We left New Bern on July 5 and cruised 75 miles to Belhaven, North Carolina. Belhaven is a very small town along the Pantego Creek, which is off of the Pungo River. We spent 2 nights at the Belhaven Waterway Marina and there were only 2 boats there! Apparently, this is their slow season as most of the Looper boats are already in Canada if they are doing the Loop in one year. The marina itself was quite nice with very clean washrooms and showers and free laundry. Bath towels were even provided so we didn't have to take our towels back to the boat and dry them. We were able to dock along a face dock so it was easy in / easy out! The first night we were there, a major thunderstorm came through with lots of wind and some rain.
On our second day at the Belhaven Waterway Marina, we took a walk in the early morning before the heat and humidity set in. We were glad to have air conditioning on our boat!
We left Belhaven today, July 7, and traveled north up the Pungo River, the Pungo River/Alligator River Canal, and the Alligator River. It was a beautiful, hot day on the water. While we were cruising the canal, we went out on the bow of Tug LeeLoo and the captain used his auto pilot wireless remote to steer. It was fun, but hot on the bow of the boat!
Tonight we are at the Alligator River Marina, a very small marina with a Shell Gas Station as the marina office. It's an interesting place . . . we cruised all day and barely saw any wildlife at all. Here we are seeing dragon flys and hummingbirds! A big dragonfly even landed on Captain Carey!
Tomorrow morning we will cross Albemarle Sound, a large body of water that can be very rough if the wind and the tides are opposed to each other. We are headed to the Great Dismal Swamp, which is just south of Norfolk, VA. The Dismal Swamp was first surveyed by and partially owned George Washington back in the 1700's. It will be slow going because it is only 6 feet deep, so you have to go slowly, and it is full of floating deadheads. But everyone says not to miss it! We will let you know what we think after we've cruised through it. We should be Norfolk, the gateway to the Chesapeake Bay, by Sunday!
We lived on the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp - I just remember that Susan didn't like the snakes in the street, and there were a lot of bugs. Hope you have a great trip through!
ReplyDelete