Aunt Aggie's Adventures: Alligator River, NC

We left Belhaven Marina at 7:35 am, early for us, hoping to catch calm winds on our big day. We traveled 54 miles. First we did a 9 mile stretch on the end of the Pongo River. Then we were in the Pongo-Alligator Canal for over two hours. We had a couple of exciting moments in there. We were passed by a large barge.

It was tight in the canal, but the barge passed easily.

A little later we were confused about the location of shoaling, and we briefly ran aground. We went way too far to the right, expecting shoaling on the port side. As we got more and more shallow, we overcorrected the wrong way. At the time we were also talking to friends from home, and that probably didn't help our decision making. For about five minutes we were stuck. Oh, no! Then George shifted into reverse and gunned the engine. We backed into the center of the canal. What a relief to see 8 feet of water. Yahoo! We finished that stretch without any more drama.

The last section of the day was the Alligator River. We spent a bit over two hours in bumpy water, moving north. The wind was picking up as it does every afternoon. There were crab pots and waves. At least it was sunny. George did a great job keeping us headed for the Alligator Swing Bridge. The bridge tender was a nice guy and opened for us without making us wait too long. We were done for the day.

Now we are at Alligator River Marina, which is behind a Shell Station. In the station they have a grill, and Ms. Wanda cooks breakfast and fast food. We are going over for breakfast (biscuits) tomorrow for sure. We will soon be enjoying happy hour in the lounge with friends from four other looper boats.

There was nothing to photograph today, so here are some photos of my grandchildren.