Sunday Oct. 19, 2025 Alligator River to Pungo Creek Anchorage 58 miles and 6.3 hours
We had a good night's rest at anchor here. Would definitely use this anchorage again for any winds with a southerly component. Anchor held well. Came up with some mud but not bad. Only drawback here is we woke up to a boat covered in midges. We also call them blind mosquitos. Have a body shape similar to mosquitos, but don't bite. They like to congregate on parts of the boat out of the wind. Wiping them off only makes a bigger mess as they smear and stain. We've learned the best method to get rid of them is with a battery powered leaf blower and we carry one for just such occasions. A quick five minutes of blowing and most of them are gone. Relatively short day running to Pungo River and the Belhaven area. Finally on our way a bit after 9. Heading onto the Alligator River we meet up with two other boats headed south toward the swing bridge. Bridgetender sees us all coming and has the bridge open for an easy pass through. Good to see that construction work has started for the new bridge. This swing bridge has been outdated for a while. Has mechanical issues that oftentimes keeps it from opening, plus it won't open if there are strong winds. New bridge will be a high-rise so no more delays when it's finished.
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| Dropping in line behind Figment. Have seen a lot of nice bigger boats this trip |
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| Bringing up the rear as we head through Alligator River Swing Bridge. Construction barges are putting in the pilings for the new bridge |
Much of this water is relatively shallow so we're just following our route line and trying to stay mid channel. Out the Alligator and then through the very long and very straight Alligator-Pungo canal. Not much to see but woods on either side. Traffic is minimal although we do get waked by a few fast boats in a hurry to get south. Most are courteous and radio us to arrange a slow pass. Of course, there's always those few with complete disregard who simply blow by us unannounced.
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| Long straight stretch of the Alligator-Pungo canal. Looks wide but stumps line both shorelines. |
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| These waters have a lot of tannins from the trees. The moustache stain on our bow is getting darker and more pronounced after 2 years of traveling |
Out onto the Pungo River. A bit more open than the canal but still shallow. We bypass Belhaven and head for Pungo Creek to anchor. Used this area before but we need a different location today. Winds have been picking up all day from the SW. Will be gusting into the 20's until 1-2AM when a front passes. Then strong winds from the NW gusting into the 30's until morning. Our anchorage provides good protection from the SW but once the wind changes direction we'll feel the full effects. True to the forecast at midnight we hear the bimini top start flapping and the supports rattling. A sure sign winds are over 20mph. Get up several times to check the anchor alarm and it shows we have swung significantly with the winds, but are doing good holding position. Not the most restful night with the wind howling, bimini rattling and waves slapping the hull, but by morning things settling down a bit. I guess the positive of all that wind - no midges here overnight.
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| A little color in the evening sky before the winds did a 180 and gained strength |
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| Journey for Oct. 19, 2025 |























































