This is the second warning we have had here on the Cruisers’ Net within the last few weeks about deadheads on the Alligator – Pungo Canal. For those who don’t already know, this man-made canal connects the AICW between the southern reaches of the Alligator River, and the Pungo River. Take care whenever traversing this section of the AICW!

Subject: Reminder on Pungo Alligator Canal Deadheads, and keep a radio watch!
Cruising News: I thought it would be good to remind those traversing the Pungo River/Alligator River Canal about deadheads – large logs in a vertical orientation that are very hard to spot since only their top SOMETIMES shows up on top of the water. Even with the knowledge that there can be numerous deadheads on the canal, we got a little lazy on our way through and ended up having one very large deadhead (at least 2 feet in diameter) glance off of our bow and shake our whole hull. We watched it pop up behind us after we passed it by. Forging ahead with a more vigilant, we spotted two additional deadheads on the canal centerline and made sure to avoid these. Fortunately we had no damage that we’re aware of to our boat. One other note to cruisers – keep watch on channel 16!! We tried calling two other boats that passed us going the opposite direction to warn them about the deadheads, but we couldn’t raise either one. I was definitely disappointed in this behavior as there is often a lot of helpful, and sometimes safety related, information if you take the time to listen in.
Chris
S/V Pelican

I agree. Keep a sharp eye out.
Capt Dave
on GB 46 At Last