Belhaven, NC

We left the Alligator River at statute mile 84 of the ICW about 8:00 and continued our trek south. Periodically throughout the trip we have spotted ICW mile markers. Today we saw several.

We have been using Dozier's Waterway Guide in addition to paper charts and the electronic GPS. Doziers warned of several reported trees / logs in the water. And sure enough We hit a log (or something) this morning. There was no damage and sv Mary Elizabeth continued on. It was just a strange sound.

Today was also a test since we had to pass under the Wilkerson Bridge at mile 125.9. The Wilkerson Bridge has a 64-foot fixed clearance -- a foot less than any other bridge in the ICW. Bill motored sv Mary Elizabeth under the bridge at less than 2 knots; if we were going to hit, we wouldn't hit hard. And we did hit. Not the mast, but the wind vane and lightning grounder at the top of the mast. Something came flying down, hit the dodger and then crashed on the deck. When all was said and done (and our hearts returned to a normal heartbeat) we realized that it was only the metal piece sticking off the wind vane that keeps away birds. Whew....

So, it was an interesting day -- to say the least. We pulled into Belhaven, NC around 2:00 or so. The marina is small and cute. No cable, but they do have a movie "lending library" (which we took advantage of).

For more pictures of the trip to Belhaven, Click Here.