Alligator River to Adams Creek

Saturday, 24 October, 2015

This morning we began a little before sunrise, hoping to get in front of the slower moving sailboats for the trip down the Aliigator/Pungo River Canal.  When I started in the canal, I had a trawler, and more sailboat masts than I could count behind me.  

It was REALLY nice being first in the line, enjoying the reflections on the water, and the mist rising up in the early morning!

I let the boats behind me know when I passed a few deer.  The first ones I didn't get a photo of, but, you can tell by this "deer butt" photo that they could care less about the passing boats!  I don't think she even looked at us!

We continued out the Pungo River, and at some point during the day decided to cover as much ground as possible today, to put me in a position to drive to my Dad's later this week.

We crossed the Pamllico River, with the wind on our stern, and Goose Creek and its canal, and across the Neuse River, still with the NE wind on our stern, into Adams Creek.  We would not have had such an easy day had the wind not been on our stern.

I anchored in Cedar Creek, between a trawler and a sailboat, both anchored on chain, expecting the winds to change during the night.  The sailboater, Luna Sea, was alarmed at our proximity, and I moved, rather than having someone on their vessel lose sleep at night.  

I go through quite anchoring ritual.  I make a full circle of the area I want to place my anchor, looking at depth AND bottom composition.  OK, sometimes, I make a couple of circles.  Then, I drop the hook in the middle of the circle, setting the waypoint for my anchor alarm.  I let out some scope, until the vessel begins to lay with the current or the wind, and then let out however much I desire.  Then, I put a bridle hook on, let the chain out until the strain is on the bridle, and back down on the engine.  I won't say that I have NEVER drug anchor, but in the THOUSANDS of nights I've anchored, I certainly wasn't worried about my proximity to the sailboat, which, by the way, I had stayed clear of if HIS anchor had drug down on me when the wind changed.  Oh well.

We anchored right below Cedar Creek, on the east side of the channel, and enjoying a gorgeous evening.