Wed Oct 30 - In which a high school class saves the day

Elizabeth City, NC to Little Alligator River anchorage

Rick fixed the engine!!  As we came through the Dismal Swamp something started to make a terrible shrieking/squealing noise.  Rick was worried that it could be running gear or transmission, and began to look for a mechanic in the next town.  But during the night he thought about the fan belt (the belt had been throwing off a lot of rubber)…so, he climbed into the engine compartment and changed the belt with the spare.  That was the problem!  We were both so happy and relieved! Thank god for Autoshop class! (I would also like to point out that I might have mentioned a belt because it’s the only part of a car that I know makes that noise…  Go Me!)

Once the belt was fixed, we headed out.  First part of the journey took us down the wide Alligator River and then into the Abermarle Sound.  There is some general nervousness in newbie boater communities about crossing these big bodies of water (Abermarle and Pimlico Sounds).  If the wind is strong or from the wrong direction the waves can get pretty big.  So, naturally, we worried that one to death for several days before doing the crossing, but the wind was on our side and the crossing was uneventful.  

So many interesting old bridges along the way

We arrived at the entrance to Little Alligator River and wound our way up the channel to the anchorage marked on the chart. Not another boat in site so we dropped and set the anchor and *settled in for the night.  The wind did come up from the south during the night but it was as expected and we were pretty well sheltered by the shore to the south.  *I say settled, but we don’t expect to sleep well as we are anxious about drift, and will be until we learn to trust ourselves, and this anchor.

AnOTHER lovely sunset... 

Rick is using MY felting supplies.  I think he is making a boat??

I think this doesn't look very good in the picture - but it's fresh tuna steak on arugula with great northern beans and avo.  Trust me it's wonderful!  And healthy!!