This weekend, the Pamlico River saw plenty of action, more so than the average end-of-summer, last-weekend-before-school-starts Saturday. Two events literally collided in the middle of the river near Blounts Bay: the Dog Days Regatta and the Blounts Creek Boat Rally.

With the kayakers and boaters heading across the river to the bridge at Blounts Creek and sailors heading on a triangle-shaped course from Blounts Bay and back again, there was plenty of traffic to found. As one sailor put it, “It was like an obstacle course out there.”

While obstacles might get in the way of a good regatta finish and kayakers may have had a few tense moments wondering if that sailboat was going to tack, the end result was that the river was filled with people with a purpose. Funds raised by the Dog Days Regatta are used to support the Little Washington Sailing School and their scholarships that allow kids who normally couldn’t afford the lessons to learn to sail. The kayakers and boaters on their way to the Blounts Creek rally were joining a show of force of those who disagree with the methods used by the Division of Water Resources, in conjunction with Martin Marietta Materials, to build a limestone mine in southern Beaufort County, which many believe will destroy the unique aquatic environment of Blounts Creek.

What observers saw was a lot of vessels on the river. But the people in those vessels were doing more than simply enjoying an outing on the Pamlico on a sunny, summer day: they were participating, supporting causes they believe in. But don’t be fooled by those people out there working hard for their cause — it only looked like they were having a good time.