She seemed a little pushy to me.
The state of North Carolina is holding us hostage. After a week and a half in Southport we were ready to head south. The alternator problem had been solved and the engine tested. Wednesday morning I put "old blue" back in the storage lot and rode my way-cool folding bike the three miles to the marina. Once aboard we disconnect everything and headed out. About 50 yards from the slip, the alternator starts to sound like someone is strangling a cat. A quick check of the engine room reveals the alternator is eating itself. I think to myself, its ok, we can fix it later. No one will notice the ear splitting screeching. Right? Pat gives me the look and we returned to the slip. She really is a good communicator.
We almost got away. DAMN YOU ALTERNATOR GODS!!!
I call Pedro, the terrific boat repair guy that we met and I tell him to come get this %$#$*^& alternator and fix, replace, or exorcise the damn demons out of it so we can get along with our "RELAXING VACATION".
Meanwhile, in the background I see Pat is on-line looking up airfare prices to Aruba. Not a good sign. I think the wife may jump ship. Need to take quick action. How about a day off with some sight seeing and dinner Honey? She agrees. I need a plan. On my bike, back to the truck...
On Friday the parents show up to visit their new house. A family reunion commences and we have a nice weekend. On Saturday night I cooked dinner with a big red wine and we watch "Pirates of the Caribbean II". The alternator is fixed (AGAIN) and we will set out on Sunday for points south. Things are looking up.
Did I mention that the temperature outside last night was 27 degrees. That is a five year low in Southport. As a matter of fact, it is the coldest year that the Southeast Coast has seen in many years. People are freezing in St. Thomas. It is cold in Key West. Dogs and cats are sleeping together. MAN!!! We pulled out this morning with about 1/8" of frost on the boat. No screeching. No smoke. Not sinking. Wife is still aboard and still believes I am a good sailor. WHEW, that was close.
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today's date written in the frost.
Dan in the cockpit with the frost on the windows.
We had a nice day motoring down the ICW and we arrived in North Mrytle Beach at a marina named "Dock Holidays". Did I mention that we had a little victory dance when we hit the border. At last we are finally in a state with the word "South" in the title. We plugged in the boat and kicked on the heaters. You see my friends, old Helios has two reverse flow heater/air conditioners on board. I didn't install them, but I am taking full credit. So we kicked them on and the cabin is about 300 degrees right now. I think Pat is going to grow ferns. The marina also had cable TV so we are watching 87 channels of stuff. We decided that this is a vacation and we are going to have max-comfort from here on down.
My lovely bride is sitting over on the other settee with no blankets. She looks comfortable. She is actually not wearing three pairs of socks. This is a good sign.
Tomorrow we get another step closer to Charleston, SC. We have friends there, plus some other friends (Bob and Ann) are coming to visit. I guess they got tired of waiting for us to be in the islands and are settling for SC. So tune in everyone for more interesting adventures of Pat and Jim, two hobbits that must return the ring to Mount... Oh well, you get the picture.
If anyone in the Wilmington NC area needs boat work done, I have to give a big recommendation to Pedro Cordero of Unlimited Boat Services. (910) 231-0837 or Unlimitedboat@aol.com He is the owner. He and his son Pedro Jr. did a great job of killing the evil demons that were living in our alternator. He also put up with all my stupid questions. He knows his way around boats and makes a hell of a good Paella. Thanks Pedro for the help and the lunch. We will see you in the spring.
Cheers,
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