Friday, September 30, 2011

The end of the dock and this update


This is the dock past our boat – looking toward the Hilton Hotel in New Bern. It really doesn’t look that bad to me – but – they condemned it and made us move – we now in Bridgeton Marina (a mile or so up the river).

All for now…

Some of the power pedestals took a beating.


Some of the power pedestals took a beating.

Floating docks gone bad


Thought you might like to see some pictures of what happened to the floating docks. This is a finger pier (it goes from the main dock at a 90o angle to allow you to walk next to your boat) that broke loose.

We were very lucky

We were very lucky to survive the storm with such little damage and with a lot of luck and help from dock neighbors.

By our records we were hit by a 'violent storm'


We checked our wind instrument and the highest reading during the storm was 59 knots (67 mph) though the hurricane was classified as a category 1 (lowest) which indicate winds between 74 and 95 miles per hour.

Again, the good news here is that we did not get the higher winds of the eye of the storm.

The last 'broken' line...


Here is the line after it was removed…and we finished the separation process.

Which leads us to...another chaffed line


and, because the dinghy was blowing in the breeze (so to speak) our brand new davit line also chaffed, so we had to purchase a new line for one side. The other side was fine. One would think that you could just cut the end off and redo the splice but it is almost impossible to do so on ‘old’ line. Here, the good news is that the lines held and the dinghy was not lost.

Stainless steel fitting lost it's shape


The stainless steel fitting that was holding the dinghy tight stretched out and dropped off (drat!). Almost lost the dinghy seat but one bolt held.

A weld on the dinghy davit cracked….and the reason was…


A weld on the dinghy davit cracked….and the reason was…

Solar panel mounting bracket needs a bit of repair


A fitting on the solar panel structure came parted and the other half is in ‘Davey Jones Locker’ (under water for our landlubber friends).

Say goodbye to life raft cover


The cover for the life raft is missing, but notice that the awning that we stowed beneath it is still on deck (go figure!).

Some good news...


Some good news, our power cord was still in place, though of course it was not working as the dock electric cords parted during the hurricane.

West Marine time again...


We need to replace the shredded lines and buy out West Marine – who said cruising was inexpensive…guess that was last century!

Boat meets piling...or visa versa


We could tell that the boat rubbed on the piling (or visa versa) by the mound of wood scraps next to the toe rail (not to mention some missing paint on the side). Not sure if the bottom was messed up or not as the water was still pretty dark from the storm.

Pilings took a beating


As you can see from this photo the pilings took a beating – this one was actually being held up by the lines. We find this out later when we move the boat out of the slip.

Lines are everywhere


Lines are everywhere…most hanging loose and in the water.

Thanks to our boat neighbors


Thanks to our boat neighbors who had added lines that were stowed on the life lines our boat was safe anyway.

Hurricane Irene Report


We leave Ohio to drive back to New Bern, NC on 8/29 after Hurricane Irene has passed. We get there pretty late (after dark) and pick our way down the dock. Our boat looks to be in good shape but is in the middle of the slip. Mark and I maneuver it close to the finger pier and I hope aboard to start the generator. We are fortunate that our solar panels and batteries have kept up with the needs of the fridge and freezer. All of the dock lines have parted.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

James’ girlfriend Sara

James’ girlfriend Sara

Guitar anyone?


Later in the week James plays a little guitar while Michael listens…

Michael and Faith


Michael and Faith

Edie and Dad take a turn


Edie and Dad take a turn

Let the dancing begin….


Let the dancing begin….Sharon and Rick start things off…

Carl and Gary


Carl and Gary

Bob and Bill


Bob and Bill

Sharon, Robbie and Wendy


Sharon, Robbie and Wendy

Rose and Chris


Rose and Chris

Bill and Margie


Bill and Margie

Robert….


Robert….

Dad, Mark and Eric enjoy the music.


Dad, Mark and Eric enjoy the music.

Ski Week in Ohio

Back in Ohio in late August, we again go camping – this time to West Branch for “Ski Week”. Bob had this group come out one night for music and dancing by the campfire.

Neighbors purchase the Olds 88


Mark puts on his sales hat and hails the neighbors as they walk by…he sells Aunt Yvonne’s Olds 88, 1987 year for $1700.00 – pretty good salesmanship. Aunt Yvonne no longer has a drivers license so we needed to get temptation out of the way. We stay for two weeks and try to help around the house sorting clothes and other things out, donating all to Catholic Charities.

We take Aunt Yvonne out for lunch later in our visit.


We take Aunt Yvonne out for lunch later in our visit.

Mark holds Uncle Fred’s Knights of Columbus sword.


Mark holds Uncle Fred’s Knights of Columbus sword.

Sad news


Then, we heard that our dear Uncle Fred has passed away and drive quickly to Kansas City to be with Aunt Yvonne.

Dad and I harvested this years crop of garlic


Dad and I harvested this years crop of garlic

My cousin Nancy had us all over for dinner one night.


My cousin Nancy had us all over for dinner one night.

The Jersey Boys night


Later the gang went downtown Cleveland to see “The Jersey Boys” stage production (the Four Seasons music story).

James and Robert just hanging out…


James and Robert just hanging out…

Chris is glad to visit with her Dad.


Chris is glad to visit with her Dad.

Bob and Carl take it easy


Bob and Carl take it easy (for a change)

Ohio style fun

For the next few months we visit family and friends – THIS time we go to Ohio first and Texas second – last year we had it backward. With 60+ days of over 100o temperatures in Texas we were really glad to be in Ohio first. Naturally we start off with a gang campout – the kids are always entertained to ride around in the front loader on a tractor.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Bridge Point Marina


also river side services – and we are in New Bern, NC. We took a slip at Bridge Point Marina and soon left for Ohio secure from hurricanes…since we took no pictures, I thought I would include the hyperlink so you could see it before Irene...

http://www.bridgepointehotel.com/

Nice river front places


Nice river front places

We pulled into the river later


We pulled into the river later

24 pounds of Mahi-Mahi


And, finally we caught our first BIG fish, a 24 pound Dolphin fish (known also Mahi-Mahi) – to help sedate him/her I sacrificed ½ bottle of gin… Mark did the hard work of filleting it – and was it yummy! (We took the leftovers to Ohio and cooked the rest of it for my family.)

This one did not


This one did not

This one got away...


We left shortly to go up to Pamlico Sound and the Neuse River to New Bern – again an overnight passage. During the AM watch I caught two fish this one got away…

South Port




We were glad to pull into Cape Fear and South Port for a few days to rest. We met some wonderful folks there Toni and ?? and Bob and Lori.  Toni offered to take me to the grocery store the next day and we toured the town as well. That evening we were invited over for dinner and games.

Our new flag took a beating and had to be retired.


Our new flag took a beating and had to be retired.