Crossing Albermarle Sound

 Crossing Albermarle Sound

Tuesday 10th October 2023

How do you leave the dock when you only have 2 or 3 feet of space between yourself and the boats in front and behind? This was the question we grappled with this morning because Coinjock marina squeezes boats in like dominos. We came up with a plan that involved using a bow line on a bollard to stop us plowing into the three 350 HP Yamaha outboard motors on the vessel in front ($$$$), whilst our engine pushed the stern out from the dock, avoiding the bow of the powerboat behind ($$$$). This worked pretty well, and some nifty throttle work and only a little panic on my part, we backed away from the dock and set off down the ICW. Another expensive catastrophe avoided! 

It was cold with partly sunny skies and a stiff south westerly breeze. After a couple of hours winding our way through beautiful marshy lowlands, we emerged into the open waters of Albermarle Sound.  At this point the sound is about a 12 miles across and is less than 20 feet deep. However, with a fetch of tens of miles to the east and west, it can kick up some nasty steep waves. The wind was blowing 10-14 knots, almost from the direction we were heading (SW). We raised our mainsail, mostly to help stabilize the boat, and entered the sound with some trepidation. We had a fallback plan in case conditions became really horrible, but actually it turned out to be fine. The wind angle was enough to get some power out of the sail, the boat settled into a grove, and about half way across a shift in wind direction allowed us to stop the motor altogether and sail at speeds of up to 7 knots. Once across, we zig-zagged our way through the shoal entrance to the Alligator river, and after passing through the swing bridge on the causeway that crosses the estuary, we were able to sail another 10 miles. Reaching the southern end of the river we turned west, put on the engine and motored the final 3 miles to a wonderful anchorage where the water and horizon seem to stretch for miles in all directions. 

It was a good day. We covered 55 statute miles in a little over 8 hours and were all tired by the time we got here. We ate a fine meal, drank a glass of wine and retired to bed long before “boaters midnight” (9pm).

Mike

Scenic lowland marshes to the north of Albermarle Sound

A beautiful Sunset anchored at the southern end of the Alligator River

Another sailboat heading south in "the ditch", anchored for the night. The red light at the left edge of the horizon marks the entrance to the Pungo-Alligator river canal.