Alligator River to Beaufort NC

First and foremost, people have been asking about the engine problem in Wicomico River - the burning rubber thing.   It was easy, peasy. The main fanbelt that drives the coolant pump and the alternator was loose.  Took all of 30 seconds to fix once the anchor was down.

Secondly, Lynn asked me to mention all the times we saw dolphins.  At least twice, maybe more, and I've now seen them in the Albemarle Sound and Alligator River, as well as the Neuse River.  They appear smaller and darker than the ones we saw in the Chesapeake and certainly than the ones I've seen in Florida and the Bahamas.  They never fail to tickle the fancy and someday I'm going to jump in with them.

Well, the, the fried chicken at the Alligator River Marina is great!  When I say great, I mean awesome.  And when I say awesome, I mean that if you ever get to the Alligator River Marina you have to have some.  I am sorry I just got two pieces instead of a bucket.  It was cooked right, without a lot (or any, I think) breading and spiced just right.  Not greasy at all. Highly recommended!

I left the Alligator River Marina around 7:30 in the morning and got an immediate opening at the Alligator River Bridge!  Woohoo!  It was a beautiful day with light winds out of the north east.  Moved along nicely all day.  It was uneventful with no troubles from the engine/fuel system.  That's a plus.

Alligator-Pungo River Canal

The Alligator-Pungo River  Canal is about 20 miles long with forests on each side (some more dead than alive) but on a sunny day it can be amazingly beautiful.  The wind was behind me and the seas calm and it smelled amazing!

I had the canal almost to myself this transit - but I did see enough dead heads to keep me alert!

Decaying Morgan Out Island

In the canal, though is a docked Morgan Out Island 41 sloop that has been there since I started travelling this route in 1992.  Every time I pass it it's a little (or a lot) rattier and I am surprised beyond belief it's still floating.  Now it's covered in guano.  Some years ago, the main sail was removed (having more or less rotted).  It's sad. 

Dowry Creek Marina 

Usually I stop in Bellhaven at the River Forest Marina or anchor behind the breakwater.  I've passed by the Dowry Creek Marina maybe a dozen times but as this is an adventure trip I thought, what the hell, this is as good a time as any to try it.


I am glad I did!  It's a great a little marina.  The man that owns the pharmacies in Bellhaven recently purchased the marina ( a couple of years ago ) and runs it when he can but has a couple of dock guys to handle it when he's not there.  Everyone is so friendly!  They didn't even laugh at me when I backed into my slip. 

They have a courtesy car.  It works.  I went to town to get some food and stuff.  It was fun going over 7 miles an hour for a few minutes!

My plan was to go to Oriental the next day but I was there by 2pm so I figured I'd just continue up to New Bern, another three hours.  I made the 5 pm Cunningham Bridge opening (yay!) by one minute.  How about that?  Saved an hour waiting.  Was tied to the Bridge Pointe Marina dock a few minutes later where loads of people came to assist.  It's a big deal, apparently. All very friendly, full of questions.  It was like a homecoming almost.

New Bern is a lovely little city - they've put a lot into it to bring in business and sort of upgrade the marinas which were damaged a few years ago in storms. One of the things they did was have people sponsor fiberglass bears and have them painted up to display outside their businesses.  It's pretty cool, and I include some here for your amusement.

The first night I was tired and just wanted to rest.  The next day Doug, Ron (his friend) and I spend doing all sorts of errands and eating and generally carrying on.  I liked it so much there I decided to stay one day longer, also because the weather report indicated Wednesday the 25th was supposed to have wind out of the west or north west off Beaufort as opposed to 15-20 kts out of the south with 8 foot seas on Tuesday.

When I left Monday it was only for a short hop to a small anchorage in Cedar Creek just off Adams Creek (the part of the ICW that goes from the Neuse River to Beaufort).  It got really windy and during the night rained torrentially.  But the anchor held (had to reset once when I arrived) and it was a comfortable night in reality although I worried the whole time.  Also, I found some new leaks.  I learned the next day from Doug that in addition to the rain, some of the gusts were 60mph.  It explains why I had so much trouble getting the anchor out.

The next morning I waited until the storm passed around 9 am, weighed anchor and set off for the Town Creek Marina in Beaufort.  Of course, the wind was on the nose and went to about 20 kts when I left Adams Creek. I took the Russell Creek back way into Beaufort so I wouldn't have to deal with the bridge to go to the Town Creek Marina.


A new bridge is being built there and the channel has changed a little bit, but with the help of Carol from Town Creek Marina I arrived in fine fettle.  And here I am, still in fettle, awaiting the change in wind direction so I can head south to Masonboro Inlet and Wrightsville Beach tomorrow morning.

If I have to, I'll go inside, but with northwest winds, maybe I can sail again!  Also, avoid those annoying bridges at Wrightsville Beach.

Well, next stop: Wrightsville Beach.