Hurricane Earl....in the can...CUT!

2AM....water level up about two feet from normal....wind about 15 knots....light rain falling.

Docklines all secure....and Dock electric still hooked up and working....both Air Con's doing their thing.

Frady did a shore sweep....and came back to finish his slumbers.

Me....back to bed to sleep the sleep of the honest!

What Kind of Mood Is Earl Going To Be In?

Awoke to a dead calm day....overcast.....and quiet.....less Blue (neighbors wee doggy) barking away at whatever yappers bark at.

Coffee brewing....checking the weather reports and guesses about Earl. Thus far, the weather guessers say we will have Tropical Storm weather tonight....possibly Hurricane weather. Now if Obama and his crew of Economists could be as forthcoming! First order of business was to feed Frady who is loving the return to his regular Fancy Feast offerings....he and every other Cat seems to hate the gravy style for some feline reason.

Second order of business is to feed me....coffee is brewing and there are the usual bagels....John Wayne style...cold...without butter....but quick! Then off to fill fuel cans....buy a pair of reading glasses then back to the boat to remove the Bimini. Except for running the extra bow line and the two creek lines we are ready for Earl.

Noon.....weather forecast is improving slightly....seems Earl has held to a more northerly course and that should keep it further offshore. Peak winds are thought now to be about 60-65 mph which should pose no problem. The surge should be no more than three or four feet probably which is not too extreme.

Shannon called me saying she has been feeling really bad.....went to the Doctor yesterday without any real result. Sure hope she feels better.....or it is off to Myrtle Beach to see about her.

Am holding off stringing the creek lines....neighbor boat ran his...and instantly a fellow in a 26 foot ex-USN motor whale boat had to run up the creek. He came from just around the corner...and had three days warning to move the boat....and seemed bothered the creek lines were in the water.

I met the legendary Bobby Cahoon this morning at breakfast up in Bayboro at Charlies Cafe. I met him when he roared into the parking lot and cut me off for a parking space I was trying to pull into...then said he had not seen me.....imagine that...a big blue one ton Dodge four wheel drive pickup truck with my smiling countenace at the wheel....and he could not see me! I reckon he ought not be driving if that is the case.

Why is it....rude Redneck Goobers play stupid when challenged about their bad manners? Is it really ignorance or just more bad manners on display? Funny thing....I have been here since May....hang out in Oriental....and know of this fellow by name and reputation long before I meet him by chance in Bayboro. Sorta tells the story I think! Thus....it appears the big bag of wind around today is not just Hurricane Earl.

Earl turned north and northeasterly.....should pass offshore of Hatteras....leaving us with a bit of wind....and some high water but nothing of any consequence.

Dollar Beer and Captain's Call at the Silo's tonight....that trumps Earl!

Frady went after a Snake this afternoon....it wound up in a draw....Snake slithered off....and Frady stayed un-bit! The Ship's Cat was strutting afterwards! So long as he holds to our agreement on the "Catch and Release Program".....where he catches them, brings them to me on the boat....releases them...and I chase them down and release them back to the wild...we will be okay. I reminded him yet again today...."NO SNAKES!"

Time to jump in the Rain Locker and head off to the Silo's for Captain's Call!

Going Blind One Pair of Spectacles At A Time!

Today was rig for Hurricane Earl day.

Took down the Genoa (large furling sail on the front of the boat) and stowed it away down below. Removed all the enclosures from the Bimini Top....stowed them below. Moved all the Jerry Cans, Dock box...and other clutter to the bed of the pickup....filled the boat water tank....replaced the water in the four Jerry Cans on the deck and stashed them in the cockpit....got the bad news on the Freezer Compressor....er ist kaput!

Doubled up all the dock lines, rigged a line that will pull forward on the bow....normal lines pull aft due to being pulled so far forward on the end of the dock.

Then the fun began.

I was down to rigging my cross creek lines. Which meant pulling the two spare anchor lines from beneath the aft stateroom bunk. The smaller line but larger bundle fought leaving its cozy hiding place. Since you have to hold the mattress up with one hand...and wrestle the line with the other....makes for some good exercise and sailorly language. I think I scared the bigger line into crawling out of the locker on its own.

Retired to the dock....stretched out the lines...and untangled them where the Gremlins tied them into knots over the past year...when they weren't fiddling with the electrical or propane systems. Got them sorted out....the lines.,..not the Gremlins!

Raided the Sailcraft surplus chain for the use of creek lines stash.....got a couple of short lengths of chain and toted them back to the boat. Now came the fun part....laying out the chains and anchor lines (spending an hour untangling the anchor lines where the Gremlins had made a silent strike in my absence) and began to "Tie Wrap" the lines and chains together. The goal is to have the creek lines politely lurk on the bottom after being tied to a piling using a very simple nautical knot called a Bowline.

It is called a simple knot because any idiot can tie the thing in any manner of ways...one handed, two fingered, two handed, under tension, no tension, all one has to do is find an idiot to tie the thing for you and you are good to go. No idiots were found until Ol' Don showed up and showed me a half dozen ways to tie that simplest of nautical knots. I hope Don is around when it comes time to do this for real.

Now....the cross creek lines are rigged, stashed in the Dink in readiness for tomorrow. I am sure the Gremlins will hold a drunken party in the Dink tonight and really sort out the creek lines for me so deploying them will be a soul destroying experience. The Gremlins just want me to have something to talk about I am sure.

As to going blind....when you find a wee tiny miniature screw lying on your bed....get a piece of duct tape...and wrap it securely with the tape and put the tape in a safe place. As every decent Redneck and Shade Tree Home Repair expert knows....you can always find Duct Tape. You cannot always find that damn screw after you put it into the box with all of the other screws you have stashed away. I found such a screw....and immediately put it into the only designated screw box on the boat where it hides today after I discovered it belonged to my nice pair of sunglasses with the cute little six power bi-focals. That shall turn out to be an Eighty Nine Dollar Screw if I have to replace the sunglasses!

If one takes a Safety Nap....do not sleep on your only pair of reading glasses. The Gremlins will come have a barn dance on them while you slumber! I must add a stop at the Bayboro CVS tomorrow before the storm.....or it will be a very boring evening listening to a movie.

Alright Earl.....despite the best efforts of the Luna C Gremlins Local 416....I'm ready for ya!

Hurricane Earl....RSVP Please!

I have been sat here checking up on Hurricane Earl.

Why in the name of political correctness did we cave to the Feminazi's and start splitting Hurricane names between male and female names? Why moron came up with the gem of wisdom?

Any time spent trying to figure out if a Hurricane is going to show up....and guessing how they are going to behave when/if they do grace your presence.....will remind one of why historically they were all named for women.

Earl has behaved fairly well when the weather guessers have suggested where he was headed. Of late, he seems prone to skirt the North Carolina coast but remain offshore. The difference for a lot of us is more than a few miles as Earl is quite a storm and anything more than a glancing blow could result in a real knock out punch.

Luna is safely sat at her dock, well up the creek and deep inside the trees and houses. Shy of a direct hit....I suppose she is as safe as she can be. Perhaps I shall take down some canvas if it does look like we will get more than just a wee bit of wind and a lot of rain otherwise I will merely stock up on groceries, soda pop, beer, and propane. At least if the electricity goes out I have the generator to keep the A/C going. Add in a good book and I shall be good to go!

Now....off to the rack for a period of thoughtful reflection.....for you folks still working for a living....can you say "Nap"?

Nap done....horrible knocking on the side of the boat....twas Breck retrieving his Freon gear. Earl is becoming a topic of concern now as it appears we shall see more of it than we care to. Boats are showing up to be hauled onto the hard....One is tied up very close behind Luna...like its anchor is underneath my aft pair of Solar Panels....but shall be moved tomorrow (one way or another!). Propane tanks are full, groceries laid in.....had to go out and buy that loaf of bread!

Tomorrow morning is take down the Genoa and strike it below to the forward cabin (remembering to leave Frady's litter box out in the open) and lash down all the sail covers....fill all the diesel and gasoline jugs...and stash them in the pickup so they will not blow around. The Dink will get tied up between the dock and the seawall....and in time Luna will get tied off mid-creek where I intend to ride the storm out.

There are plenty of good books....a case of iced beer....thus good for a day!

The nice thing...barring any disaster like a Pine Tree falling on the boat....it will be sailing weather on Saturday!

Two Steps Forward....One Back!

Boats....far more trouble than they should be!

Finally had the sense of humor failure with the propane system. It reached the point where I got flat fed up with chasing leaks resulting from one very poorly designed, installed, and crafted system. I know Don Fulcher's ears are burning right about now!

I got up bright and early...gulped down my coffee....and got stuck in re-do'ing the propane system this morning. After cutting tie wraps, cutting one hose (after giving up trying to get the darn thing loose), and finally in desperation....completely dis-assembling the Pelican watertight box containing the regulator and tank selector module....I loaded the mess into the Pickup and headed off to Bayboro to get what I needed.

After a wasted stop at Jenkin's Gas....a very typical and demonstrably useless excuse for a gas company....I fell into Eastern Gas. In a very few minutes....parts in hand...off to the boat for the install. A few minutes putting some hoses and fittings together and it was back to the Pelican Box. Don Fulcher's ears are still on fire! Finally got the system all plumbed, hooked up, leak checked and secured with tie wraps. The expression...."Cooking with gas!" springs to mind!

Then....it was time to deal with the freezer compressor. Step one when dealing with a Freezer problem is to "completely" empty the freezer compartment. Operative word is "completely". "Completely" does not include leaving a package of steak in one corner of the freezer in mid-summer....for a week!

So far....we have progressed to the point of fixing the broken copper line that got broke because someone installed the system with not enough room to move the module so you can get your fingers to anything. That got re-soldered. The fan got replaced....the compressor still doesn not work. Parts on order....naturally no way to order them today....so Tomorrow! That means the part gets here on the second day....and if that isn't the answer....then we get to consider a new compressor module complete.

Can we say "BOAT"? Break out another thousand!

GRRRRRRRHHHHH!

While the weather is perfect.....stuck at the dock waiting for parts....and guess what...Hurricane Earl approaches!

Fingers crossed ol' Earl will scoot on by on his way to Scotland and leave us alone!

Small Town Life!

Oriental qualifies to be a village....which is far smaller and much more interesting than a mere small town. Someone made a comment the other day that summed it up...."Even if you don't know what you are doing....someone else sure does!"

To describe the "smallness" of Oriental....five minutes by Cruiser Bike...and you can reach the city limits and everywhere inside the them from any starting point. You know the entire Police Force by name....as there is exactly one of them and a very fine gentleman he is! When you and two travelling companions enter a restaurant or bar on a Friday evening...you double the occupancy of the place.

Funny thing the other night. I rode my new bike down to M&M's with the express intent of enjoying a cold beer and seeking good fellowship with yet unknown friends. Instead, I enter the place to discover two old acquaintances from Matthews Point sat at the bar who were about three fourths done with their dinner. They had run across the river on a lovely Egret Center Console boat for a quick evening out. Upon seeing me happily take up a seat at the bar next to them...they quickly finished...paid up and left without saying goodbye. Redneck Goobers! You got to love'em. A bit of history....the Ship's Cat....Frady was their dog's nemesis and had committed a grave sin by stealing from their food bowl (the dog's) and thus making himself a dire enemy of the state. Frady at that time was living on his own and surviving by catching minnows, shrimp, crabs, lizards, and whatever he could. In between fleeing from three big Lab, Lab Mix, or Golden Retrivers owned by the two country gentlemen.

Later, one of the fellers got all envious or jealous....or whatever and reckoned I was a parading my AFD Shannon up and down the Matthews Point Dock to the great distress of the Matthews Point Female Mafia which lurks at the end of the dock there. Envy is such a sad thing! Especially, when the one that is so darn Green is so far off the mark as to the nature of the situation. But then....it generates a good laugh for the rest of us!

Last night....I learned of how Oriental got onto National Television....with a story of how a sailboater got caught using a State Bridge to install a Mast on his sailboat. We got a very good laugh about that.....and a few hours later actually ran into the very fellow and his wife who now reside here in town on their thirty foot boat. Hearing the full story was really good fun.

Dinked around yesterday....took the dinghy out and ran around the harbor, marinas, and creeks for a large part of the day! Stopped for a glass of Iced Tea and have come to the conclusion I am a rare item here in town....a real live "Conservative".

Let no one confuse you....Liberals are very dangerous people....especially here in Oriental! Just yesterday morning....a short haired, Berkenstock (with socks) wearing Woman in a crossover SUV...ran two stop signs....roared down the street....and beat me to the coffee shop by at least two minutes....I was on my bike. I suppose I should be respectful to her as even now she has the "Obama/Biden" sticker proudly afixed to the painted surface of her trunk. It takes a brave person to claim responsibility for what has happened to this country.....that is why she has it there still isn't it?

Another Day!

What a good night last night was....never had my dinner....but got to talk with some lovely folks.

Skipping dinner didn't hurt me....and enjoying the conversations was well worth it.

Thao in Vietnam is doing well but very let down the US State Department refused her Tourist Visa saying there was no guarnantee she would return to Vietnam after her visit here. Now that makes a lot of darn sense considering we our southern border being wide damn open to anyone that cares to wade the Rio Grande. At least Thao speaks English, Korean, and Vietnamese and has a college degree to boot! I asked her to send me all the documents she provided the State Department and I will take them to Virginia Foxx's Office and see what she can do to convince the State Department to get their head out of their butt.

I removed the Freezer compressor this morning....in two pieces unfortunately and have it at the Sailcraft shop for repair....fingers crossed on that! Perhaps it will not be a "Boat" repair....that being the "Break Out Another Thousand" dollars!

Frady got a change in his rations....he has slowed on his eating to the point I worry a bit. He turns his nose up at the Fancy Feast gravy style canned chow....the Food Lion was out of the non-gravy stuff he prefers and he also has begun to turn his nose up at the Purina dry food he has always liked. I put down some "Kitty" formula dry food left over from young Missy's short stay...and he seemed to eat a bit more of that. Frady got a lot of exercise yesterday....the neighbors little fuzzy dog kept him treed most of the morning. As the tree is his usual way to the roof top....it was no big deal.

The new bike is put together....and has had its test ride.

This can only be good for my figure....and bicycling drunk charges are far less expensive than the more mundane DUI style!

Now...what to do today?

Shower, Nap, Lunch.....Lunch, Shower, Nap.....Lunch, Nap....Lunch....Nap....ZZZZZZZZZ!

Time to get started again!

Time flys....procrastination gets easier with effort!

Summer summary....HOT!

Arrived in Oriental in May....took up a side to slip at Sailcraft Service....right behind a private home where the the owner's Mom lives. She is from Denmark...and a very lovely lady....Physical Therapist and owner of a young Shizt tzu (fluffy little dog with lots of personality who pees upon contact with any human!).

Boat is in good shape....owner making it....Ship's Cat getting over his three week snit fit after Shannon dropped off a beautiful young kitten named Missy. Missy now living with Mom in Winston-Salem and making her happy. Which also makes Frady happy.

Have done Ocracoke, South River, Cedar Creek, Broad Creek, River Dunes, Cape Lookout, New Bern, seen fireworks and an air show....run aground....fought electrical problems.

Have a new Battery Charger, new start battery, new house batteries, and as of tomorrow a new Cruiser Bike.

Tuesday is 2 fer 1 Pizza at the Silo's....Saturday Morning is Breakfast Buffett at the restaurant around the corner.....Chantelle no longer works at the mini-market....Aaron is in jail...Ted moved to New Bern.....and the 24 foot Sea Hawk with the 240 HP Yamar is still priced too high.

The VA dentists stay almost caught up....have lost one crown, broke a tooth, and lost a new filling since starting with them. Cannot beat the price but the pace of work means I will die with bad fillings.

Rainy day today.....working folks would hate me....got up and fed Frady....started the coffee maker...and rolled back into the rack for another two hours of "Z" Time. Worked on finishing Sixty One Hours....but not quite there yet. Just finished "We Were Soldiers and Young...." by Galloway and Moore (for about the third time).

Swapped letters with the City of Ventura over the local Yuppies letting their dogs crap on a Medal Of Honor winners grave.....they appreciated my letter but probably did not appreciate my views expressed.

Fishing rigs are made up....hand lines rigged with Planers....gave up sorting out the Fish Finder Module....and feel lucky the Chart Plotter and Radar still work. I got the cable I ordered....finally.....to discover it was the wrong one. Back to square one again.

The Freezer Compressor blew out a coolant line.....I cannot but wait to see how much that is going to cost to fix.

So....Ship's Cat soundly slumbering on the settee...rain pattering on the hatch tops....and off to the Silo's for some of that two for one pizza thing....at least the Microwave still works so breakfast pizza is hot instead of cold. Next Hurricane appears to be Ernie....as the D-one is supposed to stay east of Bermuda which unless I head for Ocracoke and miss the channel should make no problems for my trip.,

Have run into Earl and Karen, Vick and GiGi, Dwayne and Linda, Shannon and her Beau, and a few other itenerants....had a water spout hit O'Malley's as I took my first bite of a cheeseburger. Visited the British Cemetery on Ocracoke and have been offered a British Flag by a friend should the one there need replacing before the Annual Ceremony attended by British, Canadian, and American military representatives.

So....caught up....now I promise to try to stay caught up.

I have been known to tell a white lie too!

What's A Guy To Do?

On first blush....I think I ought to cut the Commodore's rations and cut out all of his Kitty Treats in response to his failure in the performance of his duties. On the other hand I might see that failure as a truely nice thing he has done.

The rub is simple.....I want to use my sail boat for the purpose it is designed and built...that being "go places". The bird nest I found under the Mizzen Sail cover, complete with five or six pretty light blue eggs prevents me from doing so.

The loving parents of the eggs are tending the nest and being very responsible adults and have earned my admiration and respect. Frady on the other hand seems quite immune to any thought of failure in preventing this situation developing.

I need to do some reseach to figure out the time frame the birds will be nest bound and see if there is a natural way around this or if I must buy a bird house....hang it on the piling next to the boat....and in sight of the "Love Birds".....transfer the nest and eggs to the bird house in the hopes they will accept the eviction in good grace.

Ain't this boating life great?

New Beginnings!

Long spell of cold weather....trip to Vietnam over....getting the boat ready for the sailing season....all works towards reviving interest in the blog. April 15th approaches...Tax Day and the Second National Tea Party...provoke a need to speak out on certain current events.

In time....I shall be pounding the keyboard and offering up my thoughts.

For now....a short shout out to my favorite surfer gal....Shannon!

Happy Birthday my dear!

More to follow later!