There have already been MANY postings here on the Cruisers' Net about the Dismal Swamp AICW route from Virginia to North Carolina waters, but less info on what is the primary Waterway route from VA to NC. This latter passage goes under several names, including the "North Carolina – Virginia Cut" and the "Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal."
Whatever you call it, this route enters North Carolina waters and at the southern mouth of North Landing River, runs a dredged cut across northern Currituck Sound, and then past the marina rich village of Coinjock. Finally, cruisers following this passage wend their way south on the North River to often rough Albemarle Sound.
There's some great crusiing advice and news in Captain George's posting below. I have borrowed this message from the Trawlers and Trawlering list.

Yesterday early  afternoon, there was a large stationary snag in the middle of the A&C just south of the Centreville Bridge. I called to the boat in back of me to give them a (dead)heads up. The bridge operator came on the radio and also asked location, he said the USACE was on its way to do some cleanup and wanted to verify locations. There were a few other  pieces of wood of various sizes of various levels of threat to navigation so we called them all out as we went on down. Just be observant, if the Corps didn't get something ot the ongoing winds have created something else.
Winds have reduced depths in Currituck Sound about a foot. Stay in the middle of the channel; it gets shallow on the green side quickly.
Starting about 3 miles south of Pungo Ferry, there was a substantial slick on the water extending to Pungo Ferry. The guy behind me thought I'd sprung an oil or fuel leak. I had to call three numbers 
at the Coast Guard, then called Hampton Roads on 16, and they got me to another number which then referred me to the National Response Center. I then talked to a nice operator who had no idea of local geography or the ICW and apparently no access to it. Luckily, I gave my name and number to them. A few minutes later I got a call back from the Coast Guard and then the Virginia authorities and we got the position right, which had been mangled by the NRC. The Virginia guy  suspected it was coming from the derelict marina north of the Pungo Ferry Bridge, and indeed it ended just as you passed there. A Coast Guard boat went speeding north past us about an hour later, so the response was pretty quick. I'm glad I was persistent and didn't get dissuaded by the bureaucracy.
We spent a quiet night at anchor with about 10 boats here off Broad Creek [off the North River – Ed.] ; the Albemarle should be doable with lighter winds out of the north; if I don't like what we see, we'll sneak back in here as conditions should be quite good tomorrow. We will head for Belhaven today, seas permitting.
George