Oriental Anchorage to Belhaven Anchorage

We departed Belhaven with winds less than 10 and waves less than a foot.  We put out the genoa as soon as we were clear of the harbor channel and left it up almost the entire day.  We motor sailed down the Neuse River which is the over 275 miles long, entirely contained in North Carolina empties into Pamlico Sound.  It is one of the widest rivers in North America being 6 miles from shore to shore at its widest point.  It is a very beautiful river with very few homes on its banks along the ICW.

Barge on the Pungo River

Since the winds were so favorable and the waters so calm, we decided to continue on down the Neuse and enter Pamlico Sound instead of turning north at the Bay River and taking the ICW over to the Pamlico River.  The Pamlico Sound can be very unpleasant for boaters when the wind is up and creating large, steep waves.  The water on the Sound was so calm, we had to take pictures to prove it. Best of all, the winds clocked around all day and we were able to sail through the Sound, up the Pamlico River and a few miles into the Pungo River.  We will probably never have a better day on Pamlico Sound.

Calm Pamlico Sound

We started to encounter barges as soon as we entered the Pungo River.  Of course, we give them plenty of room to pass and stay in channel.  We will encounter more and more commercial traffic as we move north.

We entered Belhaven harbor at about 1600.  The harbor is protected from the wakes of passing barges by a long and unusual breakwater consisting of vertical and horizontal wood timbers with gaps between the horizontal timbers so a to let water pass through.  I guess the concept is that the horizontal timbers will dampen the effect of waves yet allow some water to pass through.  The end result is the harbor anchorage is still rolly albeit not as rolly as it might be without the breakwater.

We anchored in about 10 feet of water not far from the marina.  It started to rain within minutes of our getting the anchor down.  Once again, the wind, rain and waves kept us from joining Frank and Carol who were in a slip in the marina only a few hundred yards from us.  Instead of launching the dinghy, we stayed aboard and made our own dinner.