05-20-09 Morehead City Yacht Basin

[Rick]

It is now Wednesday and we are still in Morehead City. We anticipate leaving tomorrow morning heading to Belhaven. The winds are to get down to 10-15 and the waves 1-2 feet in the Neuse and Pamlico rivers, so we should be okay.

A technician came today and he indicates the Air Conditioner is shorted out, requiring a new compressor. We have made arrangements for a Cruisaire dealer to work on the unit in Chesapeake Va next Tuesday (this being a 3 day weekend). He has a unit in stock if it is indeed necessary to change units. We are not the first to have problems early in the trip. We personally know of others.

Except that this place is so close to home, it is a very nice spot to be stranded. Close to town, very clean, and all amenities. We want to thank all who have signed our guestbook, called us on the phone, or visited the website for your support. We feel like we have a flotilla with us as we begin this journey.

See you in Belhaven, where we will probably stay a couple of days since the tech cannot work on the AC until Tuesday.

05-18-09 Morehead City, NC

[Betsy] If things get much worse, this trip will last 9 days instead of 9 months! We had a wonderful sendoff with nearly 20 friends and family present for mimosas prepared by a neighbor. I knew my brother Steve was planning to come see us off, but was thrilled that brother John also made a surprise visit. Our Power Squadron, Church, neighbors and Topsail Beach friends were all well represented, in spite of the weather which was cold and rainy.

We pulled out of the dock at approximately 11:20 after a special prayer from our preacher, Tim Croft. Friends huddled together in the cold and rain to wave good bye. With me at the helm, we were barely out of site when we got stuck in the mud and had to wait nearly 30 minutes for the tide to come in enough for us to continue on. The boat is so weighted down we’re riding several inches lower than usual, and our channel just isn’t deep enough even at mid-tide. Fortunately Rick had planned our departure on an incoming tide, so we just cut the engines and waited. (A note to our power squadron members: this grounding DOES NOT qualify us for the bent prop award!)

More bad news…we were well underway when I asked Rick what he had done with the Champagne friend Bill Morrison had brought for us to celebrate the first night out…oops! He left it on the sun porch. I heard later from a neighbor that one of my brothers had taken it, so I’m sure he will present it to us on our return (Steve, I hope you heard that!)

Our goal for the first night was Oriental, but by the time we reached Morehead City the winds had picked up even more, and we made the wise decision to stay here rather than attempt the Pamlico River in such awful weather. We were both pretty much exhausted by the time we reached here. The Morehead City Yacht Basin is a wonderful place to stay, within walking distance of several restaurants and with the finest shower facilities and lounge. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that we returned from dinner and decided to turn on the heater just to take the chill off. We immediately heard strange sounds coming from the heater, so turned if off and then noticed a faint burning smell. We opened the hatch where it is located, turned it on again just for a second and saw sparks flying…not a good sign. So we will probably stay here in Morehead City til we get it fixed…not a bad place to be for boat repairs. And with the weather, we were probably going to have to wait a day or two to leave anyway…(look on the bright side).
We said it was going to be a great adventure, and it has certainly started out that way!

1 Day to Go

It is Sunday, May 17 and it is raining cats and dogs. Hope this is not an omen for our departure tomorrow at 1100. The boat is filled "to the gills" with our stuff and food. We will have to eat our way off the boat. I think we have tried to put the contents of our home into the boat, and it is not working.......The tech from Wilmington is on way to fix the connector on the AutoPilot. Hope goes well and quickly. Our preacher brought us up to the front of the church this morning and went over our planned trip and then prayed for our safety and good health on the trip. It was much appreciated. Tomorrow is the big day. If all goes well, we will be in Oriental, Belhaven, Coinjock, Norfolk and Yorktown over the next week, spending most of Memorial day in Yorktown.

5 Days to Go

Well, it is Wednesday, May 13. We have put the boat back into the water. The guys came and got the Autopilot going today. After 6 weeks of bad parts, fuses, etc. It finally worked. Then, a tech was working on my bilge pump and accidently broke a wire and a connector to the AUTOPILOT. Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. So, the AP guys have to come back and fix the wire and broken connector.

We are loading the boat, everything in its place and a place for everything.

Stay tuned for more exciting developments.

10 Days to go....

Well, we have the boat back from the 400 hr service, we have all the bilge pumps working correctly, we have installed a fuel hose for fueling the generator and the 2hp Honda motor. We have decided on using Toad and Dauna's dinghy for the trip. It is 9ft, very stable and the 2hp Honda really pushes it along. Burt is installing some anchoring rings on the forward rails. So, by Wednesday, we should be ready to put the boat into the water, and fill it up with stuff. Then we wait for Monday and Git-R-Done. Check back often and see how we are doing.

3 weeks to go...

Well, things are beginning to happen. Less than 3 weeks until we leave and a lot is going on. The boat is at Johnson's Marine for the 400 hr service. We had to have the brakes on the trailer worked on before we could even get the boat to Johnsons. Waiting to put the boat back in the water to complete the AutoPilot. A guy named David is to come next week to wax the boat and we will be putting everythig back on in final prep. Check back soon.

Well, we are back from Charleston and the AGLCA rendezvous. Very nice affair, we learned a lot of things. It was very windy and on two days very cold, into the mid-30s at night. All in all, we had a great trip and we had all the things we needed. I guess you could say it was a successful shakedown cruise.