Alligator River to Belhaven, NC

There were fewer miles planned for today, so we didn't head out until 8:30 am. Actually got to have a relaxed breakfast before leaving. Dan was up before dawn anyway and got a neat shot of a tug pushing a barge loaded with sand that slipped past our anchorage just as the sun broke the horizon. The ride down the canal was mostly uneventful, we did wander a little close to the shore at one point and ran aground. Luckily it was a "soft grounding" and we backed right off and were back in the "parade" heading south. The one excitement was the anticipation we and several other boats in radio range felt as we approached the Wilkerson Bridge. It is one of the two fixed
bridges on the ICW that doesn't meet the Army Corps of Engineers standards of 65'. It is listed at 64'. The VHF radio traffic was hot and heavy with everyone waiting for a report from someone who could tell us all just what the height of the bridge was today. Luckily it read 65' on the tidal boards at the base of the bridge and Andiamo made it through!
We rolled out the jib for the ride down the Pungo River and were debating whether to anchor in Pungo Creek or Pantego Creek. The wind is predicted to be NE 10-20 tomorrow. We decided that Pantego would provide more protection, so headed in there. Three of us anchored, but Pekabu III needed fuel and Belhaven's three marinas were dry, so they headed to Pungo Creek for fuel. They were back "in the fold" by 3:30.
We put the dinghy down, picked up Maureen and headed into town. We wandered a bit and found a few things we needed at the Ace Hardware store---some flashlight light bulbs and wi-fi. I was able to retrieve several emails on my iPhone, but didn't have time to send many. We also found an ice cream store and indulged. On our way back to the boat, we stopped at Andiamo and enjoyed a glass a wine while we borrowed John's Verizon phone that DID have signal to return some imortant missed calls. Tomorrow we head for River Dunes, just outside Oriental. We expect we'll have signal tomorrow.
~~~_/)~~~M&D

Early morning scene at the bend in the Alligator River where we spent the night. The sand barge was slow moving, but had enough of a head start that it had traversed the AR/PR Canal before we caught up with it.

Scenes from the Alligator River/Pungo River Canal. Not much shore activity, just lots of snowbirds heading south. We are seeing more this trip (a week later than 2 years ago) than last time... and we thought we were leaving late.

This time, we brought up the rear.