On the Water with As You Wish: April 27, 2019 Belhaven to Alligator River Marina

April 27, 2019

Sooo… I’m trying to recreate this page from memory after accidentally deleting it from the blog and then finding out there is no way to recover it. We’ll see how it goes.

Belhaven has been a good stopping point. The dockage fees were dirt cheap at the town dock, the boat is fairly protected and secure, the town is recovering nicely from last year’s hurricanes and flooding and has several good restaurants, and there’s a nice collection of older homes to look at while exploring the town. The people in town are friendly and appreciative of the boaters who stop here each spring and fall during their migrations on the ICW. It’s a small town that has probably seen its best days – no more boat building or fishing industry to speak of and no real local industry to attract people. Belhaven’s big claim to fame is River Forest Manor which was built in the late 1800’s by the founder of the Norfolk and Southern Railway. Beautifully restored several years ago and now used primarily for special events like weddings.

Main Street - one stoplight

Old town hall - new waterfront condos

Thursday was a family get together down at Carolina Beach so one of my brothers drove up and got me. Good times with lots of stories, lots of laughs, a fantastic meal, and way too much drinking! Then back to the boat Friday.

Paul pops some champagne

Pete finishes cooking the ribs

Rhonda ready start the outstanding dinner

Mom checking our Bill's new ride

Friday’s forecast originally called for winds and rain so we continued to stay in port along with several other loopers. The rain held off most of the day but not so much the wind. Even in our protected harbor it was whipping up waves. Then about 6PM a cold front passed through with rain and 35-40MPH winds. Everybody was rocking but thankfully it only lasted about an hour.

Windy conditions before the storm

During my walk on Friday I came across an old marine railway. This was the method used for hauling and launching boats before the advent of current travel lifts. They are a quickly disappearing bit of Americana. Basically, railroad tracks were laid down going from land into the water. A trolley was fabricated that rode on the rails and was connected to a cable and drum. To retrieve a boat the trolley was put down into the water and the boat floated onto it. As the drum started reeling in cable the boat would be shored up on the trolley and eventually brought fully onto land for repairs and then relaunched using the reverse process. Pretty sure it won’t be long before this one is completely gone as the land it’s on had a “For Sale” sign planted out front with an “Under Contract” sticker across it.

Saturday came with a forecast for moderate winds so most everyone was up and out of the harbor early. We made it out about 7:30 putting us close to the back of the pack. The ride up the remainder of the Pungo River was uneventful. Mostly undeveloped natural landscapes. As we passed through the Alligator – Pungo Canal a few larger faster boats came through but were generally pretty respectful in giving us a slow and easy pass when they saw us throttle back as they approached. Our initial intent was to anchor at the base of the Alligator River for the night, but we were making decent time so decided to press on for the Alligator River Marina where the others had already settled in. This got us through the Alligator River swing bridge which is notorious for having days long mechanical issues and also refusing to open if there are strong winds. It also placed us about 2/3 of the way up the Alligator River and several hours closer to the Albemarle Sound which would be our next challenge to cross.

The Alligator River Marina is an interesting stop. It’s a good safe haven for boaters who get caught in bad weather between Belhaven and Elizabeth City. But there is absolutely NOTHING there. It is best described as a gas station on the bridge road with some boat slips behind it. They have a grill but dinner orders for their “famous fried chicken” must be placed by 4:30 and picked up between 5:30 and 6:00PM because they close the place down and lock it up at 6:30. It was OK – I’m sure it’s the best – or maybe the only - in a 20 mile area.