OH CRAP, THERE’S ANOTHER ONE

April 30-May 4, 2026

Let me just say that Manteo on Roanoke Island, just west of Nags Head is an absolutely lovely place. With that said, I will NEVER go there in a large boat again. If you look at the map to the right, you will see the Alligator river that flows into the Albemarle Sound. Manteo is on Roanoke Island, to the right of the green area. As you hit the 64 bridge, you realize there are crab pots everywhere! These are basically floating buoys placed sporadically all over the water. Each captain will paint their buoys a particular color-red, orange, green, blue (yes, similar to the water color). They are typically a long line of buoys and boy are they random. Howie and spent about two hours going slow from Alligator river to Manteo shouting out “port or starboard” the entire time. Once we got close to the harbor, we were exhausted. The craziness didn’t stop there!

You know you might be in trouble when the marina sends you a video on how to get into the harbor. There is REALLY low water getting into Manteo. I took a picture of the water depth as we were coming (see pic on the right) and it shows 4.1 feet. It actually got as low as 3.7 feet. Finally, we get to the dock and get out to stretch our legs. It is a really beautiful town. We also got lucky to come in on “First Friday” which meant local bands on various street corners, vendors and outdoor festivities. Ended the evening well!

Dinghy ride while staying in Manteo. Lovely town!

Very cute Manteo mailboxes.

Tender ride in Manteo.

Roanoke Island Park right outside the town of Manteo.