It can only get better
When you go to leave a dock and you find that the water has dropped so much that you’re now stuck in the mud, the day can only get better, right? Yes, the Captain-Ron docking maneuver that we used to get into our tight little spot in Oriental was only surpassed by the team effort of towing and pulling our boat out of the mud that was holding us against the wall. Why were we stuck? It’s that damn wind-effected tide again, with the strong south winds blowing the water out of the bay.
Leaving the dock in Oriental, just after getting freed from our tight little spot.
The winds yesterday were blowing 15-25 knots but we knew we only had a few hours of motoring to get us to our day’s destination, Beaufort, NC. For the record, this is pronounced Bo-fort, not Bue-fort, which is located in South Carolina. Motoring along with our friends on Knot Tide Down, we were happy to have our first dolphin sightings. Like beautiful sunrises (which coincidentally I can see right now), if you see them all the time it might get old but this is the first time Rebecca or I have seen them in the wild and we were quite excited. Very cool. What else did we see? Palm trees! We definitely must be heading in the right direction.
After dropping the hook in Beaufort, Rebecca set off to do her TRX workout while I took a crack at installing the $1.00 solar charger that I mentioned yesterday. I am ecstatic to report that it works! Our battery charger was showing positive amps coming in. We have never seen positive amps unless we were hooked to shore power or running Ronzo (our Honda generator). Now I’m even more stoked to add to our solar array.
It works! Woo hoo!
As I said, the day could only get better, and it continued to do so. Anchored just up from us are Kevin, Dena and their 12 yr. old son Connor, some friends of Knot Tide Down, who have been traveling for over a year now on their Lagoon 410 Sabbaticus. We were happy to be invited to join them on their boat last night and as we have come to expect, they are very cool. Spending time with new friends made for a great end to the day.
Wow! A $1.00 charger that work…great find! Spending almost every summer in Florida since I was a child, I can tell you that seeing dolphin in the wild has never gotten old! There’s something so magical about it. You’re getting into our neck of the woods!
I can’t imagine seeing dolphins in the wild would ever get old. It’s exhilarating and just wait until they swim in your bow wake or lead right in front of the bow… it’s an unforgettable experience that I had just once while in Florida.
And PALM TREES!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE palm trees. When I see one I almost want to cry because it means I am where it’s warm most of the time. Most of my younger life I dreamed of seeing one and when I finally did, at 22, I did cry.
🙂
We didn’t cry, but we did smile.
Ok, so how were the other wires mixed up? They were alternating red and black, and now on the new charger they are alternating. I don’t get it. And is there something on the charger saying which one belongs where … like when you put batteries in something (that little diagram molded into the plastic)?
Yes, the two chargers are labeled differently. I can see how that might be confusing for you if you can’t see that.
Oh yes I can see it on the new one. Not so much on the old one though.
SO much to learn.
The usual neat pictures. How on earth did you get stuck with your shallow draft? I’ve seen seiches in Lake Erie take all the water out of a marina or beach, but didn’t know that it could also happen in tidal waters. Right now, I’m sure the folks at the other end of the lake are wishing the waters would go down. We’ve had two days of really strong winds, and are supposed to have a couple more. I don’t know if you are also getting these winds, you may be too far south for it. At least, I hope you are! 80MPH sustained winds, with higher gusts are not fun! And in the Dakotas, they got a blizzard out of it! Glad you’re in the land of the palmetto!
We are not getting THAT kind of wind fortunately! Yes, we have now gotten “stuck” twice with our 3 foot draft. Good thing we don’t draw more than that.
Must be someone snuck som Guinness into the bilge and lowered the waterline 😉
I should check that. We all know that the Busch is too light to do that.
Glad you are getting the incoming juice now.
Thanks. Us too!