Alligator River Marina - at a dock

The Pungo-Alligator Canal is straight as an arrow, a man made cut on the ICW

In this area of the ICW we prefer to take a dock rather than anchoring out, mainly for two reasons: Fuzzy Bills and alligators. The Fuzzy Bills look just like mosquitoes but they don't bite. Instead they transform your boat into green slime if you happen to hit their swarming period. Several years ago I did just that and spend five hours cleaning the boat of all the green stains along with four other boats in the same predicament at the next marina. I do not want to repeat that. Captains that have not experienced the "green slime attack" don't know what all the fuss is about and anchor out around here, not me! Once is enough.

Just a face dock, nothing fancy - but they did have good WiFi, we watched the derby over the internet

The other hazard is alligators. We're concerned since I have to take Hoolie into shore three times a day. Once I get beyond the Dismal Swamp I'm no longer concerned about alligators but here I am. so with those in the back of my mind, I just take a dock on the Alligator River.

The marina here is just a roadside stop for cars with a few docks added for boats. They say location is everything and the marina is halfway between our Pungo River anchorage and Elizabeth City, our next stop plus they have fuel and water.

Hopefully Sunday is as good a day as Saturday

On Sunday we're due to cross the Albemarle Sound. It can be a nasty stretch of water with a north wind over 15 kts. The wind tomorrow is due out of the west, not the north so it ought to be doable but I expect a choppy ride. With our luck, the weatherman will be wrong and the wind will be out of the north, the worst direction for our crossing. We'll either take a free dock in Elizabeth City or go on to the facedock just before the south lock in the Dismal Swamp Canal. We'll see how we feel after the Albemarle and going directly into the wind to Elizabeth City.

Pungo River Anchorage - at anchor with 9 other boats

How to stay warm on a cold day on the ICW

So we got up on a cold morning, I took Hoolie in for a cold walk and we released the cold lines and backed out of our slip into a cold drizzle on the Pamlico River. This was not our idea of cruising on the ICW but move we must. We usually are ahead of the migration north in the spring but not this year. Due to all the bad weather, all the boats are bunched up and moving together. A case in point, at our anchorage tonight we had a total of 10 boats. We've never seen more than two or three in the past six years but we're apparently all in sync this year.

We're anchored just off the ICW before it goes into the Alligator-Pungo canal in the Pungo River. There is a ton of room, it could hold a hundred boats without being crowded. Our spot is close to Hoolie relief at a small, sandy beach nearby. Tonight I was the only one going to shore for pet relief, I thought there would be more given the number of  boats.

Too many clouds for a good sunset but you take what you get on a cold day

The great warming trend is due to start on Saturday into the 70's and even more so on Sunday with temps into the 80's. It's about time, I even wore long pants for the first time in five months. You can see from the picture how bundled up Ann and Hoolie were. They spent most of the day like that when Ann wasn't at the helm. We intend to take a slip at the Alligator River Marina on Saturday before moving on to Elizabeth City on Monday. We are moving north!

Washington, NC at Pamlico Plantation - at the guest dock, the last day

Liz's work

We had all wanted to go out for a sail but it's hard to get enthused when it's in the 50's and raining. Just another day of the worst weather ever on the ICW. With that we retreated inside for Bridge and general eating. Since Liz is a very good cook, we dined as well as at any restaurant. Rain and more rain continued throughout the day but we were warm and comfortable. What more to want going up the ICW?

I can't imagine the time this took

North Carolina is home custom basket weaving. The designs are extremely intricate. Liz is a member of the fraternity so I though I'd show a few examples.











In addition to the photos of Liz's work there are websites on the widespread practice in the state.   There are statewide competitions and awards. I never knew it was so popular.

What do you know, the rain finally stopped, at least for awhile. If the weather forecast is to be believed, then rain will start up again Friday morning. Regardless, we're leaving for the Pungo River anchorage just before the canal to the Alligator River. A light rain we don't mind, thunderstorms with lightening are another matter, they are not predicted for Friday.

Washington NC at the Pamlico Plantation - at a guest dock

You can actually see some blue, for a change

More boat readiness today. We have to keep a spare propane tank full or else we run out of anyway to feed ourselves on the boat. We do have two tanks at least, both in a sealed locker so if there is a leak then the propane will be shunted to the outside. Add to that a trip to Walmart for fresh veggies and we're set.

I don't understand why Bridge is not more popular. It's a great card game that requires a lot of thought both in bidding and in the play of the cards. If you can play Bridge then you can play any card game with the possible exception of Poker which is a whole other thing. So we played all afternoon with Don and Liz Bunch, great fun with a dinner out in the evening.

A closing sunset

In short, we're relaxing before continuing the trip north on Friday morning. The storms gave us the day off but they're predicted to resume their attack on Thursday. This has been the worse trip south and north in six years as far as the weather is concerned. We always seem to be waiting for weather unless you wanted to travel in driving rain with the occasional lightening in the skies. For us we prefer calmer weather, we're in no rush to get north although we would like to get home by the end of May.

Washington, NC - at a Pamlico Plantation guest dock, servere storms

The Pamlico Plantation, pretty area

We watched the radar closely this morning as the storms whizzed back with lightening and thunder. At last we saw an opening at 11:30 and headed out in a drizzle. We managed to miss all the storms, at least in the afternoon. We arrived at the Pamlico Plantation where Don and Liz Bunch have a condo and a guest dock available, great!

Wonderderful dinner!

Liz prepared dinner and then we played bridge for an hour or so. We hadn't played for several years and it showed. During the game we heard thunder and discovered we were in a severe thunderstorm. We pulled up radar and found a 5 minute opening in the rain, hail (yes!) and lightening, running to the boat and ducking in just as the rest of the storm hit.

The storms are due to abate over the next few days, at least that's the prediction. We'll stay for three days to visit before moving on north.

RE Mayo Seafood and Dock - Stocking up

A sailboat came by, stopped and turned around to the docks. They were concerned about clearing the  bridge since it had no height boards. Later on they relented and successfully made it under. Doesn't look like it from the photo.

We had intended just reaching RE Mayo today but once we got underway and making such good time at 7.9 kts with the tide and a west wind, we decided to skip RE Mayo and just head for the Bunches, our friends from the Poughkeepsie YC that have a condo in Washington, NC. We arrived at RE Mayo in good cheer around 11:30 but then saw one of the huge shrimp boats parked at the fuel dock. He was taking on 4000 gallons of diesel and they only had one pump. With that it was wait time since we required fuel to reach Washington.

Hey, I need some ice. They keep a LOT on hand for the shrimp boats!

The first report was for another 1/2 hour but that came and went and the final total wait time was almost three hours! That killed any chance of going beyond where we were at. Consequently, we are spending the night on the docks but we did stock up on local scallops and shrimp and the dockage was only $0.40/ft with free electricity. Now that might sound like a bargain but then you've got to see the docks. They are obviously sturdy since they dock 90 ft shrimp boats but they are kind of patched and sort of raw. We found the one 30 amp outlet on the guest docks and tied up for the night. We used lots of fenders and lines, we're secure.

Note the docks, some piling broken off, some not and patched docks

Ann picked up three packages of shrimp and two of scallops, one of which we had tonight. The evening thunderstorms are all around us but so far none have hit us, I'm sure that will change later on but so far, so good. The problem is Tuesday. Thunderstorms are predicted in every hour of the forecast. We'll just watch the weather radar to see if there's a four hour window for us to reach the Bunches, if not we'll stay another day.

Cedar Creek - at anchor

Note the location of the fenders and the line leading from the bow to the dock.

We have a technique we use to get off a dock when there's wind or current pushing us into the dock. It will work especially well when there's boats close behind or ahead of us (no room to go forward or backwards). It consists of leading a line from the forward cleat to a cleat farther aft on the dock and placing fenders between the bow and the dock. Ann will then put the boat in forward and turn the wheel into the dock. This action causes the bow to push into the dock and the aft end to swing out away from the dock. When it's at a 45 degree angle, Ann puts the engine in reverse and I let go of the forward line. The boat then backs out away from the dock and we're clear of all other boats. It always works and we've used it dozens of times. Anyone cruising the ICW should know this technique.

I thought I would mention this since I was asked about my anchor in a posted comment. The bow on photo shows the fenders arranged for the technique mentioned and the 66 lb Spade anchor we have. Spade started the revolution of the new generation of anchors designed with a concave dish to "cup the bottom" instead of plowing it. The design provides quicker setting and a more powerful resistance to dragging. Since the Spade was introduced, two other anchors have been released: the Rocna and Manson Supreme which also feature the "cupping action" when set. All three are excellent anchors for all conditions on the ICW.  If you buy one of these new generation anchors, I would recommend buying one two sizes larger than recommended. It will almost never be needed but when you find yourself in a less than ideal anchorage with a severe storm coming, it's comforting to know that you're in good hands with an anchor rated for much worse conditions. To see a test of the Spade vs the Manson, click here. There are also numerous anchor tests where Spade comes out on top or near the top of the ratings. The pointed end of the Spade seems to provide a pivot point in reversing current situations typical of inlet anchorages. We've never had it pull out when the tide changes direction, even in 2 kts of current.

Not sure what this is  but it looks impressive

We took today casually and left around 8:30. Along the way to Cedar Creek we passed through Morehead City and saw two huge Navy ships, one was a destroyer and another was one I didn't recognize, it had lots of radar capability on board. The destroyer was all decked out with crew standing on board as they left the harbor.

Hoolie likes areas like this, a sandy beach nearby the anchored boat

It was a late departure for us but we still made our Cedar Creek anchorage by 4:00 pm. We are one of only two boats here. I don't know why it's not more popular. It has room for an armada and the holding is excellent. The depths are between 6 and 7 ft and there's very little tide, less than a foot and no current. It's very peaceful.

There's a shrimp boat dock farther in the cove

On Monday we're headed for RE Mayo to refuel and stock up on seafood, mainly local shrimp and scallops. The price is not bad either at $0.30/ft. There are no amenities, it is not a marina, just a working dock that rents out spare space to cruisers. You'll likely be on your own coming in, be prepared to fend for yourself. You may or may not have electric service. We like the place for the fresh seafood although it is flash frozen on the boat before returning to home port. We always stock up here for the trip north.