Machelhe Cove – Departing Elizabeth City on the Camden Causeway US Highway 158 just across the Pasquotank River, there is a peninsula with three complexes tucked just off the highway: Gardner Pointe, Harbor Place & Machelhe Cove. And they are close to the highway, Machelhe Cove in particular, which sits right off the shoulder. They don’t look very inviting or residential from that angle. But get on the other side, and you’ll feel like you’ve fallen into an Andrew Wyeth painting. Cypress trees line the shore and rise defiantly out of water blackened by their tannins. It is a surprising scene of exotic beauty.
The MLS didn’t include much information about this complex, but the plat map suggests there are 10 units. Sizes vary: there was a 2 bedroom, 2 & 1/2 bath at 2809 sq ft, a 3 bedroom, 2 & 1/2 bath at 2508 sq ft, and, oddly, two 3 bedroom, 2 full & 2 1/2 bath units. I don’t have the square footage for this unit. These are 4-story units with an entryway, elevator, and 2 garage bays with single doors on the ground floor. The main bedroom is on the second floor, and the living room and kitchen are combined on the 3rd floor. The 4th-floor loft could be a bedroom or flex space. Each unit has a screened porch on the ground floor and an open deck on the third.
The complex is about 13 miles north of the Albemarle Sound up the Pasquotank River. You’ll find plenty of open space there for sailing, with an average depth of 12 to 13 feet and a maximum depth of around 25 feet. There are, of course, shallow bits, and wind-driven water can reduce depth. You’ll be about 37 miles from Manteo and 50 miles from the Oregon Inlet. The island is right across the Pasquotank from Elizabeth City, which has a viable downtown and an active waterfront. Following the Pasquotank north eventually leads to the Dismal Swamp Canal, a 22-mile stretch to Chesapeake, Virginia, and the Elizabeth River, with a depth of 9 feet. Drummond Lake and the Great Dismal Swamp are accessible along this route.
