The Perfect Day and a little catch-up

Today, January 25, 2012 would have to be described as "The Perfect Day". The day started with us, Rick, Betsy, and Beamer, leaving Harbour Village Marina and going south to Southport, NC. The weather was great, the boat ran flawlessly, there was no water in the bilge, and the Cape Fear River was as smooth as glass. At one point, as we blew out the motors, we were doing 22 mph. We are heading for Beaufort, SC for a spell of rest and relaxation. We have to be back in Norfolk in early May, so this will be a 3-4 month trip. We are no longer CLODS (Cruisers Living On Dirt). As of today, we are long-term cruisers. Perhaps I should digress and let you know how all of this came about.

Back in June, 2011, we decided to vacate our townhouse in Sneads Ferry and live on the boat and in the house in Topsail Beach. The TB house is rented in the summer and sits vacant about 8 months of the year So, if we get tired of the boat, we can go to the house. We plan to lease the Sneads Ferry townhouse. We contacted all the nieces and nephews about taking whatever family furniture and pieces they wanted. They kindly took a few pieces. We held 2 huge yardsales and had an auction in New Bern of the large pieces. We had planned to vacate and be ready to "RV on the water" by Jan 1. That did not happen as the job of cleaning out 40 years of "stuff", painting, cleaning, and repairing took longer. After all, we were moving from 3000 sq ft to 300 sq ft. We finally got the job done and here we are. My shop is now a storage facility and is quite cluttered.

Another problem we had reared its ugly head on New Years Eve day. We decided to take the boat out for a ride to Sneads Ferry, spend the night on it, and come back the next day. We hadn't been anywhere since getting the leak fixed in October. As we cleared the Surf City bridge and a couple of markers, there was a loud clunk and the starboard motor stopped. We had hit something submerged and had no idea what. We could start the motor, but as we put it into gear, there was a clank and the motor stalled. We made it back to Harbour Village on one motor (one of the reasons we insisted on two motors). We hauled the boat and found that one prop was really bent and had to be repaired. In the process of all this, we determined that the shaft was also not right so we had to have a new shaft. All in all, Seventeen Hundred Dollars later, the boat is running perfectly.

So will be on the water and have limited access to mail. So, if anyone wants to get in contact with us, we suggest email or phone. Also, please change our address to PO Box 3374, Topsail Beach, NC 28445.  More when we get to Beaufort, SC.......