Thursday, May 10, 2007
Enough of Belhaven (M 137). On to the Alligator River (Mile 83)!
Wednesday, May 9. After four days and nights in the small town of Belhaven, we were more than ready to cast off our lines. The winds finally died down, and we spent yesterday washing grit off our boats, doing laundry, and getting ready move north. Several folks who had been docked at the Belhaven Waterway Marina -- Paul and Jane (Happy Destiny), Fran and Brian (Endeavor), and Gill and Savalia? (Secrets), and Bob and I -- gathered for dinner at the Fish Hook Café last night to celebrate surviving the storm. That was a good way to end what turned out to be a pretty strange few days. Gill and Savalia(?), hilarious Canadians, are returning to Quebec after spending the winter in the Bahamas. They are sailing on a Catalina 30, and we hope to meet up with them again.
This morning we crossed the Pungo River and made it down the long, straight, manmade Alligator River Canal (part of the ICW). We heard a distressing call from the Coast Guard that a 50-foot Hattaras sailboat, Flying Colours, was missing offshore after they sent out an emergency distress message. All mariners were asked to keep a watchful eye out for them. The Coast Guard is conducting an extensive search. [They had still not been found by Thursday.]
The channel is pretty narrow, and a whole string of boats, mostly sailboats, were all traveling at the same time. There was lots of jockeying as power boats tried to pass the much slower sailboats without giving them a bad wake. All of us had been weathered in for the past four days, and everybody was just as eager as we were to move on. The water in this arrow-straight canal is coffee colored, with a splash of cream. There were lots of stumps on each side. We actually saw a deer swim across the canal; I think he made it to the other side just fine. We arrived at the Alligator River Marina by 1:15 p.m. This place is known for the grumpiness of the proprietors, and they didn’t disappoint. We would have gone on, but some nasty clouds appeared, and we didn’t want to face the wrath of Mother Nature on the Albemarle Sound, the next leg of the journey. Meanwhile, Ann and Bob Levine (Sandpiper) pulled up, soooooo we invited them and the Cowhigs over for a crockpot full of beef stew. The fellowship of Loopers trumps grumpy marina owners any day!
This morning we crossed the Pungo River and made it down the long, straight, manmade Alligator River Canal (part of the ICW). We heard a distressing call from the Coast Guard that a 50-foot Hattaras sailboat, Flying Colours, was missing offshore after they sent out an emergency distress message. All mariners were asked to keep a watchful eye out for them. The Coast Guard is conducting an extensive search. [They had still not been found by Thursday.]
The channel is pretty narrow, and a whole string of boats, mostly sailboats, were all traveling at the same time. There was lots of jockeying as power boats tried to pass the much slower sailboats without giving them a bad wake. All of us had been weathered in for the past four days, and everybody was just as eager as we were to move on. The water in this arrow-straight canal is coffee colored, with a splash of cream. There were lots of stumps on each side. We actually saw a deer swim across the canal; I think he made it to the other side just fine. We arrived at the Alligator River Marina by 1:15 p.m. This place is known for the grumpiness of the proprietors, and they didn’t disappoint. We would have gone on, but some nasty clouds appeared, and we didn’t want to face the wrath of Mother Nature on the Albemarle Sound, the next leg of the journey. Meanwhile, Ann and Bob Levine (Sandpiper) pulled up, soooooo we invited them and the Cowhigs over for a crockpot full of beef stew. The fellowship of Loopers trumps grumpy marina owners any day!
