Catamaran Delivery, Day 3: Columbia, NC to Belhaven, NC

We woke early at the Alligator River Marina, and cast off, setting out for Belhaven.

The early part of the morning was slow and then a rush, as we heard on the VHF that the Alligator River bridge was being worked on, and it was unclear whether the usual on-demand opening was still available. A queue of power boats was enough to motivate the bridge operator to open things up, and we snuck through with them, racing to make it to the bridge in time.

The weather continued to hold steady - cold but clear, with steady winds out of the NW. We had just enough wind on the beam as we winded our way south to raise the genoa, and much of the day was like the day prior as we made our way down the narrow “ditch” that is much of the ICW.

Frustratingly, an enormous barge was transiting under one of the bridges in the same direction as we were headed, forcing us to hold station and wait for enough room to pass. As it did, we squinted at it, wondering what we were seeing - coal? Dirt? It turned out to be 3 mountains of scrap metal, ground into pea-sized chunks.

We lost nearly 45 minutes between the bridge in the morning and the barge in the afternoon, and consequently, our afternoon arrival turned into yet another after-dark exercise in piloting into a marina. These night entrances on the ICW are made more difficult on account of the multiple unlit daymarks, which are both aids to navigation and serious hazards, and require someone on the bow, sweeping with a spotlight to ensure we don’t hit them. Additionally, one needs to clear through the breakwater in the dark, when depth perception is less accurate.

We were somewhat concerned that the staff would leave before we arrived, as they normally closed at 6pm. However, Belhaven Marina ended up being one of the nicest places we’ve stayed yet. We were met by the new owner, Ken, and 3 of his crew, who both stayed late and helped with lines. The dock had large permanently attached fenders, so we didn’t need to rig ours. Despite being late, they welcomed us into the office, where we bought some beers and paid a very fair price for the night.

A few minutes later, a knock on the hull - it turned out two of our beers were skunked, and they not only replaced them, they let us take 4 more in total.

And then they informed us of the free laundry, with detergent, free hot showers with towel service, and free use of their golf cart to get into town (all of 5 minutes away on foot). We walked to a small Mexican restaurant, and had a phenomenal meal — I put away two burritos, countless chips with homemade salsa, and a side of chiles relleños — after not really eating much for days, it was heaven. A couple of beers, some good conversation, and a walk back, and we turned in for the night.