Well, just when we thought we were finished with running the swamps for a while, we’re right back in it. It seems that North Carolina is 90% swamps.
The small marina we stayed at had a great replica of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse right at the end of the fuel dock. We had to have a picture of it…. So here y’all go.
We left the small Alligator River Marina this morning after a great shower and breakfast at the local Shell Station, and after clearing the swing bridge ran south down the huge Alligator River about 10 miles until we came to another swamp. We entered the Alligator River-Pungo Canal. A 20 mile cut through the bush and swampland. It was generally a boring run compared to the last few days and the only wildlife we saw was ONE white-tailed deer at the side of the canal.
We did pass a tug and barge combination coming the other way. I still don’t know how they made it through the twists and turns at each end.
One thing that really bothered us was that here we were in this no wake natural environment when this big asshole 65 ft powerboat came running up behind us throwing a 4 foot wake. I called him and finally on Channel 16 asked him to slow down before we got killed by his wake. We pulled over to the side and he passed us after substantially slowing down.
Like I said…… it’s a no wake zone and this guys wake was really destroying the shoreline. The big powercat that had passed us earlier (at a decent speed) was zig-zagging across the channel and not letting this guy pass until he slowed down.
So, today we did about 40 more miles of swamp, canal running and there is really not much to see.
After we exited the Pungo River we entered a small community called Belhaven, NC to look for a marina or anchorage but the wind was high and the docks were not very good, so we left and ran down the ICW another 5 miles and found a great anchorage in 8 feet of water, in a place called Slade Creek.
A very nice sunset followed supper and Jan was busy in her usual place completing her journal.
Oh yeah…. Here’s one I forgot to mention to ya………
Ever wonder how it feels to go under a 64 foot bridge with a 60 foot mast? The first time we did it we crawled through and took a lot of pictures. Now?....... we just keep on truckin at 7 knots as we’ve gotten used to it.
Tomorrow morning it’s 60 miles down to Morehead City, NC, closer to the Atlantic Ocean.
See ya’ll tomorrow.
Oct 2nd - Morehead City, NC
Hi Guys,
CIVILIZATION AT LAST !!!!!!!!!
For the past 3 days and 150 miles we’ve been travelling through swamps and creeks……… and today we finally arrived in Morehead City, NC……. Where there are actually people.
After leaving our anchorage this morning we continued down the Alligator River to the Pungo River then out into the Neuse Rive and on to Oriental, NC. The trip was basically uneventful, but the closer we got the more houses we started to see, and the more boats we encountered.
We passed a tug this morning that had 6 barges in tow and the last one dragged about 1,000 feet of hoses behind. That must have been a handful getting that tow hooked up.
After leaving the Alligator River we were met by a few flipper type dolphins playing in our bow wave but by the time I got the camera they had moved on.
Near Hobuken, NC we passed a boat that very well could have been used by Tom Hanks, as Forest Gump for catching shrimp.
Oh yeah, LANE……. We saw another boat for you…… What do you think?
This one doesn’t require as much work as the last one.
When we arrived off Oriental, it was only 1;30pm and the day was very short so we continued on down the Adams Creek to Morehead City, where we tied up for the night at the dock right off the “Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant” right on the downtown waterfront. It’s very beautiful here and for $25 per night we had the best room in the house,
The sunset was once again fantastc as you can see.
So tomorrow morning we head down into South Carolina and will anchor wherever we get to.
All the best
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