Heading to the Backwaters

May 18-19, 2011

The Neuse River connects into Pamlico Sound. Pamlico Sound is connected to Albemarle Sound, our next destination, by the Pungo River, Alligator River-Pungo River Canal, and the Alligator River. Going through the rivers and canals is usually a leisurely cruise for the greatest part since the waters are protected by fragrant pine forests and golden marsh lands on either side.

3 sails headed south

Just outside the backwoods, shrimping town of Hobucken (got to love that name!) there is a bulkhead along the waterway that looks like a barge would be able to pull up to it. In this photo you can see some big piles of oyster shells, literally tons of them. They are shells from locally caught and shucked oysters that will be picked up by a barge and taken back out to the oyster bed areas so that there will be a substrate and "seed" bed for the newly hatched oysters to attach themselves to. That is the ultimate in recycling and protecting a valuable resource.

Oyster recycling

The run from where we started up the Neuse River all the way to the Alligator River was more than we wanted to make in a day, so we stopped just off the Pungo River for the night. It was still kind of windy, but I guess we are getting used to that, so we weren't uncomfortable. Plus, we finally had a pretty sunset since the overcast skies were beginning to clear up a bit.

Sunset over the Pungo

As you are heading north along the ICW, the run through the AP Canal is a mix of some rural homesites and natural swamp vegetation. This is the earliest we have ever gone through the area and it was just alive with so much bird activity, from big birds like ospreys and eagles to a gazillion song birds who were chattering madly in the trees. I've written before about the birds and stumps and how I like the transit except if one of the big barges is having to pass by and then it gets a bit scary since you don't know for sure if you are going to run over any of those wicked stumps. Also, floating logs can be a hazard. This photo shows one of the big piles we passed; they are removed by waterway maintenance workers since they are considered hazards to navigation. I don't know if the piles are eventually picked up or maybe burned in place. I wouldn't be surprised if they are allowed to be removed by a private enterprise since most of them are valuable cypress logs or hardwoods which are no longer permitted to be harvested in that area.

Being stumped on the canal

A big part of this area is bordered on the east side by the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, so the fascinating flora and fauna of this unique area are afforded protection. While we have seen deer in this area, we haven't had the privilege of seeing any black bear, or even better yet, a red wolf. The wolves were reintroduced into the area because of its remoteness and also because it is surrounded completely by water. Despite being so isolated, I find it amusing that we still see "advertising" signs.

Once is enough for us

The Dismal Swamp route is one choice boaters can take after they exit the Alligator River. You have to go through Elizabeth City for that, so they are always trying to get cruisers to take that route and bring some business to their delightful community. We did that once and WILL NEVER do it again in a fat bottomed boat like FLUKE. You can look back in the archives for my description of that miserable adventure. In fact, I think the AP canal/rivers swamp tour is much better than the Dismal anyway.

Remember how when you were a kid having to take long care rides and come up with ideas for entertainment if the scenery became too boring, like what happens along the interstate? The same thing can happen on a cruise like this when we are on wide open rivers, far from shore and there isn't any other boating traffic. Eddie comes up with some creative diversions.

A sweet for his sweetie

The ride north on the ICW leads to the Alligator River swing bridge. The bridge will not open if the winds exceed 34 knots, and if you are stuck on the south side there is really no marine facilities close by, so you would have to anchor in the swamp.

Open please

Right after we passed through the bridge we decided to pull to the side of the ICW, just short of the Little Alligator River which empties into the Alligator River. We have learned that this is the start of blue crab fishing season. There are more crab trap floats than we have ever seen before, so we have to be careful threading our way through the maze of floats and hoping we don't get one hung up in our prop or on one of our stabilizer fins. When we find a place to anchor we have to make sure that if we swing around in the night we won't wind up swinging through a series of crab traps. I liked the name of this crab boat!

Turning sense into dollars

Coming up: The FLUKE crew takes another detour into uncharted waters: west up the Albemarle Sound.