Shrimping

From Coinjock, we crossed the Abermarle Sound against all advice. We got just a little shaken. Luckily, it was only from an hour or so. Once we had just about finished crossing the sound, the wind and waves seemed to have quieted a bit, we thought we could breathe again. WRONG. We knew that some of the buoys had been moved and re-numbered. We also knew that our paper charts were correct, we just couldn’t remember if the chart plotter was right also. It’s not. It’s VERY wrong in fact. We almost ran aground. Phew!!! As we round that last marker and think we are home clear, we bump and then come to a complete stop. Thankfully we were able to back ourselves out of that one. We made it into the marina in time to grab a nice, long, hot shower (a true luxury) and make it to Benoit’s birthday dinner aboard Liberty. A true feast.

The next day we left the marina after a beautiful sunrise, with great excitement. We were going Alligator watching in the Alligator river. Well that enthusiasm was quickly dulled by the monotony that is the Alligator canal. One very straight, very long, very ugly canal. The one thing that did lift our spirits was the warm weather. It was the first warm day yet.

We had found a real cheap “marina” for the night, RE Mayo. I don’t know if you could actually call it a marina. It’s a dock alongside the canal, where the shrimp boats stay. We were the first to pull up, right behind the “Peggy Sue” (or something like that). As I went to leap from the boat to the dock, I paused. I was afraid I’d fall right through the docks into the tangle of old steel cables that lay beneath. The dock held… barely. We tied up in front of the shrimp packaging plant thingy, filled with boxes and conveyor belts and a particular odor.

Once all the boats we snugged to the dock, we went off exploring. The only thing we found were 2 outhouses, one with a large privacy fence made out corrugated steel, with the words “Ladies only” spray paint. I need not tell you that, I opted to use the head (a boat toilet) instead.

In the morning, when I went to pay, there were a couple of little old men sitting in rocking chairs by an old wood furnace. They invited us to join them by the fire to warm up. They answered all my shrimping questions. A model shrimp boat facilitated things. They just didn’t seem to know what I meant when I was talking about the “two sticky-up-y thingy-s”. It’s quite simple really. The two sticky-up-y thingies have the nets attached to them and they are dragged along the bottom. It’s too bad that shrimp season in the Pamlico Sound is only June to September.

Next stop, Beaufort, NC.