10.26- Harbor full

Boats anchored in Oriental Harbor after sunset

(click on picture or here for full size)

There were a total of 17 boats at anchor in Oriental harbor tonight as the sun set. Mostly sailboats, but a few trawlers.

Town Dock and many transient slips at the marinas were also full.

Many of these boats are "snow-birds" heading south on their winter cruises. A few are probably boats that have been parked up north during hurricane season for insurance purposes... Hurricane season ends on November 1, and boats will then begin moving en masse back south of South Carolina, where policies often do not cover risks during the season.

Here is another view of the harbor, looking back towards the Oriental Harbor Marina and the Point Pride Seafood docks:

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10.16- "Skywatch Friday" - Sunrise & Moonrise

Sunrise over the Neuse River

Yesterday I was out boating before dawn... then again out boating after sunset. Two different trips.

The sunrise series above was taken from Captain Keith Bruno's Carolina Skiff as we headed down river to pull Capt. Bruno's gill-nets for fish.

You can meet Capt. Bruno, a really interesting guy, in Part One of my feature essay on Bruno, posted October 14 (scroll down to posting, or click here)... more of the essay is coming soon in Part Two...and maybe even Three.



Later on yesterday, I rowed across the glassy windless waters of river, in the Bauer 10, out to Oriental Marker No. 1, where the "Coriolanus" was drifting around for a Hunter's Moon watching party (see right). There was so little wind that even without an anchor, Coriolanus stayed within 50 yards of the same spot for about two hours.



Before I rowed out, I got the below picture of the moon rising over the river from the end of the Lou-Mac Fishing Pier.

Another dinghy-rower appears in the lower left, going into Whittaker Creek (you can tell it's Capt. Jesse by the bent oars!!)... the familiar Whittaker Point on the left... and a lone sailor trying to find wind on the right side of the picture:

(Click on picture or here for full size)

While I was happy with the picture I got of the Oct. 14th Hunter's Moon, I was disapointed to have missed it coming up over the horizon... Then I learned from University of Texas' "Earth and Sky" that the Hunter's Moon was on the 14th AND the 15th, so I went out yesterday before moonrise and got the following series of the second night of the Hunter's Moon rising:



HAPPY SWF EVERYONE!
I look forward to seeing the other Skywatch pictures from around the world on the other SWF sites listed at:
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10.15- Great Blue Heron sunset

A Great Blue Heron comes in for a landing on the Lou-Mac Park Fishing Pier as the sun sets and the Hunter's Moon prepares to rise.

I had planned on bringing you Part Two of "Endurance," a feature essay about Capt. Bruno (see prior post, below), today, but I have a bit more work to do on that one, so it's not quite ready yet.

Instead I am posting a picture I caught today - a Great Blue Heron that was hanging out on the Lou-Mac Fishing Pier.

The bird was very stoically and majestically perched on the pier when I arrived on the scene riding my bike down South Ave., so I pulled over at a discrete distance and pulled out the little Kodak.

I had taken a couple of OK pictures of him standing straight and tall on the pier, silhouetted against the southern sunset sky, but was still waiting for the perfect pose when a couple came walking past the pier with their dog, and my Heron flew away (most birds, even the intrepid seagulls, flee their roosts at the sight of even the smallest of dogs in the vicinity).

As I reviewed the few pics I had already taken, all of which were out of focus or badly exposed, I cursed the little dog and its' humans for disturbing my photo shoot...

I resigned myself to the missed shot, and sat down to read my current book ("The Rescue," Joseph Conrad) as the sunlight continued to fade... After a few paragraphs, I caught the Heron in the corner of my eye circling the pier, and grabbed the Kodak just in time for this landing.

Sorry little dog and humans for my hasty curses... I already have plenty of pictures of Herons standing up straight and tall, and thanks to y'all I caught this action shot! Thanks little dog.

"Endurance," the Capt. Bruno essay (see prior post, below) will continue... It should be up tomorrow, but I'm not yet sure, since I normally post my "Skywatch Friday" entry on Thursday afternoons (go figure)... but my planned SWF posting is related to Capt. Bruno, so I may continue the story tomorrow... If not, it will be on Friday... TUNE IN TO FIND OUT!

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9.27- Appeasing Poseidon

Captain Tim Rogers waves down the approving "aargh"s from the crowd as he implores the graciousness of Poseidon during the naming ceremony for "Coriolanus"
(click on picture or here for full size)

Capt. Robbie today held a re-naming ceremony and party for his Catalina 25 at "Paradise Cove Marina" on Broad Creek.

In today's picture we see Captain Tim Rogers (a certified Captain with Oriental's "World Wide Marine Training, Inc.) as he pays homage to the ruler of the seas and asks that he guard the newly named "Coriolanus" with his mighty arm and trident and that he ensure her of safe and rapid passage throughout her journeys within his realm.

For my non-boater readers: It is notoriously bad luck to rename a boat... See, the mighty Poseidon/Neptune keeps a register of all vessels sailing in his realm, and if you rename it you might be seen as trying to operate without his knowledge, which will of course only invoke his wrath.

Bad things happen to boats when they are renamed (this has been widely confirmed), unless the proper homage is payed and notification given to the ruler of the seas... and of course liberal offerings of libations into the water.

Re-naming ceremonies are also a great excuse to party with friends, and Capt. Robbie, his wife Sandy along with scores of family, friends and neighbors took full advantage by celebrating the event at Paradise Cove Marina to celebrate.

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9.06- Hanna aftermath

Electric Co. vehicles and line workers assembled under clear skies and a half moon in the parking lot at Mac's gas station as the sun sets.

Tropical Storm Hanna came through Oriental as dawn approached this morning, bringing 20-30 mph winds from about 2:00 a.m. through 8:00 a.m.

From about 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 winds were in the 30-40 mph range, with reported gusts near 60 mph. After 10:00 a.m. it became a beautiful clear day with 5-10 mph winds the rest of the day.

No flooding overnight, no storm surge, no heavy rains, and winds similar in strength to common thunderstorms in the area, though the winds persisted at strength for longer periods of time.

The storm did knock out power to the entire town for a few hours this morning, with intermittent power outages throughout the day as "Progress Energy" crews made repairs around town.

All in all, Hanna was a lot of not much around here. Should be a nice day for sailing tomorrow, and I hope to be out, either in the Bauer Classic 10 dinghy or crewing on my neighbor's Catalina 25.

Ike looks to be headed for FL and the Gulf, and Josephine appears to be petering out. It will be nice to not have everyone talking hurricanes 24/7 around here, as they have been for a few days now.

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