4/16/16        Saturday          Morehead City, NC


Well we thought the winds had stopped this morning. Nothing exciting in the night and flags gently rippling, sort of, this morning. BUT, by 10 AM it was blowing again. Goodness. When will this blow out. All of us here are ready to be on our way again. A couple of boats left yesterday and another left this morning but the rest of us want to wait until there are no more 6' seas, no matter how far apart the waves are. So.......we wait. Now only 5 boats and we're the only sail boat. Another trawler is planning to leave in the morning. Of course, they may change their mind.

Excitement today was 2 police cars, 2 fire trucks, Tow Boat US, Sea Tow, Coast Guard all arrived off our stern...the stern of the other boats, too. Our neighbor two boats down had called to say a boat anchored behind us was in distress. Then she was worried that it wasn't in distress. No one on board and it had been there since we'd arrived. She thought it was much lower in the water. Finally To Boat US went aboard and opened the hatch and found it was filled w/water. Tow Boat US pumped it out for probably 1/2 hour using 2 big pumps. Apparently the owners are in PA. I think Coast Guard was going to contact them. The woman who called was vindicated and much relieved that she'd not wasted time and money by calling everyone out.

About that same time I'd finished oiling part of the railing I've been working on since September.

Note the rich brown color of the rail. It will fade, of course, but looks beautiful now. I shimmied between the top and bottom rail to get down to the deck to make sure I'd covered the foot rail completely. I shimmied my cell phone right out of my him pocket. And, guess what?
Saw it plop right in the 6+ feet of water, that would be ocean, salt, murky water.

Phone grave

My new-to-me iPhone S5 (or 5S) that I bought about 35 days ago (reconditioned and certified). Heavy sigh. My friend/boat neighbor took me to the AT&T store. I thought I'd insured the iPhone. Not. But the deductible could have been abt $200 anyway. So, I bought an Android for $138. DEAL! The man who helped me was very patient and helpful AND all my contacts and info from my old Android (from 35 days ago before iPhone) could be loaded onto new Android. YES! Not the iPhone stuff but all the photos which is most of what I lost are all on my computer. Sooooo. I'm "phoned" again and totally pleased. I have to get a better tether for my phone, though. I like having it with me all the time but back pocket, or any unsecured pocket, just doesn't make sense, especially onboard.

Back at home/boat I watched my friend, Sybil's, movement choir for the National Water Dance Project, live streamed. Then made snacks to take to the boat party 2 boats down. We were going to all meet at a bar because most of our boats were too small to host all of us (9 people). But Bright Angel which IS large enough invited everyone there. Great. Finally we're getting the hand of cocktail hour which usually turns out to be 2+ hours, not so much for any drinking but for all the stories that get shared. We've even learned there is a "cocktail flag" that, when flown just lets people know that you are accepting guests, bring your own drink/snacks and come visit. Now why didn't one of our home boating friends let us know about this tradition?!?

Hoping that winds subside tomorrow and have mostly diminished by Monday so we can all leave. Hoping, as well, we're not all planning to go to Oriental since that town only has 3 free dock spaces and most of us are spending our pay dock funds here in Morehead.