Alligator River, NC

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

035-39.660 N
076-2.340 W

Ahoy from green marker 39 on the Alligator River!

Today was spectacular day with highs in the mid-70s and crisp blue skies. It was also a fairly easy day as we only made 52 miles, which was 17 more than planned. We departed from the Midway Marina at 8:30 AM which was great as most of the power boats had already left and we wouldn't to deal with their wakes as they pass. The first hour or two was really quite beautiful with colorful trees and marshes, but that all too quickly gave way to low marshes and eventually open water as we crossed the Albemarle Sound. The Albemarle Sound is a big, shallow body of water. Where we crossed it's about 15 miles wide and I'd guess 40-50 miles long, depending upon how you measure it. It can be very rough, but we had a wonderful passage with low seas and pleasant winds. We even got to sail for while. Wow, that was a treat!

We had planned on stopping at the Alligator River Marina, but the front that had been forecast to come through this evening is now forecast to pass tomorrow afternoon. As a result we continued on for another 17 miles and anchored near G37 on the Alligator river. Obviously this is a popular stop as there are about 20 boats anchored in the area! I'll point out that all of the boats are sailboats as I can only assume that the power boats had enough speed to make it to Belhaven.

Tomorrow we're headed to Belhaven, NC which is 34 miles from here. That's about 6 hours away and we hope to be in by early afternoon, which is before the high winds are forecast to arrive.

-- Geoff & Sue

For the cruiser:

To get to this anchorage exit the ICW well E of G39 and head S. This is a huge area that could handle hundreds of boats. We're anchored in mud in 9' of water.

Log ID: 907