Pungo River, on Anchor

The crew of Alleluia got an early start this morning, per the advice of fellow travelers who said we'd get a leg up on a 'sloppy' Albemarle Sound if we left early. The biggest challenge was threading through crab pots. For some reason, crabbers spread floats all over the place and they're often black or brown and blend into the water If we were to run over one, the line could wrap around the prop and this would mean one of us would have to dive down under and cut the line away. Probably me. Maybe Pat.

We powered through the Sound, Alligator River then into another section of the ICW for a total of 11.6 hours all under power. Sailors don't like that. But when you head straight into the wind, that's what you do. Motor.

There's a cruisers Waterway Guide that is an essential travel primmer for voyages like this. We were quite nervous approaching the Wilkinson Bridge at the entrance of the Pungo River and had read the warning that it had a 64' clearance and we have a 63' mast with a radio antenna on top. The guide said to be careful when the water level was high, which it is, so Cap'n Pat slowed Alleluia to a crawl and we eased through holding our breath. It appeared as though the antenna brushed the under-girding of the bridge, but atleast we didn't get anything damaged. I learned something today. Had we gotten into serious trouble we could have loosened the boom, pulled to one side and put crew members on top (where are Midshipmen when you need them?) and that would have tipped the boat just enough to squeak on through. Fortunately, this was not needed! Whew.

We are safely ensconced in a beautiful anchorage, although there was a tad bit of drama. We were hailed by an anchored boat asking us if we'd rescue the boat owner who had been missing for some time. He'd taken his dog to land and hadn't returned. We spotted the guy and dog in a dinghy quite aways from his boat. He couldn't get his outboard started and was extremely relieved to have us come to his aid.

There is an eerie looking rig anchored here with what appears to be a woman living aboard. I would love to know her story. Take a look at her picture below.

Tomorrow we press on to Oriental for what we hope will be a relaxing day. We'll refuel. Fill the water tanks. And we'll head out on the Atlantic on Thursday.