Alligator River, anchorage

Yesterday the weather was not great. Rainy on and off all day, but very windy. In fact, the NOAA water reports for the Albemarle said "rough waters." HA! These guys tend to be the most understated organization when it comes to water reports, so if they claim the waters are "rough", good gravy, they must be terrible! I'm thinking 10 foot waves, people!

Meanwhile, whether it be from Sunday, or the weather, or Covid, the town of Columbia didn't even unroll their sidewalks. We saw absolutely no one all day.

The little dot in the center is inQuest.
I call this photo "The Loniliest Anchorage."

Given the "rough waters" of yesterday we weren't sure what to expect today. Winds are calm, but water can slosh for a while. We decided to "poke our nose out" and see how things were, fully prepared to turn right around and wait another day. As it turned out the water was peachy, 1 foot or less, and dwindled as we went along.

We are glad we did the Albemarle Loop. It's good to explore new things, dock in new marinas, and see tiny towns. But mostly we're glad we did it because we won't be tempted to do it again. Mostly due to the Albemarle itself. With the exception of the day we crossed it heading north to Coinjock today was the best day on it. And we were on it quite a few days. 

There is a boat ramp at the end of
"Deliverance Creek"

Our Navionics recommended a route the hugged the short, staying on the land side of the large rhombus area that is used as a bombing zone. We thought that was pretty silly given the depths so we went around. But we got board so we risked cutting through it to get to the Alligator River. Judging by the crap pots we had to dodge, we were perfectly safe.

Once anchored we fed the dog and took her on her dinghy ride to shore. Early today Russ contacted Beth and Rip Tyler (they live near here -- we'll see them tomorrow, in fact) and asked about this particular anchorage. They said it was one of their favorites, and they love the little dinghy ride up "Deliverance Creek".

O.o

Okay, that's only what they called it.

You got down this narrow channel about a half mile
to get to the little dinghy dock.