Elizabeth City-Alligator River-Bonner Bay (10/28-29)

We were one of the first to leave the roost in Elizabeth City, just as the sun rose, a beautiful sight both fore and aft, but....as it rose higher, it made it tough to see where we were going so we opened the front dodger panel and made our way across the glassy waters of the River.  

Unlike previous trips across the Albemarle Sound, it was a mill pond also, so the trip was easy and uneventful.  The entrance to the Alligator River had always posed a bit of a problem with ever-changing water depths and the recommendations have always been to ignore your paper or electronic charts and follow the markers.  Well, we followed the markers carefully, but I also kept an eye on the "magenta line" that indicates the course of the ICW and for once they agreed!  No wind, little traffic and nothing to look at on the way down the Alligator River and true to form no cell signal when we reached the bottom.  We anchored in a different spot from previous trips, but the scenery was the same...

Sunrise had us weighing anchor and heading on...even on the Alligator, sunrises are pretty.

Not a lot of traffic today, we were overtaken and passed by a few snow birds going a bit faster, and we actually did pass a few slower sailboats ourselves.  We did see this river otter swimming furiously to get across the Alligator-Pungo Canal.  The fishing boats at the R.E. Mayo Co. were all hunkered down for the night by the time we passed them on our way across the Bay River to our current resting spot on Bonner Bay, just two miles off the magenta line. Granted, we are dealing with a very calm evening with whatever wind we get will be from the east, but - -what a lovely spot.  Guide books have you going further up the Bay into any of the three creeks that give even more shelter.   

Today was warm enough that we decided to open the "back door", or more accurately the aft panels, of our enclosure and also the front panel of the dodger and enjoyed the fresh air.  The only "breeze" was caused by our 6.2 knots of speed.  

Tomorrow we head for River Dunes-the home of the best showers on the east coast, and a very friendly spot all around.  

~~~_/)~~~M&D