Alligator River, NC

We departed Elizabeth City, NC this am at 0900 hrs for the Alligator River 51 miles away. The day was spectacular at day break with the most beautiful sea smoke I have every seen. We had a strong Nor'easter off the NC coast that dumped SNOW on the northeast and chilly temps in NC. We awoke in a boat that was 40 degrees inside with a thin film of ice on the decks! WE NEED TO GET south ASAP! So I shot a few photos of the sunrise and the sea smoke as the yachts were leaving the city docks and then we had a wonderful sail south across Albemarle Sound in 18 knots NE winds. We killed the motor and actually sailed the entire way across the sound. We know that this could be the only sailing we could have until we reach the Florida Keys, so we set sail and enjoyed a beautiful day sail.

Tonight, we are anchored just before the Pungo Canal in Alligator River, where Radeen is on Alligator watch all night. We are keeping the alligators off the anchor chain as they are well known to climb up the anchor chain and pay a visit on your deck. Here is a photos to prove the point....

See, here is an Alligator trying to get onto the deck via the anchor chain!

Another GREAT day on the ICW as we press on south toward the Florida Keys! More photos and stories as we move into better internet access. Here, in Alligator River, Verizon has been sparse with the towers....we only have 1X speeds...