Elizabeth City to Tuckahoe Point and on to Eastham Creek Point

         The Ektopia and we were up early to make that 0830 lock and to be in Elizabeth City by noon.  Elizabeth City is well known for its hospitality toward cruisers.  There are a at least three different sets of free docks, and we chose to come in to one right next to Ektopia.  I had notified my cousin Veronica, who lives relatively nearby, that we would be arriving in Elizabeth City and she and her husband Luka came to meet us for lunch.  We had a great meal from a local deli with beer and wine from a local brewery, and had a wonderful time catching up.  It’s always so much fun when family or friends can come share our adventure! 

My cousin Veronica

In the evening we were invited to come join Karl and Laura of Ektopia on their back deck and we spent over an hour getting to know each other.  They divide their time between the US and Sweden and spent this past summer in Canada on their boat.  It’s always so interesting to hear about other people’s adventures.  

We both left just before sunrise to take advantage of another gorgeous day.  We’d heard of a storm brewing, though details at this time were sketchy.  We knew Sunday and Monday (Nov 6 and 7) were going to be warm and calm and we thought we’d get as far as we could before we needed to find a place to hunker down for whatever was coming.  We had a beautiful cruise down Albermarle Sound and into the Alligator River.  We chose Tuckahoe Point for our destination, Ektopia kept on going into the Alligator-Pungo canal.  Dan and I settled down to watch the sun set (before supper - thanks Eastern Standard Time!) and had our first encounter with mosquitoes.  We are really in the south now.  

Moonset, Tuckahoe Point

I got up early Monday because the cat was sure it was time to be fed, and was treated to a beautiful moon set.  Ten minutes later, well before sunrise, a patch of colorful light appeared in the sky.  I sent pictures to my cousin Denny in Rock Hall, who is an amateur astronomer, and he said this phenomenon is due to the ice crystals in noctilucent clouds.  I’d never seen that before.  It was beautiful, and the beginning of one more gorgeous day.

Pre-sunrise, Tuckahoe Point

        We cruised through the Alligator-Pungo canal into the Pungo River and across the Pamlico River and into well-protected Eastham Creek to anchor near the Eastham Creek Point.   We know now what is coming: the fringes of Tropical Storm Nicole, which may hit Florida as a Category 1 hurricane.  We have a nice safe, inland place to wait it out and see what else it might send in our path.  

Eastham Creek Point