Columbia, NC to Elizabeth City, NC

Miles Traveled 34.9

Total Miles Traveled 3858

Day 245

We intended to get an early start this morning to cross the Albemarle Sound before the wind started to blow, but we were fogged in until 9 a.m.  The 14 mile long crossing can be very sloppy because winds from almost any quarter tend to funnel either up or down the long, straight sound.  Because of its uniformly shallow depth, even a light wind can quickly create rough and confused seas. 

A northeast wind picked up and cleared the fog, but also produced 1-3 foot waves a mile into our crossing, as we continued north the waves gradually faded and several miles from Elizabeth City, the water was flat.  We were very lucky to have this crossing window, the forecast for tomorrow calls for thunderstorms, gusty winds and possible hail, Saturdays forecast calls for 15-25 mph winds.

I wish I had a nickel for every crab pot we have dodged on our loop adventure.

We were several miles from land, and could see a huge building on the horizon that dwarfed all other buildings around it.  We found that it was the Weeksville Dirigible Hangar Airship Storage Facility originally built by the US Navy in 1941 for servicing airships conducting anti-submarine patrols of the US coast and harbors. 

We also passed the United States Coast Guard Air Station at Elizabeth City which is the largest and busiest Coast Guard air station in the United States, operating missions as far away as Greenland, the Azores and the Caribbean.  Pretty cool, almost like our own private air show coming into the city.

We arrived at the Elizabeth City Dock located in the heart of downtown.

The legend of the Rose Buddies......

On a Sunday afternoon in 1983, Fred L Fearing and Joseph P Kramer II, decided to host a gathering for the mariners.  Joe clipped his own rosebuds for the First Mates, while Fred supplied the refreshments.  That first reception welcomed 17 boats and their crews.  The Rose Buddies tradition in the Harbor of Hospitality was born and spread by word of mouth up and down the Intracoastal Waterway and beyond.

When Joe died in 1987, his rose bushes were transplanted to Mariners Wharf Park.  They continue to provide blooms for visitors and color for the “locals” who stop by the docks.  Even as Fred reached his 90’s, he continued the work of the Rose Buddies.  He was assisted by businesspersons and local organizations that donated goods and services, and were key to preserving the efforts to welcome our nautical visitors.

Fred Fearing died in 2007, a gregarious man who loved this community of his birth, and never tired of sharing his extraordinary knowledge of local history and legends with interested residents and seafarers.