Coinjock to Alligator River Marina, NC

Today:      38 miles.     6.0 hours            ICW St M “84.2”

Total:     266 miles    45.0 hours

     As predicted, it rained heavily last night.

     At 7 am we heard the footsteps as Preston and Janette headed to the bath house. However, at 7:15 we heard loud, rapid footsteps. Pete went up to investigate.  Will rushed aboard to help Jay, on SV BRIDGES. As Jay was preparing to leave, a line let loose too soon, and BRIDGES T-boned across the bow of the boat we were rafted to.  No one was hurt, but one of SV BRIDGES’ stay was damaged.

     We departed 7:55. The current strong, but Pete made it look easy to leave the dock; no excitement. The temperature was in the fifties, but with all the humidity and wind, it was very raw. The skies were heavy with clouds for most of the day. Since Will was about 30 minutes ahead of us, he reported back that the winds on Albemarle Sound were WSW 30 knots with waves 3-8 feet. At times we were only doing 3.4 mph into the waves. Even large power boats had problems. Since Bailey was stressing, we had to give her Benadryl. Thankfully, it helped after about 30 minutes.

Alligator River Marina

     We actually saw some sun as we were approaching the Alligator River Marina around 3. We followed Bob 423’s tracks into the marina.  We were surprised to find a crab float in the middle of the entrance. 

The gas station is on the left!

     After being given our slip assignment, we rigged for port-side tie.  With the half finger piers, we couldn’t back into the slip due to winds. I had to reset the lines, so we could bow in.  We were concerned, but was still able to get Bailey off on the partial pier.

      While we were traveling, I noticed that the lines that are supposed to wrap around the jib had loosened. I tried to tighten them while underway, without much success.  Once we were secured, Pete went to settled the bill while I tightened all the lines.  When wet, the new lines stretch.  We never realized that when John commissioned our boat, he used lines meant for racing instead of cruising.  We are surprised at the difference between the two lines.  Had we known, we would have definitely spent the extra money on the racing lines.

     After Pete settled the bill, he stopped to talk to the couple who sailed from Hawaii. They went through the Panama Canal and up into the Chesapeake and are now making their way back to Florida for the winter.  They were the ones who snagged the crab trap and dragged it across the Sound only to have it drop off right in the fairway.  They took their dinghy to retrieve it.
    We had ready posts by a number of people that this is a gas station with a marina attached.  It is so true!

The storm has passed and this is the beauty left behind!

      With the day so raw, chili was perfect for dinner with new Honey Butter Grands. Ummmm! After dinner, Pete updated the apps on his phone as well as the Aqua Maps for Navionics.  I was able to about 8 days for the blog.  I finally quit around Midnight as we have an early start in the morning.I was hoping to finish the blog entries as the Wi-Fi here is one of the best we have encountered.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~      K & P