Boat Goats

October 17, 2018

I vowed I was not going to do a blog this year, but then I started taking pictures I wanted to share with you, so here I am.

I always have a hard time leaving Maine, specifically home, but we manage to get out the door and head down the road with a truck full of stuff we and the boat cannot live without for six months.

First stop was Monroe NY to spend the night in a hotel.

October 18, 2018
We spent the night in Alexandria, VA with a nephew, then on to my Raleigh NC family on October 19th.

October 22, 2018- November 6, 2018
Arrived at Osprey Marina where we feel like family. The staff is outstanding, the marina is small, pleasant and quiet.

We leave our boat at this marina for the summer, it is taken care as if we were the only boat in the marina. Miles, the harbormaster, washes our boat once a month and checks to make sure the dehumidifier and air conditioner are still working. Kimberly, one of the dock hands, cleaned and waxed our boat and it is beautiful, more beautiful than when we bought her.

Hurricane Florence, the ugly force of nature, destroyed a beautiful town, New Bern, NC three hours north of Myrtle Beach.

"New Bern is a riverfront city near the North Carolina coast. The Tryon Palace complex includes a replica of the state's 1st capitol, historic homes, gardens and the North Carolina History Center. The Birthplace of Pepsi is the drugstore where the drink was invented in the 1890s. Nearby, the New Bern Firemen’s Museum highlights the Great Fire of 1922. South, Croatan National Forest has estuaries and diverse wildlife."

Osprey Marina is on the Waccamaw River and is always effected by the flooding following hurricanes.Florence was the worst yet, rising 22 feet. The staff at the Marina added to pilings, so when the flood waters came the docks wouldn't float off the pilings and take all the bots with them.


The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1110 square miles in the coastal plain along the eastern border between the two states into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Obviously we have our truck here making it very different from all the other places we will be in the next 6 months.  It is so easy to get in the truck and go to the store for anything we might need or want in order to stock up for our journey south. We have been to Brookgreen Gardens, a lush multi acre center with sculptures, live oak, a boat ride through acres of beauty, an apiary and zoo.  We didn't get to see even the tip of the preverbal iceberg, but will go back next year or in the spring.  If you are in the area please take time to go. Although there isn't any way to see it all in one day, you can use the same ticket for seven days.

We have reconnected with a friend from Maine that moved down here years ago and lives on a houseboat three miles away.  During hurricane Florence he checked on our boat to see how it was doing and reported back.  We had dinner out with another boater and met with dear friends several times including attending church and had brunch at their home.

But let me tell you that Rob has been working hard ever since we got here the list is long and he is a trooper I am so glad we are doing this together however you might not think I am happy about it sometimes but "I don't have a better" idea.

Here is the daunting list of chores he has done on the boat.  I feel so useless when it comes to helping out since they are a one person job. My job was cleaning the boat, buying food and running errands.

1. There wasn't any water when we arrived and that was an easy fix once the problem was identified.  A hot water handle and valve popped of the shower at the swim platform.
2. Varmints had made themselves at home in our boat leaving evidence of there stay, only it wasn't the varmints we thought it was.  Since we didn't have any hot water I was done the inside of the boat with Lysol wipes.
3.  No hot water to clean up or wash dishes and you can imagine the rest it was about a week before it was fixed.  It was not an easy fix a few days to get parts, one day to replace coil and half day to replace low/high switches on the tank.
4. The three water tanks have to be bleached, rinsed and filled.
5. We sprayed a protectant/sealer on the Bimini, placed it over stainless steel frame, then cleaned and hung the clear Strataglass.
6. We replaced the undersink drinking water filter.
7. Repaired the aft head (two different problems).
8. Changed oil in both diesels.
9. added distilled water to the battery bank.
10. Because the generator was often difficult to start, a new starter was ordered, FedExed and replaced.

A regatta of 16 with very difficult sailors arrived at the marina.  Now obviously all sailors are not difficult, but you do know that there used to be a stereotype of a sailor perhaps the pirate type.  We saw one in the flesh while at the marina. They swore like pirates, they were beyond slobs, leaving the trash everywhere, and loud. But you know the funny thing is that they kicked one of their mates out because of his behavior.  Although we thought he was harmless, he was drunk most of the time, so we didn't dare to leave the female staff alone in the office. A couple of us took turns.

We finally left the marina on November 6th, Election Day.  A country divided. Thank you God there isn't any politics or religion discussed between boaters.

Enough about that. Here are the pictures I want to share with you.

Halloween Speaker Spiders

I have a favorite joke probably my favorite because I can remember it I probably have repeated it to my friends but they might not remember it either. 

There was a man who sat at the bar and drank one beer after another going to the head several times as the night when on.  Finally at closing time he order a beer took it to the head an dumped it in the toilet.  The bartender curious asked the man why he did that and he answered "I am tired of being the middle man".

This is Lucy, not a lamb but a poodle, that took me for a walk everyday.  Wayne, her owner, is thrilled that I will take her for a walk.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts every morning

Krispy Kreme Eater (NOT)

The owners goats are regular visitors to the marina. The bottom of the shrubs are gone because of the flood waters.

The photographer

                                                            The visit to the Brookgreen Gardens.

Many beautiful sculptures.

Beautiful carvings of birds.

It was hard to not be emotional when I saw this beautiful piece of art.

Women discussing the making of a felted bear.

I don't know what happened to Rob

Val, the sister of a very good friends, has become our good friends

Rick a good friend's brother-in-law

One can always find a fair. These are electric guitars. Myrtle Beach.

There are lots more pics but if I don't stop here or I will never send out my blog.

November 6th we anchored in Butler Island, November 7th we anchored at Mimim Creek, November  8th we anchored at Wappoo Creek.  We had easy travel days.  The first two days were short days. On the day we left it was short because Garmin charts had to be loaded again.  The second day was short because we wanted to time it right for going through McClellanville, a well known spot with very shallow water so best to pass through at high tide.  We didn't have any problems.

Going back a bit to when we crossed Winyah Bay, the inlet to Georgetown, we saw lots of debris probably from hurricane Florence most of it was harmless but there were logs that luckily we missed.

Today we are headed to Brickyard Creek, about an 8 hour day.  We are trying to make it to Wahoo Creek before it starts raining. The prediction is for 2 full days of rain, so we will be there a while. We were trying to make it to Fernandina for the two days of rain but we are not going to make it.

All for now I hope you enjoyed reading my first blog of the 2018-2019 cruising season.

Tricia