Up and at it early today knowing the inside ride might be slower due to increased focus on navigational charts and water depths. Pamlico Sound is a very large body of water between the barrier outer islands (the Outer Banks) and the mainland. It is also very shallow and tricky due to constant tidal changes and sand shoaling. Local conversation over the weekend had said the commercial ferry ride is now taking 1 1/2 hours which used to take 40 minutes due to shoaling.

We made it safely into “deep” water (20’!) and ran the Sound with nary a boat to be seen. I decided to take the northern approach into Manteo rather than riding up from the south between the island and the Outer Banks because the water appeared deeper and easier to navigate. Not a bad decision but the secondary channel into the yacht basin was white knuckled! Water depths got as low as 3.5 feet! Everything worked out fine, but I sure sweated a lot! Manteo / Roanoke Island is considered the “lost island” from early settlement days. Many shipwrecks have occurred here and across the way to the east is Kill Devil Hill and Kitty Hawk.

We’re here for one night, moving on to Hampton, VA tomorrow and through the 4th. We’re planned out to NYC. After Hampton it’s Ocean City, MD; Atlantic City, NJ, Manasquan, NJ and then NYC in successive days. We’ll need to decide by Albany, NY whether to go west on the Erie Canal or north to Lake Champlain and Montreal.