be able to make this incredible journey if he wasn’t able and willing to tackle projects, even those that he later wonders what in the world has he gotten himself into?

We allotted two days for the battery install as usually it’s a waiting game in a boat yard. We were surprised when it was completed within a few hours of arrival. Spending one night at AYB and moving across the canal to a free dock for the second. We enjoyed watching the boats go by as the migration north is in full swing and this dock is adjacent to the Great Bridge Bridge. (Yes, that’s the correct name of the bridge, not a double tap!). Captain Dave enjoys listening to the marine traffic on the radio with the bridge opening each hour, forty years with a radio on his hip, old habits die hard.

Great Bridge Bridge Area

We were fortunate enough to catch up with friends on Tropical Horizons (Karen, Eric, and Tank) briefly, as they took on fuel, and Escapades (Brenda and Wally) who were docked at AYB, getting ready to resume their loop and head to Norfolk for rendezvous. While we love meeting new cruisers daily, there’s something about seeing a familiar face and sharing our adventures since we last were together.

Tropical Horizons, Remy’s buddy Tank, crew of Escapades

A short 12 mile trek to Norfolk through the shipyards, Navy port, law enforcement picket boats, and lots of commercial traffic would land us at Mile Marker Zero on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It is here, we will meet with 350 loopers and about 60 vessels for our looper spring rendezvous. We arrived five days early to a quiet marina with a list of things to do on the boat before the party arrives.

Our Norfolk Journey

We’re ready for some down time as we have traveled 1360 miles in the past seven weeks, from Melbourne, FL to Norfolk, VA including three side trips (St. Johns River, Wilmington, and New Bern) added to the loop. The direct route on the ICW is 918 miles (Melbourne is mile marker 918 and Norfolk 0), but this crew loves our side trips. Our home for the next 9 days is Waterside Marina in downtown Norfolk. Mile Marker 0. We’re looking forward to meeting everyone and traveling amongst them to the Great Lakes!

Cheers!  David, Tasha,  

                  & Remy forever in our hearts!

 Follow us on facebook for more frequent updates… Mann Aboard