October 6-8, 2017 Norfolk to Coinjock, Alligator River, and Belhaven, North Carolina
October 6th we left Norfolk, VA heading for Coinjock, NC
Wow! It’s hard to believe we are cruising in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). When we started this venture in Montague/Whitelake, Michigan in June, the ICW was not even on our radar. Now we are here. Two countries, 9 states, four Great Lakes, multiple major rivers, many major cities/harbors, many more quaint towns, three lock canals (40 locks), and a hundred new friends!! And the adventure continues!!
Coinjock was a great place, a popular stopping point for motor yachts and sailboats of all sizes on the ICW. They have a 1000 foot long face dock and pack them in tight. The picture below shows how “friendly” we got with the boat behind us. We had a surprisingly great meal (for the middle of nowhere) deliciously prepared muscles and a yummy Caprese salad.
Continued below the photos
Albemarle Sound is the first of the few sometimes challenging bodies of water on the Norfolk to Miami section of the ICW. The 14 mile long crossing can be very challenging due to winds from almost any direction tend to funnel either up or down the long, straight sound. Because of its uniformly shallow depth, even a light wind can quickly create rough seas. We left Coinjock at first light to hopefully transit the sound before the wind picked up. And our plan worked perfectly we had an almost flat crossing.
We arrived at Alligator River Marina before 11:00 am and after settling in, wandering the marina facilities and lunch, we took advantage of the empty laundry room and washed everything washable…and made it more entertaining with beers! We were treated to a beautiful evening with a beautiful sunset but at dusk the bugs started to invade (swamp land)! We shut the doors and were very grateful to have screens on all the windows! While watching a movie an hour later we realized some of the bugs could get through the screens! We shut all the windows and were very grateful we had air conditioning!!
The next morning we left Alligator River Marina at 6:55 with a beautiful sunrise then went through the swing bridge on our way to Alligator River – Pungo River Canal. The canal is a very Serene ride on a day with great weather. It is a narrow canal with nothing but nature on both sides. If it weren’t for the need to stay in the narrow 12-foot deep channel cut down the center and the logs and snags to watch for, there would be nothing to break your meditation / daydreaming except the occasional calls of the hunting hawks.
Alligator- Pungo River Canal
continued below video
We arrived in Belhaven, NC at 1:00 in the afternoon with a nasty wind. Lots of transiting boats of all sizes were taking refuge early today from the rough water and strong wind. We were glad we had made a reservation yesterday for today at River Forest Manor and Marina. We enjoyed the “shop” talk and weather stories with all the other boaters on the dock, then went to dinner at the Tavern with new friends Bill and Darlene. The Tavern is a really cool restaurant/bar and the pizza was awesome. Back at the dock Bill and Darlene invited us for cocktails on the upper helm seating area (seemed like the top of the world) on their 63 ft sport fish. First time I’ve spent the evening at that vantage point. Really cool!
Tomorrow we head to New Bern, NC where our yachting adventure began three years ago.
mv/whocares 
Great info! Thank you. We just spent last night in Coinjock Marina. We felt humble in our Catalina 34 sailboat sandwiched in between multi million dollar cruisers (actually they look like mini cruise ships!). Loved the restaurant there! Had dinner with folks we met in Annapolis. We left this morning at 6:15 for our journey to River Forest Marina in Belhaven. It’s raining. Phooey!! Our destination is Minnesott Beach, NC. We will be live- a-boards for a while. If it’s not warm enough in NC, we will proceed to FL
LikeLike