The Alligator River Pungo River Canal

October 30, 2015, 0730, beautiful day, no wind, sun peaking up over Winn Bay.

Seven boats spread out on this small bay. Entrance to the Alligator River Pungo River Canal in sight.

Some boat maintenance on the agenda for this morning – changing out the fuel filter, which involves emptying out the port lazaret (storage compartment) to get at the filter. Once the new filter in in place, one must ‘bled’ the fuel lines of any trapped air bubbles, which will stop the engine. Diesel engines are very reliable, as long as they have clean fuel and oil.

Once that bit of preventive maintenance was accomplished, we got under way and entered the canal, a twenty mile straight as an arrow, two hundred foot wide by twenty foot deep constructed ‘ditch’ joining the Alligator River and upper reaches of the Pungo River. On either side of the Canal is wonderful, uninhabited forested wetland, just the place for a red wolf family or two.  

The Alligator flows into Albemarle Sound and the Pungo joins the Pamlico River which empties into Pamlico Sound. These two sounds are connected by the lesser Croatan Sound with the Outer Banks just to the east of it. Listen carefully, geography is important.

We motored down the Canal and passed a barge and tug along with way, without a collision! At 1330 we crossed under the Wilkerson Bridge and into the Pungo, the name of which is derived from the name of a Native American tribe, the Machapunga, who used to live in these parts, but we took care of that problem sort of the way we dealt with those pesky red wolves.

Barge and Tug in the Alligator River Pungo River Canal

Down the Pungo we motored and finally turned in to Pantego Creek where we anchored for the night in ten foot of water with the quaint town of Belhaven just to the north.

Tomorrow Belhaven 

Sunset on Pantego Creek