April 26 - 27, 2015
The
adventure continues. We departed Dockside Marina, Wrightsville Beach, NC with
the help of the the bathroom-cleaning crew of two cute guys (they made pretty
darn good dockhands!) who reassured us we'd made the nearby Wrightsville Beach
bridge in plenty of time for the on-the-hour opening at 9 a.m. We found
ourselves traveling tandem with Vickie and Mark (Blue Willow) and Connie and
Jim (Patriot, an appropriately-named blue, red, and white Nordic Tug). Clay,
tiring of conversation with me, struck up frequent radio contact with the
Michigan captains of these two vessels. It can be quite comforting cruising
with accompanying boats to share information of various hazards such as
shoaling, current, tides and such, all of which are prevalent along this stretch
of waterway.
We
have twice traveled this path, so Clay shared his knowledge which was
considerable. Good job, Captain! And, being the lead boat on this day, we were
first to experience the known and the unknown which was a huge advantage for
our newfound traveling companions. Our friend Tom Goodman's home port of
Swansboro, NC was our next stop; and Tom had shared with Clay information on
the new city docks which had yet to establish water and electric nor the means
to collect dock fees. Thus, free on Sunday as confirmed by the Swansboro Mayor,
became very appealing to all of us.
Having no dockhands to assist our docking in Swansboro, we
were on our own. I will readily admit here that we need practice at solo
docking, especially with a swift current and brisk winds present. It was rough,
but we got it done. Blue Willow and Patriot arrived without incident and
were soon to disembark to explore the attractive downtown adjacent to the city
docks.
Friend Tom, a seasoned boater and port captain of Swansboro,
arrived to welcome our group and to share his vast knowledge of the area. Of
particular interest was the topic of free docks in the Chesapeake. Where was
Tom when we needed him first time through? Tom spent considerable time with our
companions then regrouped with us for dinner at the Swansboro Yacht Club. The
name belies the atmosphere and bill of fare of this dining establishment, but
we received a warm welcome from our waitress who itemized the evening specials
without hesitation. I chose the seared tuna fish tacos; Clay, the fried oyster
basket; Tom, the soft-shell crab sandwich. I learned that soft-shelled crab is
a culinary term for crabs which have recently molted their old exoskeleton and
are still soft. Soft-shells are removed from the water as soon as they molt to
prevent any hardening of their shell which enables almost the entire animal to
be eaten, rather than having to shell the animal to reach the meat. We giggled
at Tom's sandwich when he bit into it with a resounding crunch...guess the harvest
timing must have been a bit 'off.' With a smile on his face, Tom continued to
eat, finishing his meal with a contented sigh...good roughage?
Monday
morning presented the opportunity for Clay and me to walk the pathway familiar
to us through the Swansboro downtown, across the three bridges to Dudley's
Marina and back, with a midway stop at Clyde Phillips' Seafood. We took Mr.
Phillips' recommendation for purchase of red drum and then watched him filet
the fresh fish, weigh, then wrap in newspaper for us to take along with us.
We arrived at our boat simultaneously with our boater friends who were
returning from breakfast at 'the Elvis place' downtown. They were quick to
depart, but we chose to dawdle a bit.
Unbeknownst
to us, drama was about to unfold. As we sat down at the breakfast counter to
our inhouse breakfast, Clay noticed that Blue Willow was in the waterway but
not moving. Uh oh! Running aground was not a question of if, but when, which
explained Blue Willow's paralysis. Companion Patriot returned at a fast clip
(too fast in Clay's estimation), later explained by Captain Jim as an attempt
to create wake (waves) to dislodge the trawler from the shallow bar. Plan A
failed, so Plan B: Sea Tow to the rescue.
We
watched the Sea Tow rescue with Patriot returning to the face dock behind us.
The little red Sea Tow tug tilted precariously with the weight and drag of Blue
Willow, but the rescue was fairly quick. More up-close-and-personal was phase
two of the morning's drama.
Desirous
of joining her traveling companion, Patriot was quick to prep for
departure...too quick. Captain Jim backed his vessel toward shore instead of
away, allowing the current to catch him broadside and sweep him securely
perpendicular against the dock from which he'd just departed. Having witnessed
this scenario before, I encouraged Captain Jim to develop a plan of escape
before acting. He liked the idea I proposed, and with Clay's help and mine,
Patriot was soon docked IN the slip and ready to back against the current and be
on her way. But I'll be darned if Jim didn't repeat his toward-shore move,
realizing too late he was in the same darn predicament as before. Old habits
die hard! Jim rapidly accelerated, sideswiping the dock's corner but doing no
damage. Rough morning. But entertaining.
As
we prepare for departure from Swansboro this Monday morning, I again bid you a
fond farewell as we continue toward Norfolk.
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