Today we woke up on the anchor just to the south side of the Pungo Ferry bridge. There is not a lot of traffic on the roadway but enough that you know you are amongst civilization. I really wished we would have been able to make another three miles or so last night and anchored at the Blackwater Creek Anchorage. I have watched several YouTube video blogs, as well as, read many sailblogs of people that stayed over there. It really sounded appealing, quiet and dark with little to no light pollution. Oh well, it is what it is and Spencer and I both slept well regardless. Speaking of Spencer, he is of course still asleep. I made a pot of coffee and fired up the space heater for a bit. Sitting outside for my first cup of coffee and my first look around this anchorage in the light, I see that we were fairly close to a marker piling. We weren't in any danger and as a matter of fact I think we were probably safe there as another boat would have to run over the piling to hit us. That is my only fear when anchoring after dark; being in a channel that boats are using. I was fairly sure we were okay here last night because we were only in about eight feet of water near low tide, so we really shouldn’t have been in a thoroughfare. Turns out we were fine. We had motored down the river last night in the dark with another boat named “Had Hammer”, he was anchored near us and I saw him over there but didn’t see him moving at all.

I finished my coffee and weighed anchor, because we really needed to get going. I wanted to make as much time as possible today because we needed to get to Oriental by Saturday night. This was going to be difficult at this point. Not impossible but difficult. I had hoped to get to talk with “Had Hammer” before we left but didn’t want to wake him. I headed out and started down the river on the motor while Spencer slept. Once under way we were making about six and a half to seven knots. If we can keep up this speed we will make good time today.

A few miles down the river we started a turn to port. As we worked our way around the bend I got my first glimpse of the Blackwater Creek anchorage. There were several boats here but it was not overly crowded and was serene and still. “Yep, this spot looks as good as I imagined it would”. I was thinking “getting here last night would have taken only about thirty more minutes". Whenever I find myself second guessing a decision I have made or hear someone playing “Monday morning quarterback”, I always remind myself or tell others, “Most decision makers do so based on the information they are processing at that moment in time” and at the moment I decided to stop and anchor last night, I am sure I made the right decision based on the information I had. What I needed was just a little more information to make that decision with and we would have gone on to here. In reality though it would have taken around an hour, remember, we were only making about four knots in the dark so this would have not have been as simple as I wanted to think initially. With my propensity to find the soft bottom of the waterway, we would probably have ran aground too, so I made the right choice.

We are in the Currituck Sound now and the water is opening up, not so much like the Chesapeake where you lose sight of land but more like a really big lake. We can see land to both sides and this is a well marked channel with fairly shallow water all around. I have been passed by a couple power boats who were very friendly and one trawler that did not slow down, hail or signal. He just sped by and left me rocking in about a three foot wake. There is a breeze coming out of the northwest at about ten knots so I raised the sails. I am sure Spencer will sleep better with the diesel shut down. Yep, he is still asleep. I know I am joking a lot about him sleeping but had I needed him, I know he would have sprung to action like he has done several times already.

I really love sailing this boat, it handles well and glides through the water like a knife through butter. She is set up for single handing very well which makes it a lot more manageable. For those unfamiliar, “single handing” refers to operating a boat alone. This can be a challenge on a sailboat because there are many things to do. On Alibi, all of the lines that are used to raise and lower sails are led back to the cockpit along with the sheets (lines that trim the sails) and can be manipulated and handled from the cockpit by one person. These are benefits of this design that make this boat a dream to sail. That breeze turns out to not be as strong as it seemed and I am somewhere between a broad reach and a run. I am only making about 5.1 to 5.3 knots with sails very full and being pushed along like a big parachute rather than an airfoil. I still have some coffee to finish and this is peaceful so I will keep this up for a little while. The early start I got today gave me some benefit and I am thinking about stopping in Coinjock for an early lunch. At this point I am not in as a big a hurry to get anywhere right now as I was earlier today.

The wind has picked up a bit and I have played around with the sail trim enough to find the sweet spot and we are back up to a respectable 6.5 knots. I set the auto pilot and jumped down below to make a bagel. Another amazing little piece of technology that makes single handing great. The auto pilot uses GPS and a computer to drive an electrical actuator attached to the tiller. The computer takes into account several inputs and steers the boat for you, it has the ability to tack as well as hold a very straight course both under sail or with the motor.

With my bagel toasted and my coffee warmed up, I relax in the cockpit for a while and just watch the water go by as the wind drives us down the sound towards Coinjock Bay. Its around 0930 and I know Evelyn is at work by now so I text messaged her to give her a quick update. I told her “I found my calling”. I have always believed that God created each and every one of us with some purpose in mind, and believe I may have found mine. This is what I was built for. I don’t know yet how he intends to use me nor do I question the reasoning, it will come in due time but I know this is my purpose. I have always loved the water, whether it was swimming in a pool on the swim team at the Y, or lifeguarding at “Peir Lon Lake” campground to snorkeling in the Bahamas or just boating on a lake, I was meant to be in, on and around the water. I have now also found the boat that I was meant to be one with as well. Okay sorry, got a little philosophical and maybe a bit cheesy but love affects us that way and I have found a new love in my life. Alright, alright, no more cheesiness.

As we started getting closer to the canal and out of Currituck sound my heading changes to about 195 degrees and we pick up a little speed. I hold this course most of the way through Coinjock Bay. As we turn off this heading to about 160 degrees the bay starts to narrow out and I think about dropping the sails but decide to keep them up a little while longer. The boat is sailing so well that I really hate to drop the sails and start the motor but as I am now well into the canal I decide it is the right thing to do so I make a plan, and get ready. I start the motor, warm it up a minute or two, speed it up just a touch above idle, I turn upwind, lock the autopilot and furl the headsail, then the main. I turn back down the canal in under three minutes and back on course. I am getting better with the lines now that I don’t have to think about which one is which, it is becoming very natural. I have also learned that each time I do something, unfurl, furl, major direction change, or whatever else, it pays to have a plan. Sometimes that plan is a mental note before execution, sometimes I have to go over it step by step but a plan is always better.

When I started the diesel, Spencer came up and asked where we were. I told him we were about to head into Coinjock, NC. We had originally planned to stop and eat here. I have heard there is a great prime rib special here but it is only about 10:30 and we are not really hungry. We decide to just steam on through and save some time. It’s a quaint little town and I look forward to coming up here sometime when I can hit about dinner time. There is not much activity right now, and as a matter of fact, I don’t even see anyone out on the docks.

We continue under the highway 158 bridge which is another 65 footer. I know we aren't going to hit but I can’t get over how close this is. I told Spencer that I want to rig up a camera on the mast one of these times and watch. Note to self, work on a way to do that with my Sony Action Cam maybe using the Spinnaker Halyard. Wow I should have thought of that earlier. Next trip.

As we leave the narrow confines of the canal, we wind our way down the North River and out into Albemarle Sound. This next part of the trip is about forty one miles and should take about eight hours if we can average six knots. If we get good driving winds we might do well.

As it turns out the wind is very light and on our stern. I unfurl the main and we motor sail for most of the day at about 7.8 to 8.1 knots. As I look around I see most of the other sailboats doing about the same thing.

We had a long day today and we clean up the boat a little, listen to some music and just cruise. Spencer relieves me so I can shower. We ate some sandwiches out in the cockpit for lunch and a few snacks of apples (thanks Michael) and bananas. I went forward and sat on the bow for a while and just enjoyed the water. Since the headsail wasn’t up the view was amazing. I took some video and pictures and when I get them all posted I will try to link them here.

At about 1430 (2:30 PM) we approached the Alligator river bridge which is Highway 64. I call the bridge operator. Again, a really friendly guy. He says “keep on steamin and I’ll have it open for you when you get here”. We clear the bridge, thank the operator, and continue down the Alligator River. The river is a very large body of water about three to four miles wide and another fourteen miles long. This will take about two hours at our current speed. I start thinking about the next anchorage and wonder if we should stop before entering the canal in a couple hours or continue through like we did last night in the dark. As we get closer to the anchorage I talk it over with Spencer, and he says he is OK either way. We start to see the other boats anchored and getting their dinners and I make the final decision to go ahead and stop for the night.

We found a nice spot with plenty of room and about nine feet of water. We set the anchor and backed down on it. I made us some chicken breasts on the grill and potatoes. We enjoyed a cold beer as we watched the sunset. This was a long day and we enjoyed this little respite. We watched a movie in the cabin tonight (thanks Dustin) and turned in about 2200 (10:00 PM).