The Owl arrives in Alligator River Marina

Today's journey from Coinjock started out well, we had one of the earliest starts of the delivery so far: we fueled up and were off the fuel dock by 8:10 AM. We began motoring south, with a light haze and cool temperature while enjoying a cup of the Midway Marina's complimentary coffee. We were sad to say goodbye to this friendly marina.

About two thirds of the way to the Alligator River marina, we noticed the voltage on our DC system was dropping and was down to approximately 9 volts. The alternator on the boat was failing. Not a surprise considering it has been underwater twice and not run in at least 18 months. The battery had performed surprisingly well with the failing alternator and had lasted us five days underway. It was not long before the voltage dropped too low to keep the spark plugs firing and the engine was dead. Winds were light and variable, which meant that even with all of Owl's sail out, averaged a little over 3 knots. The real challenge was docking without engine power at the Alligator River Marina. With Chris Davis on the sails and Captain Jim Baker on the helm we brought her down the channel and right into a slip without incident. Luckily for us, we have installed a battery charger on the boat and will make sure to plug in at night when we are on docks to be sure this doesn't happen again.

We ran into a few sailors coming up from New Bern who said that the Pungo - Alligator River Canal is clear of debris. This is good news because it is known to have flotsam and logs floating in the canal. Our plan for tomorrow is to depart here early in the morning for the River Forest Marina in Belhaven, NC. This particular part of our journey promises to be ....well....boring...unless we have boat problems. The canal is long, straight, unmarked, and nothing but swamp for forty miles. Needless to say, we will be happy to make it to Belhaven, NC.

Some photos from previous days:

Fishing in the Albermarle Sound

Norfolk Port Police patroling the harbor

Hanging the Lundy Charters flag while making repairs to the spreaders

Sunset over the Waterside Marina in Norfolk, VA