Underway from Belhaven early and through the Alligator River Canal, now motor sailing up the Alligator River. Winds are light but we are getting a slight lift from the sail. Winds have been building each afternoon and dying at night and we are getting the afternoon lift.
Here's a classic Murphy's Law - the winds have been building in the afternoon all week long. They were quite strong in the Alligator River so I decided not to anchor without good protection. We would sail across the Albemarle to Elizabeth City. Of course, half way across the Albemarle, the wind died to zero, so we motored the rest of the way. That's ok, most all this trip has been a motor cruise.
We motored into the Pasquotank, and then the wind returned near sunset, but we just motored up to a protected anchorage off the US Coast Guard Base. We were treated to C-130 and rescue helo training flights off the airbase. The flight activity stopped shortly after dark and we had a quiet and peaceful night.
The next morning we motored up to Elizabeth City, through the bridge and over to a berth at the Jennette Food dock.
Our plan had been to stay for 2 nights, but it turned out the Gilmerton Bridge in Norfolk was closed for the weekend, so we were in Elizabeth City all weekend. There are plenty of things to do there.
