Ghost Ship at dock Another weekend, another weekend on the water. After Lisa put in her 8 hour workday on Friday we loaded up the car with Sophia and our boat provisions and took off down the road to Oriental. We have been listening to a podcast about cruisers during our drives down and it really makes the time go by a little quicker. I've never really been one to listen to a podcast before, but I can always listen to people talk about boats. Teddy J. at Sail Loot interviews cruisers doing what we want to be doing soon. It's great to hear their stories of how they got started and how they keep going. We usually get at least one new idea from each interview and it makes the 3 hour drive go by quick when people are talking about sailing.
When we arrived Friday night we just loaded the boat, took care of walking Sophia, and settled in for the weekend. When we got up Saturday I hung our second anchor on the pulpit and the three of us lounged around the boat until around 1030. It was fairly windy even in the marina and there was a small craft advisory for the Neuse River. We've been out in conditions like that before, even taking our ASA 101 test in those conditions, but no reason to suck if you don't have to. I get enough practice sucking in the Army. We were pushing away from the slip around 1130 and got on the river with around 5-10kts of wind. We didn't get going very far or fast, but we idly sailed up and down the river for a few hours getting in before sunset. When we got back Lisa went to the store to pick up a couple things for dinner and the ride home. We had Gold Star cheese coneys for dinner on the boat to get a little taste of Cincinnati. I worked on putting the Documentation numbers on the boat. When a vessel is documented with the USCG you need to have the identification numbers attached to the inside of the boat. I purchased some 3" letters and numbers from Home Depot and some Epoxy and Hardener from West Marine to get the numbers up right under the companionway entrance. I used the WM 105 Resin, WM 207 Hardener, and the WM #300 Mini Pump Set to get a hard clear coat over the documentation numbers. The USCG stipulates that the numbers must be permanently affixed so that alteration, removal, or replacement would be obvious, so simply putting stickers on the hull won't be enough.
On to the super scary ghost ship. Last time we were in Oriental we noticed a sad looking ship with its sails tattered, anchored in Oriental marina and this weekend we discovered the back story. The dockmaster at Pecan Grove Marina let me in on the sad tale. A young man decided to purchase a sailboat in Annapolis some time back with plans for him and his girlfriend to sail it to the Bahamas. What a great plan. Visit the sun and surf in paradise with your new boat and best girl. What could go wrong? Apparently a lot can go wrong. Having never sailed before he thought surely it can't be too hard. Before even leaving Chesapeake Bay he had run aground twice. Once badly enough that his girlfriend had broken a couple ribs. She wisely decided that was a bad omen and called it quits. With bravery, or more likely hubris, our new sailor pushed on to the awaiting paradise. Continuing down the ICW until he entered Pamlico Sound. He was hard on the ground again on a falling tide. Now with his new toy run aground a third time and no immediate fix he simply abandoned the vessel and went back to his shore bound life. Sometime later, the tide rose and floated his boat back into the sound and all around the river. All the while not a soul was on board. A sailor near Oriental spotted the derelict boat and had a tow company recover it to Oriental Harbor. When he contacted the owner they agreed that he could salvage the boat for the cost of towing it out of the river. Now the salvager has a boat for less than $1000. Unfortunately for him, other unscrupulous individuals must have seen the boat adrift or aground before it was towed. Everything of value that could easily have been removed was removed. Still, a nice find for $1000 but something that will take a significant effort to put back in a seaworthy condition. For now the ghost ship is awaiting it's next adventure across from Pecan Grove.
I'm always amazed when I hear of people who, never having sailed before purchase a boat and sail off into the sunset. Many of them seem to make it and enjoy the life. You never hear of the ones who don't. I guess they just abandon ship and leave their new toys to become ghost ships. Be careful out there, it's not all pina coladas and beautiful postcard sunsets.
When we arrived Friday night we just loaded the boat, took care of walking Sophia, and settled in for the weekend. When we got up Saturday I hung our second anchor on the pulpit and the three of us lounged around the boat until around 1030. It was fairly windy even in the marina and there was a small craft advisory for the Neuse River. We've been out in conditions like that before, even taking our ASA 101 test in those conditions, but no reason to suck if you don't have to. I get enough practice sucking in the Army. We were pushing away from the slip around 1130 and got on the river with around 5-10kts of wind. We didn't get going very far or fast, but we idly sailed up and down the river for a few hours getting in before sunset. When we got back Lisa went to the store to pick up a couple things for dinner and the ride home. We had Gold Star cheese coneys for dinner on the boat to get a little taste of Cincinnati. I worked on putting the Documentation numbers on the boat. When a vessel is documented with the USCG you need to have the identification numbers attached to the inside of the boat. I purchased some 3" letters and numbers from Home Depot and some Epoxy and Hardener from West Marine to get the numbers up right under the companionway entrance. I used the WM 105 Resin, WM 207 Hardener, and the WM #300 Mini Pump Set to get a hard clear coat over the documentation numbers. The USCG stipulates that the numbers must be permanently affixed so that alteration, removal, or replacement would be obvious, so simply putting stickers on the hull won't be enough.
On to the super scary ghost ship. Last time we were in Oriental we noticed a sad looking ship with its sails tattered, anchored in Oriental marina and this weekend we discovered the back story. The dockmaster at Pecan Grove Marina let me in on the sad tale. A young man decided to purchase a sailboat in Annapolis some time back with plans for him and his girlfriend to sail it to the Bahamas. What a great plan. Visit the sun and surf in paradise with your new boat and best girl. What could go wrong? Apparently a lot can go wrong. Having never sailed before he thought surely it can't be too hard. Before even leaving Chesapeake Bay he had run aground twice. Once badly enough that his girlfriend had broken a couple ribs. She wisely decided that was a bad omen and called it quits. With bravery, or more likely hubris, our new sailor pushed on to the awaiting paradise. Continuing down the ICW until he entered Pamlico Sound. He was hard on the ground again on a falling tide. Now with his new toy run aground a third time and no immediate fix he simply abandoned the vessel and went back to his shore bound life. Sometime later, the tide rose and floated his boat back into the sound and all around the river. All the while not a soul was on board. A sailor near Oriental spotted the derelict boat and had a tow company recover it to Oriental Harbor. When he contacted the owner they agreed that he could salvage the boat for the cost of towing it out of the river. Now the salvager has a boat for less than $1000. Unfortunately for him, other unscrupulous individuals must have seen the boat adrift or aground before it was towed. Everything of value that could easily have been removed was removed. Still, a nice find for $1000 but something that will take a significant effort to put back in a seaworthy condition. For now the ghost ship is awaiting it's next adventure across from Pecan Grove.
I'm always amazed when I hear of people who, never having sailed before purchase a boat and sail off into the sunset. Many of them seem to make it and enjoy the life. You never hear of the ones who don't. I guess they just abandon ship and leave their new toys to become ghost ships. Be careful out there, it's not all pina coladas and beautiful postcard sunsets.
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