Pungo River - Day 6

Fog!

An early morning exit from Coinjock before sunrise and there we were in a fog bank just south of the bridge. A fine fellow announced on the radio that the fog cleared after his leaving the canal. And he was right. See pix of fog.

The North Landing River winds its way south through the marshes for 20 miles before it empties into the Albemarle Sound. Some of you may recall that the Albemarle is a notoriously nasty body of water due to its shallow depth. The dredged channel of 9-12 ft is bounded by 2-4 ft of shoals. You don't wander from the channel. Today we experienced the nicest day on the Sound of all our passages. Light breeze and blue skies made for a perfect morning.

The run out of Coinjock sees many radio calls for speedy powerboats to slow when passing sailboats. The conversations get entertaining requiring the Coast Guard to periodically step in and remind folks that Channel 16 is for hailing and emergency calls only. The powerboats are heading to run the Sounds just inside the outer banks and have to put up with the sailboats and trawlers who enjoy the scenery for these 10 miles.

After the two hour crossing of the Sound, we entered the twisting shoals at the mouth of the Alligator River and raced for the swing bridge that links the mainland and the outer banks of NC. We had to wait only 5 minutes before the tender opened the span and we headed south on the 20 mile run up the Alligator. Our last crossing was rough, but this perfect day continued with a great BBQ sandwich for lunch. A few turns to west and we enter the 24 mile long Alligator - Pungo Canal, a series of long straight shots built by the Army Core. This canal is boardered by stumps and a few rustic homes.

At 15:30 we slowly cleared the dreaded Wilkerson Bridge (only 64 ft clearance) and turned north off the Waterway up the Pungo River. The hook hit bottom at 16:00 and we spoke with the kids and our friend George who had just made it to Charleston from Rock Hall with his crew.

Data: 06:45 to 16:00. 930 engine hours. 78 statute miles (71 kmiles).