Ready For The Push South

High winds were forecast so after leaving Elizabeth City we selected South Lake just off the Alligator River as our secure anchorage. It is a very desolate place with the only visible sign of human development being a flashing white light atop a tower in the very far distance. No other boats joined us so we were indeed isolated. The winds picked up just as it got dark increasing quickly to a sustained 30 - 35 knots with higher gusts. Without lights or moonlight it was not possible to see the shoreline. We both monitored our GPS position for a couple hours to assure we were not dragging our anchor. We were held in this location for three nights and two days with consistently high winds. When we finally retrieved our anchor it was confirmed that it had buried itself quite deeply.

Our next stop was Belhaven, NC. We like this town a lot. It is really made up of working folks, but offers the basic essentials we need. We find everyone extremely friendly. We stayed a day to pick up our mail, do laundry, fill our propane tank. and pick up a few groceries. At the post office they already had our package out front just waiting for us to stop in. What a treat compared to our experience in West Palm Beach last year.

Our insurance held us back until November to keep us out of the hurricane area, but now we are free to go, so we are serious about moving south as quickly as possible.