Day 6

Here we sit in an isolated anchorage off the Alligator River with no cell service or data or internet.  In other words we are isolated.  I will tell you, the night is clear and the stars are just sensational.  I’m not sure I have seen anything as breathtaking.  It looks like some pictures you see with so many stars they almost look like smoke in the distance.  Bright, clear and sparkling.  You almost can’t see your hand in front of your face it is so dark, no light pollution to spoil the scene.  Just wow!!

The last time I was here with my friend Rousby  2- 1/2 years ago, it was a mosquito feeding frenzy!  There were clouds of them just hovering around us since we sprayed ourselves liberally with OFF.  This time, no mosquitos.  Yay!

Well the day started by getting out of bed to a balmy 31 degrees.  That’s right, below freezing.  Rick and I each took a small portable electric heater into our staterooms since we were hooked up to shore power we were able to use them and stay very comfortable.  But, when we opened the door and came up to the salon, … well let’s just say it was darned cold.  I had a sweatshirt and a jacket on while we made tea/coffee.  It was so cold there was condensation on the inside of the windshield.  I turned on the big AC/heat units and got things warmed up while we wiped the condensation off the windshield so we could see.  We decided we would operate from the lower helm station out of the wind and cold.  After we disconnected from the shore power I fired up the generator so we would continue to have heat until the sun warmed up the salon.  Took about an hour or so then it was comfortable.

Everything went well until we reached the Albemarle Sound.  My expectations were rewarded.  It was blowing stink and we were getting slammed.  There were times the bow went up over a wave and all I could see was sky.  Then the bow came down and the windshield got sprayed like it was going through a car wash.  Then there was the rolling from side to side.  Things inside were falling over, falling off shelves, cabinets came opened and some items fell out on the floor, glassware in the galley was falling over and rolling together inside the cabinets, and on and on.  This went on for about two and a half hours until we made it to the Alligator River and things calmed down.  A very interesting ride to say the least.  The rest of the day was much less exciting, thank goodness. 

It should be another very cold night tonight, but without the use of the portable heaters or the big AC/heat units. I don’t like running the generator at night when we are sleeping, so I guess I will be sleeping in sweat shirt and pants under a couple blankets.  Probably see my breath when I wake up.

Tomorrow should be a short day, heading for Belhaven about 30 miles or so.  We will probably take on fuel there although I think we could make Morehead City, but why push the envelope if you don’t have to.

Today we traveled 59.5 miles for a total of approximately 306 miles so far.  Today’s trip took 7hrs. 24mins.

Until tomorrow.

Our anchorage, very peaceful