Dockside at Edenton

The boat is clean, washed, cushions cleaned, ropes, lines, rodes, and strings coiled, washed, and hung with care, dishes washed, heads scrubbed, bunk made, my own hide bathed, and if I can get my hands on the Ship's Cat....he is next on the scrub list.

I did not do the tour of Edenton as I was busy entertaining myself with the scrub brush and water hose most of the day. Tomorrow perhaps I shall venture forth and look for the laundromat, hardware store, propane repair place, and perhaps stop for another fine Reuben Sandwich at Shannon's favorite Meatball Sandwich Shop.

If the weather cooperates it is also time to raise the sails and give them a good scrubbing to get all the Dirt Dobber Nest mud stains off the canvas. Those rascals delight in building nests inside the stacked sails and when you raise the sails you get showered in dirt clods. The good news is they don't sting but calmly fly off in search of a new home.

Frady has turned into a trophy hunter....while enjoying the last few chapters of "The Last Stand of Fox Company", the story of a five day fight in Korea in minus 25 degree weather at the Chosin Resevoir, I was presented with a Bull Frog. Frady spent ten minutes chasing the Frog all over the boat....he would reach a paw out to touch the Frog and off would hop the critter seeking a place to hide. The Ship's Cat tired of that fun and went to his dry food bowl for a snack and I was able to get to the Frog to heave him over the side back into the creek.

Alas, the Frog Croaked!

Where Did The Summer Go?

After a short couple of hours playing Tug of War with Ma Nature getting the boat tied up snug to the dock I enjoyed a hot dinner below while listening to Frady get and off the boat at least a thousand times. He is certainly happy to be ashore again and is exploring his new domain.

No dogs so far but there is another Marina Cat that does not seem aggressive but was interested in making his acquaintance with Frady.....but all Frady would do is his Hissy Face complete with bare fangs....actually "FANGS"!

All evening long he would bounce onto the boat...jump down into the cockpit and peek around the Hatch opening and wait for his head rub and the occasional Kitty Treat.

Along with cleaning up the boat and myself today.....Frady is in for a bath and dosing with Flea medicine.....hopefully I will come out of that with all my parts intact!

I awoke this morning to find it cold and foggy with absolutely no wind what so ever. Perhaps I should have taken a day in Cape Lookout after all!

Now off to explore Edenton....that should not take very long

Wrightsville to Edenton

Monday morning I was up bright and early having slept like a log. Young Shannon shared dinner with me at the Texas Road House in Wilmington and dropped me off back at Luna. I do enjoy her company especially when she gets to jabbering....which means you do a lot nodding yes....and shaking your no's....as there is no way to get a word in edgewise when she gets into topics like Peruvian Mummies and clay shards found at Fort Fisher.

The trip outside went great with a light wind and following sea. I saw a few Porpoises, one school of Bonita looking fish tearing up the water. Alas, I did not have my trolling rigs in the water or I might just have had some fresh fish for dinner.

I made better time than I thought and ran all the way to Cedar Creek off of Adams Creek (The ICW) just south of the Neuse River. It was a very long day! Originally I was going to spend the night in Cape Lookout Bight but the weather report called for the Cold Front to get here a day earlier than planned.

The run up the Neuse, Bay, and Alligator Rivers went fine. I anchored just outside the end of the canal with two other boats but they were so far away it was like being all by yourself. I awoke to some dense fog but was out of it in just a few minutes then the wind picked up and the road got all lumpy for a bit. Don't let anyone fool you.....there are not a million crab pots in the Alligator River and Albemarle Sound.....there is at least twice that many.

I wonder why I never see flash orange, yellow, pink, or green floats on the crab pots. Whoever the dullard is that decided to use Black floats needs his hind end kicked!

As I pulled into Edenton I discovered my fancy dancy Raymarine Electronic map does not cover that part of the water. Gad Zukes....it was paper map and radar for navigation. Being the wizard I am....I found the Edenton Marina and discovered the wind was blowing directly off the Tee Dock. Being a single hand sailor, that presented a bit of a pickle. How does one approach the dock and pickup a stern and bow line before getting blown off the dock. I did know better than to get off the boat before getting the lines attached to the pilings.

Scotty Harrell, the owner of the Marina, came down to welcome me and found himself being a dockhand for the afternoon. He is quite the gentleman and I look forward to getting to know him. Perhaps I might reconsider this Tee Dock and take up a standard slip further into the Marina.

So....the first trip of the season went off without a hitch assuming one discounts dragging anchor and cruising the anchorage, breaking a toe, catching no fish, and running aground in Adams Creek (got off with a judicious bit of sail), and spending two hours getting tied up to the dock in Edenton. Amazingly, I only had to make two passes at the dock before getting a line around a piling. Then the Tug of War started!

Now for some well deserved dinner!

At Sea and Underway!

Saturday was spent shuttling the Pickup to Edenton and a good day was had. Young Shannon kindly ferried me back from up there. While we were having a quick tour of Edenton, we had a very nice lunch and found a bar that had live music one night a week so there is in fact some night life in that booming metropolis.

The Electronics guy never showed on Friday but the Chart plotter and Radar works fine so long as the fish finder is disconnected from the system.

Pulled out of Wilmington at 0930....after shanghai'ing poor Frady. He smelled a rat when he discovered the pickup missing and no amount of treats was going to get him inside the boat. A quick Habeas Grabus on him on deck and down below he went definitely in protest.

I let him out of the lower decks when safely underway on the Cape Fear.....and after a bit of hyperventilating and a whole lot of petting, scratching behind the ears, and hugging.....he settled down and enjoyed the ride.

After getting to the Masonboro Inlet, I took the boat out and scouted out the channel.....no problem getting out of there. Lots of deep water....fairly straight channel....just a zillion boats.

Passing by the Coastie Station at the end of the channel.....I noticed a Coastie using a huge telescope....and probably an NVG scope there as well. He was looking for drinking boaters from the look of it. The State Fish Cops were going gangbusters in the narrowest part of Banks Channel.

The anchorage has about a dozen boats anchored here.....a very nice Canadian boat pulled in just after I anchored. Well actually it was an average boat but the helmsperson was beautiful. Here I sit with just my buddy George Raymarine for a helmsperson. Life can be so unfair at times!

Weather is forecast to stay good for the next few days thus will still do the outside run. I talked to Joe Earl and he is near GeorgeTown, SC. and making good time. He said for about four hours yesterday he had a speed over the ground of Zero Knots.....he said it was a very strong current.....but I reckon it more like some very shallow water. He and Jim can find those shallow spots....that is why I always defer to their experience and follow them!

Sundowners will be great tonight.....pretty place this anchorage.

Update!

After posting the blog....and making sure the boat was secure....I elected to take a wee siesta. I awoke to the sound of someone breaking into the boat....yelling something about his anchor was dragging. I jumped out of bed....grabbed me spectacles....to confront this evil fellow. As it turned out...Luna had toured the flotilla moored in the Wrightsville Anchorage while I had my eyes closed.

It was me that was dragging and not the insane guy pounding on the side of my boat. He made like Blackbeard and boarded Luna jabbering away with some Indian greeting and offering Yoga lessons and demanding cold beer while he made comfy watching me man handle the anchor. Despite his ignoring the hard work and my newly broken toe he finally got bored and made off with a bottle of Duplin's finest grape.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

You do meet the nicest people at the worst of times!

Gremlins!

Back in September I installed a nice new Raymarine Fish Finder Module to complete the electronics fit on the boat. The day before I was to pull out and head north the Helm and Nav Station displays decided to drop the Fish Finder and only display the radar and map functions....but only the Radar at the helm and the Map at the Nav Station. I could have lived with the reverse but as boaters know....that is just not going to happen.

Intial efforts to trouble shoot this situation lead me to believe the lower display at the Nav Station was defective. I then engaged in a search for a replacement and after discussing the situation with a technician, I went to Ebay and won a bid for a replacement display identical to the one on the helm station thinking I would up-grade the lower display to color.

After getting an email from Raymarine Customer support, I dragged out my Ohm meter and checked the lower display to discover it is okay. A long search of the boat for some special screw driver tips to remove the anti-theft screws on the helm display was fruitless thus a trip to the tool store was made. I now have a tip set for every possible combination of screws!

Off with the helm display....checked it with the Ohm meter and it was found to be good.

Being a bit curious....I disconnected one lead from the lower display and instantly the two displays worked great for Map and Radar but no fish finder. Seems I have one spare display now and a defunct fish finder module....the newest part of the system.

The technician is booked for the end of this week.....what the heck...might as well wait for him to show up and figure out what is wrong with the fish finder.

Boats....you just got to love'em!

Tea Party Time!

Cousin Robert and his wife Betty joined me and about 1500 other folks at the Wilmington Tea Party. A good time was had by all and with the exception of a grand total of three motorists.....all the response by passersby seemed to be postive. There was lots of horn honking, arm waving...some had flags and signs as they drove by.

One interesting conversaton was with a fellow named Omar....former Marine, business owner, and a husband and father of a couple of young children. He talked of how proud he was to be an American, loved the fact he had the opportunity to pursue his dreams of owning his own business and being able to raise his children in peace and security. He based his views of what it was like growing up in Jamaica during the time that government was embracing Communist forms of government, medicine, and law.

After we exercised our First Amendment Rights, we retired to Eddie Ronellis for what Cuz described as the best steak in town. Cuz has prevaricated in the past and seems to have failed to kick that bit of imperfection. As bad as the steak was.....the six foot tall, beautivul Red Headed Waitress made up in personality and charm! It was an absolutely pleasant evening visiting with Robert and Betty and picking at the wait person who gave better than she got.

The plan now is to shuttle the pickup to Edenton Marina and return to Wilmington and set sail on Sunday morning to Wrightsville Beach for the night.

Frady shall have a severe disruption to his current lifestyle.....following being Shanghai'ed for the first time this year. He is a fine sailor after he realizes there is no other option!

Civil War Redux?

Gosh....the Governor of Texas and the Texas Legislature have gone public with a House Resolution and public statement of protest against what they see to be as an "Oppressive Federal Government". They are raising the spectre of open resistance to the Federal Government over the ever increasing intrusion of the Federal Government into areas prohibited to it by the Constitution.

At the same time the Department of Homeland Security issued a report warning of "Right Wing Extremists" becoming more active and growing in numbers nationwide. They are particularly worried about returing Military Veterans who are growing more and more vocal about their opposition to the current administrations programs and initiatives.

There are thousands of Tea Party protests scheduled for tomorrow and probably millions of Americans from all walks of life will be out to show their disillusionment with Federal Government Tax laws and other fiscal misconduct.

Well, the Obama Voters wanted "Change".....I guess this is what they wanted.....a nation so divided that the working class middle income silent majority is now becoming the "radical" group that bears investigation as being a threat to the peace and tranquility of the country.

Funny thing....these radicals are folks that work for a living, pay their debts, raise their children, attend church, pay taxes, and make our country the prosperous place it is.

I wonder if the politicians are looking out the window and wondering when the farmers with their pitchforks are going to show up and clean out the crap from the halls of Congress?

I apologize for the political rant but I do believe we are seeing the start of the Second Civil War....one between those that pay their way and those that want their way paid for.

I also will bet there will be a third political party formed in the next year that will take on the Republicans and Democrats and will win the vote. I sure hope so!

The Season Begins!

Gave notice to the Marina today....plan to leave on Thursday it appears as there is a bit of wind and stormy weather today....and perhaps the next couple of days.

Final preparations underway...installing the new washdown pump, stocking up on food items, making ice, topping the fuel tanks and giving the engine room a final going over.

The basic plan is to motor to Wrightsville Beach the first day....anchor out there for the night. Get an early start and head for Mile Hammock Bay at Camp LeJeune for the second night. Third night will be in the Morehead City area or up in Adams Creek. The next stop will depend upon how far I can make it on the next day if not the whole way to Edenton.

First things first.....I must attend the Wilmington Tea Party on the 15th. It will be at College and Oleander at 5PM.....be there or be square folks!

Now....back to getting ready for the first trip of the season!

Chop is Ready!

While living in Nigeria and walking from work at the Shell Oil Camp back to my company provided mansion outside the Shell Camp fenced and gated compound....there were many local cafe's from which to enjoy indigenous dishes. When the food was ready....the "Chop is Ready" signs...chalk scrawled hand writing on painted boards...would be displayed.

Billy the Propane Man just blessed Luna's now restored system and suggested I should renew my acquaintance with both the galley stove and the gas grill. I shall certainly do just that! I believe a good chicken Curry would hit the spot tonight and Pork Chops on the grill tomorrow.

While waiting for Billy to show up, I helped the Cat overhaul a raw water wash down pump that had decided to go on strike. I removed the pump and sat down at the dinette to dissemble the thing. Frady, who was sleeping only as Cats can do in the corner of the dinette seats opened one eye and took a few minutes to contemplate what was going on.

Curiosity and Cats is a thing that will never cease to entertain you. Frady propped up on the corner of the table and kept his nose stuck in the way as I worked. He of course knows more about water pumps than I do.....which suggests how little I do know.

After taking the thing apart and confirming the motor was not turning.....thus the blown fuses at the helm station....I took a pair of pliers and some WD-40 and worked the rotor free and reassembled the pump. I checked the towel to make sure all the bits and pieces were accounted for....then took the one bit Frady had taken as a souvenir and did the routine all over again.

The pump works fine.....and will go into the spares locker as I ordered up a new one from Defender. The new one will put out more water at a slightly higher pressure which should make cleaning the mud off the chain and anchors must easier. The other one was suffering from Old Man's Disease or something as it did not throw a lot of water.

So...when the new pump arrives and gets installed....the freezer gets stocked...the grocery stash gets topped off....some adult malt beverages stashed....and the Cat gets Shanghai'ed we're off to the bounding Main or non-bounding waterway!

Some People Need Killing!

Every now and then I see or hear of something that just makes me wish old time wild west justice was still in vogue.

A few minutes ago I watched a Glenn Beck segment where he reported the killing of a Yellow Labador down in Texas. The dog was shot by a group of young men way up in the morning night outside the owner's rural home. The owner heard gunshots, grabbed a handgun and went to investigate after making sure his Mom was unharmed. As the dog's owner approached the place where the dog had been killed he observed four men standing around the dog and laughing amongst themselves about their foul deed. The owner confronted the four who then raced off in their car. The dog's owner climbed into his pickup truck and gave chase at speeds well over a hundred miles an hour and after talking with 911 Dispatchers in four counties, the car was finally stopped by Police Officers. The dog killers taunted the owner and laughed about killing the man's dog as they were being handcuffed and placed into police cars.

One of the four is in jail and a warrant is outstanding for a second. Two were released as the law does not provide for their arrest as accomplices or co-conspirators.

What makes this such a terrible thing is the Labador Retriever had been given to the owner as a means to help him as a puppy to assist in his recovery from terrible physical wounds and psychological harm he incurred in combat in Afghanistan.

His name is Marcus Luttrell who wrote a book about his experience titled "Lone Survivor". The action he survived is the bloodiest day for Navy Seals since their activation. Luttrell crawled seven miles while escaping and evading from the Taliban assault on his Seal Team that killed all of his team mates and the rescue force carried in the Army Chinook that responded to their position.

To kill any animal this way is evil but to kill a dog that a wounded Veteran raised from a wee fur ball into a grown dog and grown so attached to as a result of the circumstances under which they were brought together is just so terrible to think of.

As I have said before.....some people need killing!

Spring Cleaning

Spent a few days in Winston-Salem catching up on personal business. Paid off every insurance company in the Country it seemed, dealt with property tax bills, renewed my tow insurance...just in case Katie takes over the helm again sometime as it might come in handy.

Frady traveled like a champion....sacked out on the parachute bag with all the clean linen in it and took spells of head butting my elbow when he got up to stretch. He is getting into the swing of things when it comes to riding in the pickup.

He very definitely does not get along with his cousin Ruckus, Mom's Seventeen pound Tuxedo Kitty. Seems Ruckus reminded Frady of whose house it was the first time they met and the lesson took.

Today was Spring cleaning....made like Mr. Clean in a tizzy all day. It is scary the things one finds after Wintering over in a sailboat. It is not for the faint of heart! At the end of the day ol' Luna was looking good inside....how the dead Billy Goat snuck out without me seeing him is a mystery. I found things that I knew had been stolen by Gremlins....although I know in reality they are just playing a game of "Switch" as they just traded things one for one.

Needing to make my own self presentable I took a wander over to the Marina Shower and Frady did his usual escort duty. After the shower, we did the chase the kitty game, scratch the cat's tummy routine, and then got to enjoy "Frady the Tree Hunter" show. He delights in crouching behind a parking post, peering around the side of the post then pouncing on my fingers at about eight feet in the tree. Three repetitions of that in two small Live Oak trees and he was happy to walk me back to the boat for his evening Treats and Ham slices (chopped) from my salad.

For a Feral Cat, he is beginning to see the up side of domestication.

When we got back.....we discovered a River Boat monster of a thing complete with stern paddle wheel tied up at the Tee dock. The WMC Sniffer Cat had to check out every inch of the fore deck and found it free of contraband.

I read Joe Earl's blog (Temptation) and he reported he would be posting photos of himself in his new Speedo Swim suit. He must have spent too much time in the Sun recently or something....Joe Earl in a Speedo is not a sight I care to imagine! Jeepers Batman! That would be akin to me wearing a Tu-Tu!