Return to Roanoke Island, NC

Picture:  Arrival at OBX Marina in Wanchese on Roanoke Island, N.C.  The travel lift on the right is where we hauled the boat.

We finally grabbed a two-day weather window to sail south from Elizabeth City, NC!  We enjoyed some fine sailing across Albemarle Sound for most of the day.

In 1989, when sailing Sundsvalla north from the Caribbean, we anchored in a popular harbor near Manteo on Roanoke Island in mid-summer.  We thoroughly enjoyed the long-running outdoor theater featuring, “The Lost Colony”.  This is the story of British colonists that arrived on Roanoke in July 1585 and no trace of them was found in 1590.  Read more here.

What a difference Manteo is today!  The channel to the eastern side of the island is extremely shallow and narrow.  The only other boats we saw were small power boats. Manteo bay is filled in by storm tossed sands and dredge spoils.  The locals say that they have a lot of horizontal water but not a lot of vertical water. We were lucky to find a deep enough spot (5 feet) to anchor for one night.  It was so far from land we did not try to take the dinghy to shore.  The western channel has a long low bridge that we cannot get under with our 55′ mast.

On Monday, November 11th we motored to Wanchese at the south end of the island by meandering down a slightly deeper channel. We decided to pay for a side tie at a dock at OBX (Outer Banks) Marina as nasty weather was predicted.  Good choice!  This small bay is used by many commercial fisherman.  No one anchors here as they would block the docks. Although this marina does not offer WiFi, our cell phones have good service and work as a personal hotspot.  We are grateful for unlimited data!  We’ve actually only found WiFi on a few occasions on our travels so far.  In Wanchese, we’ve enjoyed some walks to nowhere and warm showers.  Thankfully, we have plenty of provisions for now so, no need to venture out in the cold, sometimes rainy and often windy weather.

On Wednesday, we woke to a 6:00 AM alarm to get a quick hot oatmeal breakfast and leave the dock to head for the lift well at nearby Bayliss Boatyard.  Our short haul revealed only propeller damage and the new prop was ready to install.  Phew that’s a relief!

The motor back to OBX was not long enough to test the new propeller in any meaningful way.  That will have to wait for out next outing. We paid the Marina to stay here for two more days due to strong winds and heavy rain.  We’ll keep working on projects and perhaps I’ll do a bit of baking to stock the freezer and warm our bellies and the cabin.  Should I bake brownies or gingerbread with raisins?