We have a longer day today as we plan to travel to the north side of Alligator River and stop at an anchorage. We’re up early and head out toward the Neuse River for a day of open water passages that are seem more familiar. We are used to open water heing we travel on the Great Lakes so much. The Neuse is as calm as it could be as we head north toward Pungo River. There are many more sailboats and trawlers making their way north. Through The Pungo River and onto the Pungo Canal we can move at full speed.
The day is another hot, sunny one with a chance of a thunderstorm later in the afternoon. The vastness of this area is apparent as there are little to no homes, boathouse or structures in the water. The water is a caramel colour as well. The colour is due to the tannins produced by the rotting vegetation. It doesn’t harm you and the colour is simply unusual. It is still very clean but you don’t swim here as the alligators are present. It does feel like Northern Ontario as we travel through this area.
Alligator River is another vast open span of water. It travels north/south and resembles the outline of a gator. The water is so calm right now that a ripple is barely visible. Traveling is so easy. We stop in at the Alligator River Marina for a quick diesel fill as we will be traveling another long day tomorrow through vast open waters. We recommend this marina if you need a stop for the night. It is sheltered from all sides.
As we find our anchorage at the north of Alligator River the winds are getting stronger. We know this is normal here as the sun warms the air. It usually dies down at night and stays light until morning. The temps are higher than usual at this time of year so the wind is welcome. It isn’t really protected from the winds but our anchor is strong and the chop is light.
We start to see clouds forming and the winds are falling. The lightening and thunder is in the distance. It passes by us and heads out to sea. I wonder if we’ll see some rain yet. We open a bevy and watch the storm with tarps half up, ready for the rain to fall.
