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Start: 5:45 AM- Piney Island on ICW two miles north of Coinjock, NC
Finish: 4:00 PM - Great Bridge, VA (at the only lock on the main ICW)
Time: 10:15
Daily dist: 29 miles
Total dist: 3000+ miles
Companions: Bill Sauer
Weather: Sunny w/ high of 80 and NW then N wind 10+
Notes: I paddled solo the first 14 miles then with Bill to the take out. It was great to have company on the water.
Start: 5:45 AM- Piney Island on ICW two miles north of Coinjock, NC
Finish: 4:00 PM - Great Bridge, VA (at the only lock on the main ICW)
Time: 10:15
Daily dist: 29 miles
Total dist: 3000+ miles
Companions: Bill Sauer
Weather: Sunny w/ high of 80 and NW then N wind 10+
Notes: I paddled solo the first 14 miles then with Bill to the take out. It was great to have company on the water.
At about 6:00 AM morning I was treated to the last sunrise I’ll see in North Carolina as two and a half hours later I crossed the state line into Virginia.
My last sunrise in North Carolina - notice the wind has already blown up a chop on the water
About an hour later still I pulled off at the Pungo Ferry Road Bridge and met up with local kayaker Bill Sauer. Bill had e-mailed a week or so ago wanting to paddle with me while I was passing through the area. However, at the time it looked like I was going to be past before he got back from an out of town training. As it turned out the day I was held up in Cedar Point last weekend allowed Bill time enough to catch up with me. Having been without cell contact (or internet contact) for the better part of the week I didn’t receive many of the e-mails that had been sent until last night. One of those e-mails was from Bill saying that he was back in town and still wanted to paddle so if I was interested give him a call. It was last minute but to me much of this adventure is about sharing it with others so I gave him a call. Amazingly he convinced his wife and daughter to drive shuttle for him and plans were quickly hatched for him to meet me at the half way point and paddle to the day’s finish line with me. From there he had made arrangements for me to stay in a cabin, if I so chose, at the “North Bay Shore Campground". Bill actually keeps his camper and kayak there all year and stays frequently enjoying direct access to miles and miles of kayaking in the local waters. Of course it’d be un-polite (and crazy) to turn down an invite like that so that’s where I am tonight.
Bill waiting for me at the half way point.
At a quarter to ten this morning (a half hour behind schedule because of the wind) I found Bill, a stranger but for our shared love of kayaking, waiting for me with his wife at the kayak launch spot at the foot of the Pungo Bridge. We said our hellos and after I gave my sore rear end a break from constant sitting we were on our way.
We paddled together enjoying several hours of excellent weather and pleasant conversation where I learned about Bills Navy days and current work as a maintenance technician for a local school bus fleet. At the end of the day we arrived at the Great Bridge Lock, which is the only lock on the main Intracoastal Waterway, and which I didn‘t even know existed until Bill told me about it last night. Bill’s Jeep was waiting for us on the other side (the lower - at low tide - Chesapeake Bay side) of the lock. I was excited to pass through only the fourth lock of the trip so far but it was not to be as the gate was jammed by debris and wouldn’t close rendering the lock inoperable. So we crawled out of the water on the nearby sea wall and called it a day.
The one and only lock on the main Atlantic ICW - and it was jammed open and not operable
As I unloaded the gear from my boat a gentleman approached me and asked if I was Jake. It turns out that it was James Fields from up north who has been following my blog for a while. He was literally on his way to do some paddling on the Outer Banks and figured he’d take a chance and see if he could catch me as I passed through the locks. It was like finding a moving needle in a haystack but the trip karma prevailed once again and he found me. After a quick snap shot and the obligatory signing of the boat I bid him farewell and good paddling as he got in his car and continued south. With luck we’ll be able to re-connect when I pass his neck of the woods in a couple weeks.
I can't believe James was able to find me.
Tomorrow the plan is to meet up with a couple other local paddlers and get back on the water on the other side of the lock then continue on toward Norfolk. My friend Vic will be waiting for me at about the half way point and will accompany me past the very busy Navy and commercial shipping docks.
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