Dowry Creek to Alligator River; Tomorrow: Coinjock

Tuesday, May 4: At 6:45 a.m. we pulled the lines and cast off, leaving Oriental, NC, in light rain. We motored through the Neuse River, a larger body of water than we’ve seen in a while. There was no wind, so we pulled in the jib after giving it a try for a short time. We motored at 2800 rpms. SOG was 6.18 and SOG was 6.6 knots.

We arrived at Dowry Creek Marina in Belhaven around 1:45 p.m. Fuel was 11.9 gal. Dockage was $1.50 per foot, plus $4 for electric. After we settled in, Chuck lifted the dinghy onto the bow and deflated the pontoons to see if we could get more speed without the drag. I gave Jazzy a haircut.

It was my turn to cook: Shepherd’s Pie with a salad.





Wednesday, May 5: We were up at 5:45 a.m. and cast off at 6:40 a.m. It was to be another day with no wind at all. It was a foggy start, but by 8 a.m. the sun was out and the fog was long gone. Wayne saw six deer on the bank in the Alligator River-Pungo River Canal, but by the time Chuck realized what he was saying, we missed them.

The canal is 90 ft. wide and there’s stumps and debris, so you must stay in the center.

There were four sailboats and four trawlers in the canal. It was like going down the lazy river. The sun was hot, it was in the 80s. I took the wheel for a little while and I could have easily fallen asleep from the heat and relaxing ride. Of course, the trawlers are faster than us, so they passed us, one by one. We tried to motor sail around lunch time, but gave up because the wind was nowhere to be found.

We pulled into Miss Wanda’s Alligator River Marina, just past the bridge, around 1:45 p.m. We let the dogs play in the grass. There’s a nice, big lawn here where the dogs love to play.

Patti made dinner: baked ham, homemade mac and cheese and coleslaw. I LOVE her mac and cheese!

Tomorrow, we’re leaving Bum’s Rest for a few days…Sheet Music is going through the Virginia Cut to Coinjock. Bum’s Rest is going back through the Great Dismal Swamp and into Elizabeth City. We’ll meet up again in a few days, either at Little Creek or Norfolk.

Miss Wanda's Alligator River Marina