Mooovin' On!

Would have posted this yesterday, but we were so far in the boonies that there was no service. In spite of a dire and gloomy forecast; rain, wind, etc, we decided to leave the docks at Dowry Creek Marina  for parts further South. With a hand from Fred, the wind, and good ol' Detroit diesel, wed did just that. Not a long day, but as it turned out, a fairly successful one; nothing broke, nothing grabbed the bottom of the boat, and, we got where we wanted to go. Down the mighty Pungo River, 'cross the mighty Pamlico River into Goose Creek, which, Chuckie, is one of the geographical entities creating Goose Island. From we meandered into Campbell Creek: plunked the anchor down, and turned on the heat. Mr Buddy and little red Honda jumped right into it and did their best. Well, maybe it fell a little short, but it still felt reaaally good.


Up in the am to a totally different kind of day; sunshine, hardly any wind, and 45 degrees. Fantastic!
Rolled down Goose Creek ,past R.E. Mayo' shrimp company, the Hobucken CG station, and into the awesome Neuse River. Widest river mouth in the US, they tell me. All in all, a gorgeous day to be out and about; 'specially in a boat.                                               

We are now in Cedar Creek, NC; same spot we were in 9 years and 3 days ago when the killer shrimp attacked us. We be ready now, tho', got old age and wisdom on our side. Anyway, tomorrow we head to Mile Hammock Bay, down by Camp Lejune. You guys stay warm & safe; catch you on the flip side.

Update II

So, we loaded up the Yukon, pretty much too the brim, and headed back to NC. Plan was to deload the Yukon, load Scooter to the brim, put the bridge canvas on, jump on and head South. Well, that plan failed from the gitgo. Took almost 9 hours to get to Dowry Creek; traffic, accidents, etc. Add a day.

The unloading and fitting in took another day. OK, we'll put the bridge canvas on and get the plan moving. In steps Mother Nature with 15 knot winds. That was actually OK as well, 'cause the little red/green light dance that we thought was solved popped up again. Can't be full! Was!!. Took it all apart again, pumped dry, counted out 30 gallons going in, pumped out same. Recalibrated sending unit. So far, so good. At least we know more than we did before(and?...). 'Nother day gone; wind slowed to a manageable speed, so let's put the canvas on; haul it up to the bridge; first 2 pieces attached, but don't fit. So much for putting that puzzle together, Chuckie, they all have too mesh or nothing will work out. Find a place to store the canvas; we can run the boat from the lower station. So, can we go now? Nah; time for wind, rain, possible thunder storms. Might as well stay at the dock with real electric for heaters.

Here we sit, still; wind is howling, forecast just changed to reflect tomorrow's 20-25kt breezes. So much for optimism. Hopefully, Tuesday's forecast will hold true, and we can get underway.

You may have noted an occasional mention of a third crew member; I am pleased to introduce our ships anti-rodent control officer, as well as all-round situation monitor and staff trainer; Momma. You do know the saying" dogs have owners, cats have staff" Couldn't be truer in this case.

Sorry there isn't more exciting news to put forth, we're working on it. Stay warm and safe, we'll caych you later.
                                                             

Intermission update

Right; can you really update an intermission? Well, why not. When we parked Scooter at Dowry Creek in early December, we pumped out the holding tank, drained the water system, put the "pink stuff" in the engines; in short, partially winterized the boat. A "just in case" sort of thing. Reduces the worry factor. In  the course of pumping out the sewage tank, I noticed that the pump time was reaaally short. However, the lil' red light went out; the lil' green light came on; must be good. In the early am of the next morning, as we were loading the car to drive to PA, the lil' red light came back on: full tank! Great. An uh,oh thing.

So, back down to the boat; courtesy of Wayne and his trusty C172. First time I've been low'n slow in a long time; thanks, Wayne, it was a great trip. Anyway, after carefully diagnosing the crappy (sorry, Chuckie, it begged to be said) situation, we determined that the vent system was obstructed. So, new external fitting, new vent line, removal of the vent line filter, and a new, larger on the tank fitting. Despite some opinions to the contrary, we could not generate enough content to complete a pump out test in the short time we were there. Logic says it should be good. But, what logical person would ever buy a boat? We can only hope. Also stripped, cleaned, and operationally checked the anchor windlass. Seemed good; but again, time will tell. Fuel tanks are filled, water tank is filled, holding tank is empty, bridge canvas has been repaired, but not yet installed; Scooter is about ready for the next leg.

Plan is to drive down between the 7th and 8th of January, and, weather permitting head South. Our best wishes to all for a wonderful, and happy New Year. Catch you on the flip side!

Intermission

We left Dowry Creek by Equinox, (out of Chevy) at a reasonable hour Wednesday morning; leaving behind a gorgeous day for boating; but.....
    Anyway, we are now in PA, doing Dr things, completing the social calendar items that pop up this time of year, and prepping life for the return to Scooter in the first week of January, 2019. There will be some maintenance items that need attendance before we get out of the dock. Some port side window leaks that the 54 mph winds uncovered, but, primarily, the bodily waste (sewage, Chuckie) retaining system. Seems that a.) the tank indicator is on the fritz, b.) the extraction system is on the fritz, or c.) or some d..n thing is broken. Could be as simple as a plugged hose, or it could require opening up the tank and manually removing the sludge to make space for more "stuff". Somehow, it will get repaired and we'll be underway again. There is always something lurking behind something else when it comes to keeping a boat moving.
   Tomorrow, the canvas that needs repair heads to the shop for what we hope will be a timely fix. Should that come together expeditiously, we will be able to operate from the flying bridge; easier to see buoys, debris, etc. On really cold days we can  run from the lower helm station. But, hey, we're headed South how can there be colder days?. Have a Merry Xmas, and a fantastic 2019. Our best to all, and to all a good night. Stay warm, safe, and content; catch you on the flip side!

Blown away..

Ok; so here we are at Dowry Creek marina, near Belhaven, NC since Saturday late afternoon; rainy, windy, and getting colder. 20 to 30+ winds in the forecast, and wet. What'd we get: winds as high as 54mph, horizontal rain, 2' seas at the dock. Today, we continued to have rain & wind, altho' mild compared to last night. Found a bunch of window leaks that we suspected existed, but now we know for sure. All in all Scooter came thru the storm in pretty good shape, no torn canvas or excessive water in the bilges.

Tomorrow we'll try to refuel perhaps reposition in slightly deeper water, remove some canvas, etc in preparation for parking here until January. At the moment, we have a rental car set up; lots of stuff that is turning out to be in the way needs to get out of the boat. That third crew member is creating some space issues. Hopefully we can be underway by Wednesday. all depends on the boat in front of us. He has to move so we can get to the pumps.

Toured Belhaven today; neat ACE hardware store, nice older houses, and some fantastic Food Lion chocolate chip cookies. Peaceful day centered on staying warm and dry. We'll keep you posted as plans develop. Have a great Xmas &; a happy New Year. Thanks for stopping by.

Diego has arrived!

Wow, what a luxury! No dealing with the "time nor tide" thing today; slept late, cooked a real breakfast; you know, Chuckie, scrambled eggs, bacon, toasted Asiago cheese muffins, etc. Hot Scooter coffee, and cold Guernsey milk. What a deal, eh. The weather in the am wasn't really too bad; chilly, but not horribly so, breezy and raining a bit. Forecasts for this part of NC had 20 mph winds with an occasional gusts running a bit higher. We elected to stay on the boat; read, relax, putter, etc. And so we did just exactly that. About the time that we decided to grill some boat potatoes and burgers, things did an about face. Suddenly we were watching rain go by horizontally, the wind was whistling, & roaring as it whipped around the boat. The skillful, now brave, captain ventured into the cockpit to ascertain the situation. We may have to add another descriptive phrase here, Chuckie. No sane, smart person goes outside in this stuff. It was physically difficult to stand up against that wind. Some canvas was working loose. Wising up a bit the Captain secured what could be reached from the cockpit deck and retreated; soaking wet & cold. Boat is pitching, waves are slamming into the hull;all this, and we're tied into a slip.

So, Diego will pass on in the next few hours, days, etc. Plan is to leave Scooter here and head for home until the first week in January, then back here and press on to the South. Tomorrow, some maintenance, provisioning, some logistics, etc. That is if the weather lets us get off the boat or to the fuel dock; maybe a bit iffy. Anyway, y'all stay warm, be safe. Catch you on the flip side

hunkered down..

Up early, again, to head off into the stump filled wilds of the Albemarle NC waterways. Given Scooter's recent adventures re stumps, do you think it is reasonable to be slightly concerned here? Anyway, once more we blast of at o'dark thirty, to run 70+ miles in an effort to find a save place to park the boat and gain ground in the projected hunt for "South". Hard to tell what the projected storm track will do to this area. Might even have to shovel snow off the boat with a broom; what a hoot that would be. Maybe just some wind and rain. Coastal NC is supposed to get gale force stuff, or worse. Glad we're tied down. So, plan "B" may be to leave Scooter here 'til post Christmas, then come down and continue South. New Bern and surrounding marine environs have little if any service, or supplies available; fuel, pump out, even electrical power at the dock. Where we are at the moment, has what we need.

So, the trip from Coinjock, across the dreaded Albemarle Sound, thru the Alligator River, and then the stumpy Alligator-Pungo canal went smoothly, albeit a bit longer than planned, Actually a nice day weatherwise. Lunch was great, and the boat ran well; what more could you want . To top it off, we got to go to the marina Xmas party after our arrival. They eat well here in NC. No early stuff tomorrow; need to work out plans, do some boat maintenance; and/or watch the weather do its thing.

Later.