And Back to the Chesapeake – Day 29

So boys and girls what is the word for today?  Can you say W-I-N-D?  It never lets up!  After spending the night in a great anchorage, with no cell service, no internet and no light, we were completely off the grid.  Lying in bed this morning you could hear the water lapping hard against the boat.  That was the first sign there was some wind building out there.  Today was supposed to be about 55 miles, relatively easy compared to the last several days, so there was no urgency to get started early.  As it was we had the anchor up at 8:00 and were on our way.  With the wind blowing right in your face at probably 20+ mph, and a little chill in the air we decided we could operate from down below.  So downstairs we went.  We made our way up the Pungo River as the wind continued to get a little stronger.  If you have ever observed a body of water with strong winds blowing parallel to the flow of the water, you will see lines of foam in line with the wind.  You will also see white caps, or if the body of water is large enough, waves.  Well, there were waves and long lines of foam on the water. 

Eventually we left the Pungo River and entered the Alligator – Pungo Canal which connects the Pungo River with the Alligator River.  Along the canal, the wind was beam to, so we weren’t heading directly into it anymore.  But, you could see and feel the boat heel a little like a sailboat from the wind pushing on the superstructure.  The only other thing that was annoying was the current.  We fought the current which slowed us down, but I knew eventually we would reach a point where the current would be in our favor and give us a push.  So you just deal with it.  There is absolutely nothing, I mean nothing, no cell, no 4G, no way to communicate along this canal except with smoke signals, and nothing to see but trees, stumps, and grasses as far as you can see.  I asked Jan if she was hearing banjos yet.  She said she didn’t hear them playing, but she thought she heard them tuning up.  20 miles of nothing, that is the Alligator – Pungo Canal.  I have anchored at the northern end a couple of time, and you are completely, totally isolated from the rest of the world.  If you want peaceful and alone, this is the place.

Eventually we made it to the Alligator River and turned back into the wind, in big water.  By this time the wind had picked up a little bit and we were bashing our way along getting sprayed on.  What’s a day without some spray over the bow all over the windows?  It’s old hat by now, almost child’s play at this point.  Some bridges won’t open if winds are over 25 or sometimes 35 mph.  So as we were heading up the Alligator River I called the Alligator River Bridge on the radio when we were about 10 miles out to make sure they we still operating.  The bridge tender assured me they were.  We were going to stay tonight at the Alligator River Marina which is just on the north side of the bridge.  The woman told me they were closing the store at 2:00 since it wasn’t high season yet and I was on my own docking, and maybe some other boater might give me a hand.  Well thank you ma’am for all your help.  We decided to check it out and see how hard it might be parking this monster in 20+ mph winds there.  I hate trying to gently bring this to a fixed object like a dock, gently, in high winds.  It’s almost impossible to do unless you are nose to the wind.  Then you might have some control.   After we cleared the bridge we turned into the marina to check it out.  It was 2:40, so no one was around.  The best alternative was nose in to the slip, that way you were facing pretty close to the wind.  But, the finger piers were short, and the shoreline was rock, so you were trying to dock on a short pier, and stop short of the rocks with no help to grab lines.  I don’t think I saw any cleats on the dock to you were tying to pilings.  The outer pilings were sitting alone with no means to get to them, so you had to lasso them on the way in from the boat.  The whole thing looked pretty difficult under the circumstances.  So we made a U-turn and left.  We did find an anchorage not too far away that is somewhat protected from the wind which has subsided somewhat, so we dropped anchor and settled in for the night.  I can hear the water lapping loudly against the hull as I write this.  So there is still wind, not nearly as strong, but we are secure.  I loves me some Rocna!

Tomorrow is on to Coinjock.  The weather looks like we might get some storms Friday, so we might have to layover for a day there.  We’ll have to see what it looks like tomorrow.

So boys and girls, until then……

P.S. Hi Tyler