Teak And Varnish

This beauty was down the river from the boat I'm working on right now.

Budge, Exploring The Fort

Morning Walk

Budge caught this shot while on her walk a few mornings ago. Well captured shot. I like it.

So, this is our dock lightbulb.....

Fort Macon/Photos and Social Studies

The boys went to learn about Fort Macon a few days ago, their first "field trip" of sorts for their Social Studies class. Bridget and I both took turns with some shots while we were there. We all had a good time. Here's some of the shots. You can learn more about the fort by clicking here...

Hello Old Friend

It wasn't until I edited this photo that I realized who she was. This is Miss Melodie, probably my favorite of all the trawlers I've shot to date. I have several different photos of this vessel in different forms. This one was taken near Wrightsville Beach while we were dockside the day before we arrived. She was heading South, probably for Cape Fear to head out to warmer water.

All Tied Up/Cape Fear River

Well, we arrived at our slip this morning, after pushing up the river in a few spots. We tied up and plugged in, and now we're smelling bacon and getting ready for Valentines Day.
We visited the Wilmington waterfront, a beautiful place, but we didn't see a single sailboat anywhere. While there, this tug went down the river, with a man perched on the back enjoying the ride. It gives you an idea how enormous this workhorse is. We've seen this same tug at the Morehead City Basin a time or two in the past.

Back Porch View

Well, we're not there yet, but until then, here's our view this evening....

So Close, So Far Away

Well, after discovering an exhaust leak, we limped back to Oriental with everyone out in the cockpit and the boat opened up to vent the exhaust. Two and a half days later, anchoring alongside the ICW one night waked by large barges and fishing boats, and dealing with shallow water, we made it. Arrived here Tuesday night and found that the water was too low to get into our spot in the river. We anchored two nights in 30 knot winds, anchor drag alarm frequently chirping warnings, and now after a second try getting up river we are at the towndock for the evening. Hoping tomorrow will bring us into our protected dock. Our fridge control panel ended up getting sprayed by some of the exhaust water, so it's out.
When we arrived back, we found out we have a lead on some potential private boat work that may help out a bit. GOOD NEWS! Anyway, we'll post more when we get settled back in. UUUGGGGGHHHH!

Arrived In Wrightsville Beach Anchorage

Well, we showed up yesterday late morning, safely. We have an exhaust leak somewhere, haven't been able to pinpoint where it is. Going to Wilmington by bus today, to look around and explore with the boys. Warming up finally. Anchorage is exposed with long fetch to Southwest, dockage here is high, closest marina is not real cruiser friendly, unless you like to pay $700.00 for a slip...
Not sure whether to stay or leave, and until we get this exhaust figured out, we're here.

No overnight at towndock. Plenty of resources within walking distance. The few people we met yesterday immediately talked about the economy when we mention finding a job. Getting alot of that. Boys are having fun...Love exploring.

2 Days In The Cold

Last night temperatures dropped into the low 20's, maybe even the teens, and tonight they're saying teens... Another cold day at the helm, started with a cup of coffee and when the sun peeked up, we took off. ICE COLD! I can't believe the seams in the sail didn't rip out, it was sooooooo cold. All day motoring, and made it to Mile 275 to Scotts Hill Marina, where we were able to plug in for 12 bucks! The end dock where we are is just barely deep enough to allow the boat...may even be on bottom at low tide, but hey, isn't that what this boat's used to? Ran aground several times all due to shoaling at different mile markers. Followed Skipper Bob's manual the entire way and bumped and stopped probably 1/2 a dozen times, almost didn't get off at Green 55...very stuck.
Shoaling was terrible all through Camp Lejeune, and of course we hit it right through low tide, which didn't help considering what we draw. All in all a good day though, so far we've used maybe three gallons of fuel, almost all of it today. Motor's running great, Budge and the gang are staying warm with the heater and the motor running, motor puts off a good amount of heat. Lots of condensation all inside the boat, ceilings, walls, everything was very wet last night. We're really looking forward to a warm weekend, so we can open everything up and dry it out...
Last night we heard what we thought was someone knocking on the boat, which scared us to death when they didn't answer (we asked who it was, no answer.) I went up to see and no one was there. Went below and sat down, and a few minutes later...knock, knock, knock... so I checked again, and nothing.
After much investigation, our fender was making a knocking noise when it pulled against the lifelines, which sounded identical to someone knocking on the boat....talk about being scared...we didn't know what to think, it was really startling. Anyway, all is well, boys have been schooling while underway, which is new to them, so they're excited. Another good day, just need a little warmth. If all goes well, we'll be in Wrightsville Beach tomorrow.

Snowy Departure

Well, we ended up leaving this morning, yesterday didn't bring us enough depth to get out of the creek.... We almost didn't get out this morning but after alot of squirming the boat finally punched through. Very Cold...lots of snow, visibility was less than desirable, but we were able to sail with reefed main doing 5-7knots all the way to Atlantic Beach bridge. After that we motored for about an hour and then sailed almost to Emerald Isle bridge and finally had to crank back up. About 15 minutes away from Swansboro I got a little too far away from a red marker and we ran aground hard, spent over half an hour trying to break free. With some sail manipulation and wind we finally got back into the channel.
We arrived in Swansboro and found the town dock empty, so here we are. Hunkered down, thawing out, heater on. Thank God for coveralls, that was by far the coldest sail I've ever experienced, and it looks like tomorrow's going to be colder still. Picked up some of those heat packets a few days ago for shoes and gloves, which came in very handy. All is well, Bridget made some yummy chicken and taters....
Now some sleep and on to tomorrow!

This Guy Wanted To Be Photographed

We took a trip to Morehead, via the State Ferry, and got a chance to shoot this guy, who landed very close, and hung out long enough for me to get in a shot or two....He thinks he's a model...

Abstract On The Water

A Bit Of Serenity