Belhaven to Alligator Anchorage

Day 17 Tuesday, May 2, 2017

We had another windy rainy night.  We were securely tied to the dock with 5 mooring lines.  We talked to others who in the marina proper and they had a really rough night.  The waves broke directly into the dock area for them making them most uncomfortable.  I talked to one fellow how owns a Tartan who was unable to start his engine as he approached the harbor entrance.  He was sailing under a reduced jib and once inside, he tried unsuccessfully to drop his anchor to stop himself.  He called Boat US towing service and they were able to catch him and tow him into the marina before he sustained damage.  He commented that the process of getting tied to a dock was really tough but with the help of about 5 folks, he finally made it.  Then, since he was the last one on the dock, he was beat up all night.  We felt lucky.

Entering the Alligator River -Pungo River Canal

I listened to the weather forecast twice to get a feel for the upcoming conditions and decided that although the winds today would be blowing 20 knots and gusting to 25, the winds on Albemarle Sound will be blowing 10 to 15 from the south tomorrow, making that rough crossing quite bearable.  So, we decided to pull out and head north.  With the help of the guy in the boat moored behind us, we threw off our lines at 9:15 and headed out into the Pungo River.

Beautiful home and dock along the Canal

We had following waves so the ride was really quite easy for the first 5 to 6 miles of open water we encountered before we entered the 19 mile long Alligator River – Pungo River Canal.  I assumed that the Canal would be glassy smooth but with the wind blowing directly down the water way at 20 to 25 knots, there were also waves there as well.  However, these were midgets compared to 4 to 5 footers we encountered out in the river. Not far into the canal, I decided to fly the jib to enhance our speed a bit.  We had been running into a current I would estimate to be about 1 ½ to 2 knots, so speed over ground was about 5 knots.  With the fluky jib, we were able to eke out 5.7 knots.

The Ferryboat

At one point, we were hailed from behind by a “Ferry Boat” informing us that he would be overtaking us on our port side.  This boat turned out to be a beautiful paddle wheeler that was obviously new.   

As we reached the end of the Canal we came into the Alligator River and winds blowing 20 and gusting to 25 knots. The ICW turns to the east to follow the river out into open waters.  We opted, however, to turn west and head up stream a couple of miles to where the river narrows and the waves

Relaxing in the cockpit before dinner

become negligible.  We dropped anchor putting out extra rode to insure that we would stay put for the night.  I also used the engine to “back down” the anchor making sure that under extreme winds, the anchor would not drag.  Finally, I took two different compass sightings that I could use to insure that we were not moving.  I periodically checked those sightings and found no movements.

Our anchorage, although isolated is really beautiful.  It was a perfect setting for us to turn on some nice music using Jim’s iPod, open a beer and a can of sardines in celebration of our successful day on the Waterway! 

Fine dining!

We dined on spaghetti and meat sauce sided with a spinach salad that included blueberries, cheese, and tomatoes topped with ranch dressing.  We wetted our palates with a nice glass of Pinot Grigio for Janine and Merlot for me.  After dinner we sat on the deck as the winds faded and the sun dropped behind the salt marsh.