It was almost a trip ending event. At the time we couldn't express it properly for a blog entry, but now we can revisit it feeling better. It was when we stopped in Elizabeth City on our way down in November. We had been having a bit of engine trouble and hadn't fully resolved it. As we approached the dock, which is tall pilings together with tiny finger docks lined up against a steel wall, the wind was blowing strong. There were a number of people there to help guide us in and grab lines. I gave the engine a bit of speed to get into the pilings without being blown sideways, then I shifted quickly into reverse. That's when I heard it. That's when Shirley at the bow heard it too. The lady in the boat beside us said it seemed very sureal. We heard nothing. It was the sound of the engine stalled. So with this bit of speed on we glided,16000 lbs silently head on to the steel wall...the helpers were now yelling at us to stop...everyone - body parts out of the way. CRASH! Christopher goes flying forward. Everyone else just stares. At the helm I wonder what this all means now. Christopher was fine, but Tiffany Rose...? Somehow some of the impact got diverted and the anchor roller took the brunt of it. This piece of steel was bent almost 90 degrees but there wasn't a bit of fibreglass or other structural damage. After much discussion with the guys on the dock I was able to remove the anchor roller and take it to a local machine shop. $20 to fix it up. Shirley, Christopher and I were way more emotionally shaken and damaged than that!!
And so we head across the Albemarle Sound this morning bound for Elizabeth City. The crossing was beautifully smooth. Plan A is to go right past the docks and anchor beyond the lift bridge. As we neared town we heard other boats calling in to dock and it seemed like there was lots of space. I asked Shirley what she thought. No docks thanks! Christopher was also feeling queezy about it as he recounted in detail the events of November. We had some serious jitters. Then we got close and it looked inviting. What do you want to do? I asked again. "OK, let's see if there is help to dock." Next thing we knew we were coming in for a picture perfect docking with the help of some fellow boaters. On the outside it was a normal docking, with polite thank-yous. On the inside we were doing high fives and victory dances!! We faced a fear and won.
We did a two night stay and enjoyed the great hospitality of this town. Christopher was a bit down because his camera had stopped functioning properly. He averages 400 pictures a day and not having it work has thrown him into a bit of a withdrawl frenzy. But he does have some of his own money and we talked about some possibilities. So off we went to find a store that sells cameras and is open on Memorial day. The drug store of course! Sure enough they had a couple of good ones to choose from. Then I realized how particular he was about the features. He wanted to be sure the camera would do all the things he required of it, and had all the right buttons for those things. I tried to show him that this Kodak C713 indeed does everything he wants. But he was a bit leary of me and insisted we ask the sales person. She joined in and commented on "he is a hard sell isn't he?" She did a good job and he was satisfied and then handed over his US cash. By the time we left he had more bounce in his step, and after setting it up we went out and snapped a couple of hundred high quality pics. A very successful stop at Elizabeth City for all!
And so we head across the Albemarle Sound this morning bound for Elizabeth City. The crossing was beautifully smooth. Plan A is to go right past the docks and anchor beyond the lift bridge. As we neared town we heard other boats calling in to dock and it seemed like there was lots of space. I asked Shirley what she thought. No docks thanks! Christopher was also feeling queezy about it as he recounted in detail the events of November. We had some serious jitters. Then we got close and it looked inviting. What do you want to do? I asked again. "OK, let's see if there is help to dock." Next thing we knew we were coming in for a picture perfect docking with the help of some fellow boaters. On the outside it was a normal docking, with polite thank-yous. On the inside we were doing high fives and victory dances!! We faced a fear and won.
We did a two night stay and enjoyed the great hospitality of this town. Christopher was a bit down because his camera had stopped functioning properly. He averages 400 pictures a day and not having it work has thrown him into a bit of a withdrawl frenzy. But he does have some of his own money and we talked about some possibilities. So off we went to find a store that sells cameras and is open on Memorial day. The drug store of course! Sure enough they had a couple of good ones to choose from. Then I realized how particular he was about the features. He wanted to be sure the camera would do all the things he required of it, and had all the right buttons for those things. I tried to show him that this Kodak C713 indeed does everything he wants. But he was a bit leary of me and insisted we ask the sales person. She joined in and commented on "he is a hard sell isn't he?" She did a good job and he was satisfied and then handed over his US cash. By the time we left he had more bounce in his step, and after setting it up we went out and snapped a couple of hundred high quality pics. A very successful stop at Elizabeth City for all!
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