Alligator River Marina North Carolina

We were awake at 6:00 am and ready to leave the Belhaven free docks by 8:00. We decided to walk Mystic back along the dock and hand turn her toward the channel. As we pulled away, a man walking down the docks yelled "Come back! Come see us again sometime!" We waved farewell; knowing we'd be back if at all possible.

The water was dead calm as we made our way out to the ICW and lined up on Bob's Blue Line. A captain came over the VHF with a Sécurité broadcast reporting logs in the channel at markers 57 and 59. As we approached this area we watched the water closely for dead heads. A power boat came flying up behind us. Dave tried to hail them on the radio, finally getting their attention after multiple attempts. He warned them about the logs and they immediately slowed down, thanking us for the heads up. Everyone on the Loop knows that a log can take out your propeller in an instant. 

It was very quiet and desolate on the Pungo Alligator River Canal but it is so beautiful! Hundreds of swallowtail butterflies dance across the ICW, up and over Mystic's deck. We saw turtles sunbathing all along the bank and eagles soaring over us in the sky. Several colorful Belted Kingfisher birds flitted from tree to tree along the waterway, ready to dive into the water for their next meal. I tried to get photos but they moved much faster than me!

Vanishing Point

A spot to cool off on the Pungo Alligator Canal

Turtles line the shore

120 ICW Miles to go

Very hard to catch these swallowtails in a photo

More Turtles...

Wildflowers line the shore

More flowers...

And more turtles...

Cat Tails

Dragonfly having a rest

Reflections

Very Loud Cicadas

We could finally see the Alligator River Swing Bridge off in the distance. We were three miles away when the wind began to pick up. Dave called the bridge tender to ask for an opening, knowing that these bridges won't open in winds over 30 mph. We really don't want to get there to find out we can't pass through. We'd have no other option except to move backward a lot of miles in the direction we had just come from. Our marina was just past the bridge. We were so close that we decided to continue working our way there, hoping the winds would abate long enough to get us through. It was a great relief to learn that the bridge would open for us. We'd made it!

As we were approaching, the bridge tender noticed a power boat coming up behind us. We heard him call to them over the radio. They did not respond. We watched as they just kept blasting forward behind us. The tender was not happy about this. He said he didn't trust what they were going to do. They maneuvered astern of us so I held up the hand held radio and pointed to the bridge using sign language to tell them the tender was trying to hail them. They informed us that their radio was dead which we reported to the tender. He asked us to tell them to fall in behind us to go through the bridge together. It was a relief for everyone that this worked out. Later, we met the folks on this vessel at the marina. They thanked us for helping them communicate with the bridge tender.

We weren't able to hail Alligator River Marina on the VHF but we headed into the channel anyway. It was still very windy and the water was choppy. Dave turned Mystic around in the channel and set her at the exact spot we were in a year ago aboard S/V Veritas. The dockmaster met us at our boat. Alligator River is a unique place. It's actually a convenience store with a series of boat slips. They have wonderful bath houses and great laundry but it's not an actual marina. We paid for dockage and chose the shower over the laundry. You know you really needed a shower when you smell worse once the water hits you but we felt great afterwards. Dinner consisted of chili beans with Vickie's tamales from Belhaven. Sometimes, simple is exactly what the Doctor ordered!

We're making good progress on our trek north. Tomorrow's journey will bring us to the tiny town of Coinjock, a favorite stop for cruisers, and our last stop in North Carolina.  

Mystic at Alligator River

Sunrise over Alligator River