Pungo

 Trip

4/26- Belhaven to Deep Point anchorage ( Pungo canal and Alligator River )

    We backed out of our slip this morning like we knew what we were doing. The boat actually did what I expected it to do when we put it in reverse. The wind was blowing out of the northeast which was pretty much the way we were headed. It wasn’t too bad though and we were making 5.5 knots. We travelled up the Pungo canal which is a 20 mile long cut canal that mostly goes straight except for one turn in the middle. It traverses a huge wilderness area so there were very few houses. There is also no cell coverage so that is why I’m writing this now and will post it tomorrow. 

    When we got to the top of the canal the water was churning white with the wind. We crawled along until we got to the anchorage. There were already several boats here. The next real stop is 15 miles away which we could have made. The issue is that tonight the wind will change to the east which makes the next stop iffy. This way we can sit on our anchor for several hours before night time and we can be more confident in the holding. 

    As we get closer to the end of the ICW more and more boats are getting funneled into one set of routes. There is more competition for slips and anchor spots. Once we cross the Ablemarle Sound all the boats will have only the one track to follow. We have been playing hopscotch with many different boats over the past several days. Because we get up early but are slower we keep getting passed by the same boats over and over again. 

    The wind is calming down a bit now so hopefully it will be a nice night. Our North Carolina flag has taken a beating this past week as it flutters away up in the rigging. It reminds me of how strong the wind is. We have another long day tomorrow so till then…

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sailing

 5/20- Boby Owl Cove, Broad Creek, Choptank River    We finally got to go sailing today. We put up the main sail and cruised out of the Wye River where I ran out the stay sail. When we made the turn to head for the Eastern Bay the wind was on the nose. We short tacked a few times before putting the motor back on to bump us around the point. Once there all three sails were up and we romped down the bay until the wind collapsed.      We had a choice here, we could continue sailing slowly and go outside of Poplar Island or turn the motor on and take the short way. We chose the motor as the wind was dying. Poplar Island is being extended with spoils from dredging operations. This inside track is a bit winding but near the southern end it gets very shallow. You have to follow a winding cut that is unmarked.     After we squeaked through there it was just a long couple of hour haul to the anchorage. This is another sweet anchorage which is kind of ...
Read more

The adventure begins

 I am sitting here on my couch in Vermont trying to remember all the stuff I will need to do to get ready for this trip. We have about a week to go and I keep wandering around the house and seeing stuff I think might be handy. If I keep this up too long the boat will not float on her water line anymore. We are simply ready to go ( I hope).  If you are following along I hope I don't bore you too much and that you enjoy our tale. Talk to you soon.
Read more

Leaks

 5/14/2025- Rock Hall MD   Well it poured last night. It was the kind of rain that made me glad I was on a boat. It was a good way to test for leaks. Boats are always springing leaks usually right where you least want them.     Boat leaks are also notoriously hard to track down. I have a porthole that leaks and despite having sealed the outside with a whole tube of caulking it still leaks. Water will come from pretty far away to spill out in the worst places. It gets under the headliner and travels down the length of the boat. I swear it leaches uphill even. I have even gone so far as to dye the water to see if I could figure out where it was coming from.     Well this porthole of mine that has the notorious leak was in perfect form this morning. As the rain crashed down outside the leak magnified and dropped a deluge right on my face. It was almost like taking a quick morning shower. I decided to just get up when it filled my mouth up with water....
Read more