ELIZABETH CITY, NORTH CAROLINA

AUGUST 8, 2012

The anchor came up & we are underway with an overcast sky that promises rain.  We motoring up the last of the Little Alligator River.  Here staying in the channel is very important.  As we went into anchor yesterday we saw a sailboat in the distance stuck on a shoal.  As we pass the sight today, they are off & moving on. 

As we rounded the red 8A Nun buoy we came to a sudden stop.  We are on a shoal.  Checking the chart we are in the right place, obviously someone is wrong. The bottom is soft & we were able to back off without incident.  As we went around the other side of the buoy and had 9ft of water under us.  Go figure.  This does not deter us from our journey crossing the shallow Albemarle Sound. 

It began to rain in earnest as we crossed the Sound.  Nothing but dark skies & more rain.  We are headed for Elizabeth City, North Carolina, at the head of the Pasquotank River.  We will anchor for the night & head into the Dismal Swamp tomorrow.

DOWNTOWN ELIZABETH CITY

The skies began to clear as we turned into river heading north.  As it turned out visibility became very important.  The waterway all the way to Elizabeth City is like a mine field.  It must be crab season, there are pots everywhere we look.  We were very diligent about watching for them, even so some came far too close.  We did not want one rapped around our rudder.



We dropped the anchor just off the waterfront.  This looks like a town we could really enjoy, but it will have to wait for another time.  As the sun set we were joined in our anchorage by a red 40ft catamaran named Rosebud.

SUNSET ON THE WATERFRONT