Mile 135 - Belhaven, NC

We are getting along well with the ICW. The days have a nice pace to them and the canals that you pass through are really beautiful. They have been sparsely  populated woodlands giving way to marshy grasslands. The brown green water of the bay has changed over to a dark tea brown from the cypress trees. So far the extra coat of wax we put on while stuck in Portsmouth has kept Serenity from developing the ICW smile (a wave shaped brown stain on the bow of most ICW cruisers).

 

This is different boating from our normal trips on the bay. Less sailing - although we have sailed some in the rivers and sounds that are connected by the canals.  The closeness of the shoreline is really nice. It makes up for the disturbing thrum of the engine running. We finished the Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal and spent a great night at anchor in the North Landing River were we are starting to live off the land to save on provisioning expenses.

 

We then crossed the dreaded Albemarle Sound (flat as a pancake when we crossed), went through the Alligator River Swing Bridge, down the Alligator River, and spent the night in a remote corner there.

 

Today we ran the Alligator River Pungo Canal. Most passing trawlers and mega yachts have been very courteous, calling on the radio or signaling on the horn for a slow pass that doesn't hit us with much of a wake. One in twenty or so are not interested in courtesy or try to pass through rather than around us. Keeps you on your toes.  Finished today in Belhaven NC at a nice little marina, Belhaven Waterway Marina, and had a nice diner. Sadly, hurricane flooding prevented us from seeing the button display at the old town hall.

 

135 down 1109 to go.