Off, on, and off the ICW

My friend Dave Wyman is still along with Riggs and I as we wander the waters of eastern North Carolina. At last report we were in pretty Edenton, about 40 miles west of the ICW. We used their pump-out station Monday morning (Dave is studying different pump-out ideas as he will be helping Castine decide how to best provide this service) and left for a 3 hour cruise to Columbia, a very small town located on the south shore of Abermarle Sound. We tied to their free dock which has a nearbybath-house with hot shower. At the adjacent municipal building I signed the visitor book and noted that the previous entry was almost a month old. We are off the beaten path.

Amazingly, Columbia has a winery, which sells a red it calls the 'healthiest wine in the world' because its made from a special grape that has 40 times the antioxidants of regular grapes. I tasted some and decided I'd rather oxidize.

On Tuesday morning we walked an incredible boardwalk that takes you into the cypress swampland that dominates this area. We were sure glad it wasn't mosquito season. Then Spray took us back into Abermarle Sound where we wanted to head east to reconnect with the ICW at the Alligator River. We traveled an extra hour to get there as we had to swing way offshore to skirt a posted military bombing range (don't want to short-cut through there). It was a gray day and as we started south on the Alligator we began losing daylight so we pulled into an inlet at a place called Catfish Point. Very tricky to enter between submerged trees and very isolated in the cypress swamp (no lights, no cell-phone signal, and probably no other people for 20 miles), we used our anchor for the first time in NC. Since the swamp had no solid ground to dinghy to, Riggs had to have an Astroturf night, his first since NJ. He knew just what to do and did it. What a good boat-dog!

Did I say earlier that we were post-mosquitoes? Not here we weren't. We had to batten down the hatches to keep them out. Wednesday morning we got going early. In these protected waters we can cook oatmeal while underway. We continued south on the Alligator River, encountering a tugboat pushing a barge (see above). This rig is called a towboat - go figure. Note that the barge is loaded and so is low in the water, drawing maybe 10 feet while the channel depth is only dredged to 12 feet (sometimes its less) so we understood why the towboat traveled slowly. Dave guesses its hauling coal from near Charleston SC up to some power plant in NC or VA.

From the Alligator River we entered the Alligator-Pungo Canal, which is about 20 miles long and connects the Alligator and Pungo Rivers (duh). It travels through mostly swampland and looks somewhat like the Dismal Swamp Canal, except it is maybe 3 times wider so it can handle towboats, and it has no locks. At our stately 7 knot speed Spray makes a very small wake, as compared to a large planing motoryacht that came up from behind at 20 knots, slowed while it passed, then roared ahead, sending 3 foot waves rolling out into the swamp. Even Riggs was not impressed.

Five miles after exiting the A-P Canal, we reached Bel Haven NC, anchored off a boat ramp, and dinghied ashore (first use of dinghy in NC) to explore. Bel Haven is having tough times, with half the downtown storefronts empty. We later hear that its been this way for years. We did have a nice dinner there. Crabcakes...mmmmm.

Today (Thanksgiving Day) we went south down the Pungo River to where it meets huge Pamlico Sound. Here the ICW continues south but here we again diverted west, 33 miles up the Pamlico River to the large town of Washington NC. This is a beautiful, prosperous looking town that is the seat of Beaufort County and has a huge riverfront bulkhead and park where we tied up for free docking (of course). As its Thanksgiving everything was closed, except for a nearby Mexican bakery (yum), and the fact that the dockmaster was on duty. The downtown is very nice, with some buildings painted in pastel colors. Should make some cool photos.

Today was warm, sunny, and calm. Really beautiful. After exploring downtown we snacked on Mexican pastries, then Dave went to use the hot showers while I played chuckit with Riggs. Many families were walking down the riverfront promenade, holding their bellies and groaning from being so stuffed, and most laughed at Riggs as he zipped after his tennis ball. As the sun went down I started cooking our Thanksgiving feast. One of my 'one-pot-wonders' where potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and broccoli are all sauteed in olive oil in one pan. Its mostly root vegetables, as are traditional Thanksgiving sides, so except for lacking a big dead bird it was close to the real thing. We liked it, and clean-up was easy!

For tomorrow, plan A is to head back east to the town of Bath NC, but there is a gale warning posted, so we may hang here in Washington for another day. Not a bad place to hang.