Thursday, October 8, 2009

We left Beaufort at about 10:00 a.m., crossed the Newport River and soon were in Adams Creek heading for the Neuse River.  The skys were clear and the winds light.  On the Neuse River we passed a tug and barge heading down the ICW.

The Neuse River can be a rough body of water when the winds are out of the northwest or southeast.  Today it was smooth and we made the 25 or so miles out into the Pamlico Sound and up the Bay River quickly.  Once there, we took the Goose Creek cut to the Pamlico River.  This creek is one of my favorites and I have attached several pictures which can not do justice to the natural beauty of this area.

Hobucken lies about midway between the Bay and the Pamlico Rivers and still has a working shrimp industry.

After crossing the Pamlico River, our course took us up the Pungo River, past Belhaven and through the Pungo-Alligator River Canal.  We anchored for the night at the foot of the Alligator River.  You can not get further from civilization.  Here is the sunset we enjoyed over the "usuals".

Friday October 9, 2009

Today was cruising up the Alligator River and across the Albemarle Sound.  The sound can be a tricky and dangerous passage under conditions of high winds.  The winds today were in the range of 15 - 20 knots from the south.  Fortunately we were going the same direction as the waves and it was not too rough (I think Katy would disagree).  It was a beautiful day, just a bit breezy.

After moving through the Alligator River bidge, we stopped at the Alligator River Marina for fuel and took on 230 gallons.  Then back into the waves for the big crossing.  At times, we were able to make about 16 knots across the 20 mile wide sound and crossed in about 2 hours.

We were glad to see the North River entrance buoy and were soon in calmer waters.  We had never been up the North River and were captivated by the natural beauty that surrounded us.

We had called ahead to the Coinjock Marina and had reservations.  About 4 o'clock we had the marina in sight and were soon tying up.  Katy gave me a hair cut (we couldn't remember when the last time she cut my hair, but it had certainly been several weeks).

While on the back of the boat, we saw a jet ski come by with what looked like two individuals on it.  When they got closer, we could see that it was a man and his dog.

He told us that he has another dog and they both love to ride the jetski.  Sure enough, before long he comes by again with what appeared to be a twin of the first dog.

We had also made reservations for the Coinjock Marina restaurant, famous amoung cruising circles for their seafood and 32 ounce prime rib.  While we didn't tackle the 32 ounce prime rib, we can certainly vouch for their excellent seafood.  It was good that we had reservations as this little place out in the middle of nowhere was full of diners.