Alligator River Marina to Belhaven

November 9:  It was an easy day today. We covered the 45 miles down the Alligator River, through the Alligator River - Pungo River Canal and on to Belhaven in 7 hours. We cast off at 0700. Dwayne called the Alligator River Swing Bridge as we left the marina and it opened as soon as we arrived at the bridge. The channel was well marked and there was always plenty of water under us the entire way. River traffic was very light. Carla saw no alligators.

Annabelle - Built by John Trumpy & Sons, Inc. Annapolis, MD in 1955

The highlight of the day was sighting a Trumpy motor yacht, Annabelle out of Islesboro, Maine. She is really a beautiful boat with superbly maintained brightwork. Annabelle was built in 1955 by John Trumpy & Sons, Inc. in Annapolis, Maryland. She is 79 feet long and effortlessly glides through the water. Among the famous yachts built by John Trumpy & Sons is the former Presidental Yacht, USS Sequioa. Annabelle winters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

We anchored in Belhaven harbor for the evening. We have been here before and the holding is good. Winds were projected to be high through out the night and into the next day. A small craft warning was in effect when we went to bed. We didn't anticipate any problems. We decided to wait for better weather before moving further south.

November 10:  We slept well despite the wind howling through the rigging. The small craft warning was still in effect through out most of the morning. We decided to remain in Belhaven and depart tomorrow. It is supposed to be 10 degrees warmer and relatively calm.

Carla made a wonderful brunch of fried eggs, hash browns, toast and ham. She spent most of the day reading and working on her Spanish. Dwayne studied the charts and completed the plan for the rest of our trip to Georgetown where we hope to have a slip while we take a holiday break. He also read and spent time on improving his German. We also watched an old Western movie, Fighting Caravans, starring Gary Cooper. For dinner, we had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and cole slaw. We finished our day watching television.