Captain Gil got us off to an early start: "Let's have our coffees while we sail." The winds were up and it was looking like it'd be a broad reach across the Pamlico Sound back to the ICW. Ocracoke and the outer barrier islands quickly fell from view, as they are very low lying. We sailed out of sight of land for hours, even though we were inland from the ocean. Across Pamlico Sound, up the Pamlico River, and then up the Pungo River and we were back on the ICW. Most of the day was on wide open water and good for sailing, which keeps us smiling.
I have no idea what this is … way off shore (?)
Pamlico Sound is very shallow, and therefore there are an endless number of these scary little guys...
crab pot markers
They are to be avoided, but can be very difficult to see. They can damage a shaft or prop. Speaking of crab pots, we tried ours again while at anchor at the head of the Pungo River. Though we didn't catch any crabs, we also didn't lose our crab pot; so we're making progress ;)
Before setting our anchor, we made a quick stop at Dowry Creek Marina to refuel, pump-out, and fill up our water tanks. This section of the ICW is sparsely populated and services for boaters are few, so we took advantage while they were close at hand.
sunset on the Pungo River
The following morning we woke to a green tinged boat. We'd never had this experience before - thankfully. Gazillions of tiny pooping bugs! It didn't just wipe up either. It left Serenada with a gazillion green freckles. Not a nice thing to wake up to. No procaffienating for the mate... if we wanted to sit anywhere at all in the cockpit, it had to be cleaned first, and it took boat soap and a scrub brush to do that. It's hard to do anything before coffee.
You know, the flies here are ridiculous too. Humongous... the size of a moth almost, or a hornet, and they bite and draw blood. I shouldn't digress... 'back to our travels....
From the head of the Pungo River, the ICW follows the 21 mile long Alligator River Pungo River Canal, which is scenic...
Alligator River Pungo River Canal
…. until the barges pass by
The VHF radio came on: "Tow Boat US, Tow Boat US, Tow Boat US ….. Alibi, Alibi, Alibi." No response came. This was repeated more than once. Later, we heard "Pan Pan, Pan Pan, Pan Pan ….. Alibi, Alibi, Alibi …. we have transmission problems." This is a very unlucky stretch of water to have problems in, as it's sparsely populated and services are few and far between. There was also no cell service here. The VHF radio conversations we picked up led us to surmise that one of the tugboat captains was able to relay Alibi's message to a local Tow service. I felt for them.
'Back to our travels... the canal opens into the Alligator River, which is wide and almost 20 miles long; at the mouth of which is a very long bridge.... my guess is it's about 3 miles long.
Can you see it? Alligator River swing bridge.
Serenada passing through
Can you see the traffic?
everyone's made to wait just for us
We won't let that go to our heads, but it is rather incredible that all that traffic (hwy. 64) has to stop and wait while the bridge swings open, lets us pass, then swings closed again. There's no charge to us for this, and it opened at our request. We were the only boat through for the opening. I personally wouldn't hold any warm and fuzzy feelings for boaters if I was sitting amongst the waiting traffic, I have to admit.
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