Continuing southward on the Alligator River, Legacy left Alligator River Marina’s slip #13 at 8:15 on Wednesday morning, 11/03/21, bound for today’s planned destination of Dowry Creek Marina in Belhaven, NC. Conditions were windier than we normally liked, but thankfully we were cruising with the wind which gave us an extra push downriver. Winds were at 18-19 knots and the waves following us were 2-3 feet in height, as a result. We were thankful those waves were to our stern! Before long we entered a long, narrow stretch of man-made ICW that is very protected from the wind, providing us with optimum cruising conditions. That particular stretch connects the Alligator River with the Pungo River in NC, and its banks are so close to the boat we had an intimate, close-up view of the early fall colors in the trees, now really beginning to pop.
As the day progressed, the skies began to cloud up, until completely clouded over. The cloudier the skies got, the chillier the air became, sending us both below for additional clothing. Only periodically the sun would tease us by popping out for a few seconds, then promptly go back into hiding. At this point, the temperature was in the high 50s, accompanied by a stiff breeze.
Our boat pulled into Dowry Creek Marina in Belhaven, NC, at 1:30 pm that afternoon, where we were instructed to tie-up to a dock with fixed pilings to our starboard side. It was so cold outside by then, we were ready to get tied-up, plugged-in, and down inside of our warm salon!
The last time we stayed in Belhaven, our marina was located right downtown within a walkable distance of Main Street and our beloved Spoon River Restaurant. This time through being a Wednesday night, I was worried that Spoon River would be closed, but fortunately for us they’d recently changed their hours and we were once again treated to their delicious fare. 🙂 Since Dowry Creek Marina is out from town, we borrowed their courtesy vehicle, which was a Mercedes, albeit older, high-mileage, and a bit worse for wear. We met Jim and Steve, aboard Celtic Star, who were also slipped at Dowry Creek Marina, so they caught a ride with us to and from Spoon River. They’d heard great things about that restaurant and we assured them they would not be disappointed.
Position: N 35° 31.977, W 76° 32.120
Distance traveled: 49 SM
Total distance traveled: 5241 SM
Total marina nights: 396
Total nights at anchor: 23
Locks today: 0
Locks Total: 29