SeaZen » Dinghy

Sleeping In

Liam — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:58:50 +0000

Well…I slept in on the day that we left Beaufort. But I do remember that, well…. um ….. ah …. we are in a time warp. I and the crew don’t remember even though it was only 4 days ago. What I do remember is when we pulled into Swansboro, NC we went looking for a good place to anchor. We tried many times with no success. Finally we were a little in the channel and the anchor bit tight. It almost pulled mom off the boat. I grabbed her in time though. We wondered if we were in the way of some fishermen. Dad and I went over to talk to them. The 2 horse dinghy engine was putting along and we were about there and it stalled with a putt- putt- puutt bang!!! and it was out. We just drifted in and tied off to the dock. I had to stay with the dinghy and dad went into ask. The fishermen said that we were fine and that they thanked us for asking them. That night our friends from the mighty vessel Sponge pulled into the anchorage. I asked Brian and Nicole if they wanted to come over for a wine dinner ( for me, hold the wine.) It was really fun and we stuffed ourselves. The fun part was that we had home-baked cookies at the end. After our fun night Brian and Nicole were leaving to go to their boat. Sponge had drifted upstream in the strong current and was speeding swiftly toward the bridge dragging the anchor. They went over as fast as they could in their little dinghy. Next they called dad over to help them because their line to their dinghy had gotten into the Sponges’ prop. I went to sleep but everything was fine for them in the end. The next morning we were going to see the town of Swansboro. First we took Luna for an w-a-l-k. She LOVED IT. We walked every where, into this old cemetery which had HUGE trees. I think they were southern oak, but I’m not sure. We put Luna back in the boat. Next we went to an internet cafe to charge the computers and go on the internet. That was another day gone by. We left Swansboro the next morning and went down the ICW some more. We say many things through the twists and turns of the many rivers. There were so many dolphins around us I never got to see it because I had taken a bash in the cockpit and was crying ( sad but true.) The bad part of the day was when we had to wait for a bridge to open. It was an hour…. so boring, but we got by. Then we went under the bridge to our anchorage in Wrightsville. The next morning we shoved off bright and early to get to the destination on time, Southport, NC. I was below most of the day healing and sleeping. I don’t know much. I was up for the arrival and we looked around the harbor and did not find any free docks. Then we saw them: the sliver lining of that cloud. We docked and met a woman named Brenda that need some help moving her boat because her boat would not go into forward gear. with some of her friends we helped her with moving her boat . We guided her in and tied the lines down. Today I went to help Brenda with fixing her halyard* and topping lift*. I went up her boat Solstice’s mast and stayed up there trying everything I could think of to fix the topping lift. Finally I got the little biner onto the back stay* and a leg numming job well done! I have to go up again to fix something else on the halyard. That’s all for now folks!!!!

News from Norfolk

Liam — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:36:22 +0000

IT has been a long time since the last post. we left Annapolis, MD for the seasonal (but gorgeous) Solomon islands,MD where we were on the steady anchor. Dad and I went looking for surfaced wrecks; we did only find one a little rotting dory or row boat. It was a mold-covered, but a neat rotting hulk. After the Solomon Islands we left for Deltaville. The next morning we headed of in the direction of Deltaville, VA. It was blowing and rolling our 42 foot sail b0at so we put up the head sail for more stability after we went around the corner of the land, so to speak, to stabilize us on those rock’in and rolling waves. We were not having a great time. The object of that day was not to go overboard while hurling, but thankfully no one went overboard and none of us hurled ( but we were holding it down though.) The main part was getting in to shore that day. It was bumpy, literally. When we were going into the shallow channel we went STOP!!! in the sand. Dad put Seazen in full reverse and we got in the sand again by turning a little to the left. I realized that the numbers on the markers made sense that they were all one channel, not two separate channels like mom and dad thought they were and I could help them out to get in the right channel. The channel was surrounded by sandbars. We were headed between two markers favoring the green like the cruising guide said and we hit again. We went more to the middle and were safe for the rest of the channel. Finally, we anchored and were safe for another night.The next day we sailed from Deltaville to Norfolk ,VA. A highlight of my trip was sailing down battleship row along the navy station. We saw many ships like aircraft carriers and destroyers, cargo ships and what not and some ships I could not identify. Then we got to the place we were going to stay at, Portsmouth Boating Center across the river from Norfolk. When we got there the first thing we did was walk Luna and then plug in to shore power. THAT’S A BIG DEAL FOR ME because we never plug in becuse we are always anchoring or at a mooring. This time we got a slip. The next day was also a BIG DEAL because I was going to Nauticus, the biggest marine and nautical museum in the country. They had sharks and rays, eels, fish of all different shapes and sizes, a submarine pilot training machine, simulators, a pirate history special exhibit, and my favorite, THE USS WISCONSIN (BB-64) the only Iowa-class battle ship still in working order. She had 8.9 millimeter guns capable of launching a shell that weighed as much as a Volkswagen Bug 30 miles away and the shell made a crater 50 ft by 50 ft and it could shatter reinforced concentrate. I loved that place! It is a must go. We wanted to eat out that night and we went all around town trying to find something local like oysters or salmon. We finally found this place called Snappers in a little section of town. The food was great. Oysters, oysters, and oysters! It was an indulgence of oysters. It was awesome.! After dinner right outside the restaurant, there was this parade of light which was also cool. I will put up a video of it. Then after it was over we had to go home to the boat and we had to take the ferry and when we got to the ferry landing we were surrounded by people bustling to get home and it was a 1 and half hour wait in the line. When we got across to the other landing we had to call a cab to drive us to the boatyard. When we finally got there I went to bed and was OUT!!!!!

The Siries of untortunat Dinge rides

Liam — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:59:18 +0000

Well where do I start? Let’s see, ah…

Oh ah, it was a cold windy day at Jamestown, Rhode Island. The waves were large and we had to get into shore so we had to brave it to get Luna ashore. The waves were huge. The little dinghy was going up down up down and so on. Luna was squirming and dad was struggling to get her in the dinghy and the waves kept slamming us into the boat over and over again. Well, we got in with a following sea and all was good. Until (flash of lightning in the back round) we had to go back to the boat; everything was good until they came, the waves from hell, to a dinghy at least. Then we were as drenched as pie crusts at a clam bake. We finally got to the boat and we were SOAKED right to the bone!!! The pee run was complete and we payed for it. Boy, we paid.

The Not-So-Lame Sunday

Liam — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:30:06 +0000

On Sunday it’s usually a sit down day. Not for us. We had a lovely breakfast at a little cafe. Then we looked all around town to find the laundromat (we don’t have a washer and a dryer on board.) We finally found it on a little street next to the library. We had to luggernaught the clothes ( there were a lot) all the way up a hill and maybe five blocks till we got to it.There was a man there running a donation stand for the Veterans’ Fund. My dad asked if they would make a trade. Dad would make a hefty donation to there cause if he would drive dad to Fairhaven, Mass to get the transmission fixed and he agreed. The lad’s name was Bob. He was a nice fellow with a nick for the cause of the army. Bob is volunteering to restore the largest ship (pre-nuclear) in the world, the U.S.S. Saratoga. He drove me and dad to the marina and I was there to charge my computer and mom stayed at the laundromat. Dad walked back to the laundromat and they folded clothes and walked backed. There was a Halloween jog going on to benefit the 8th grade class trip to Washington D.C. and we raided the bake sale (no we paid.)