Location: Pungo River, NC
Location: N35 33.513 W076 28.050
Today has been quite varied. First, we knew for sure we had left the Chesapeake when we raised the anchor this morning and the entire chain was not covered in black, smelly muck! What a nice change.
We spent yesterday at anchor because of the high winds but today we decided to go for it. We got up at 6am for an early start at 7am, left the anchorage and crossed the Albemarle sound in about 15 knots of wind. The Albemarle is very shallow and, when the wind is up, large, steep, frequent, and potentially dangerous waves are created. We motor-sailed and did pretty well until we were almost across the Sound. The wind (and waves!) picked up quite a bit but we managed to bounce and weave and splash our way out of the Albemarle and into the entrance to the Alligator River. And to make what was becoming a good day better, the Rt. 64 bridge tender saw us coming and held the opening for us. With a "Pick it up and bring it on, Captain" from the tender we coursed through the bridge and made our way into the Alligator River.
Out with the Genoa (the big headsail) and a nice downwind run up the Alligator. After a few gybes the shore began to close in and we came to the next portion of the trip - the entrance of the Alligator River-Pungo River Canal. This was actually a welcome relief by now; the canal is only a hundred or so feet wide and is really protected - quite different from the somewhat blustery start of the day. We relaxed, motored, and saw kingfishers, turkey vultures, lovely marsh grasses, cypress, and the ride was (thankfully) much less exciting. It was a
chilly day but the light following wind and warm sun made it quite tolerable.
9 hours and almost 66 statute miles later we are now anchored in the Pungo River just south of the end of the canal. Following a tasty dinner, a glass of wine, and some romantic music we are contented and ready for another long day tomorrow. The kerosene lamp creates just enough heat to keep the cabin comfortable . We'll turn it off soon and crawl under the quilts while the
temperature drops to the mid-30s outside. In the morning we'll leap out of bed, light the burner under the coffee, relight the lantern, and start the oven to bake some breakfast muffins and heat the cabin. Then it's off to the Neuse River and Oriental, NC.
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Mark & Julie share the email "Khronicles" sent to family and friends from aboard "Rachel", their Tayana 37 sailboat, from "Timmy" their 1987 Toyota Escaper micro mini motorhome, from "Rachel", their 1995 Gemini 105M catamaran, from their 2007 Winnebago View motorhome "No Sails" from their never-named Rockwood 18' travel trailer, and from their as-yet-unnamed 1998 Fleetwood Tioga motorhome.
