Category: Lessons Learned

Lessons learned, sometimes the hard way.

Part 1: B-Dock at BridgePointe Marina in New Bern NC after Hurricane Florence

Sailor
B-Dock at BridgePointe Marina after Hurricane Florence

Extensive damage to B-Dock at BridgePointe Marina New Bern NC after Hurricane Florence. This video shows debris at the conference hall of the hotel, and the first portion of B-dock.  Marina Staff requested that we share this footage. They show the state of the marina and some of the extent of damage. The docks are not currently safe and could continue to shift.  The dockmaster has asked people not try to access their boats or the docks. While we are saddened by the destruction of the docks and the loss…

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A-Dock at BridgePointe Marina in New Bern NC after Hurricane Florence

Sailor
A-Dock at BridgePointe Marina New Bern NC after Hurricane Florence

Extensive damage to A-Dock at BridgePointe Marina New Bern NC after Hurricane Florence. Marina Staff requested that we share this footage.  They show the state of the marina.  The dockmaster has asked people not try to access their boats or the docks. While we are saddened by the destruction of the docks and the loss of boats, we are so happy and grateful that no one in our marina or other local marinas, were hurt. A special recognition is needed for our Dockmaster, Jesse, and Brian, Charlie, and Frank who…

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If You Can’t Tie A Knot…

Shannon

If You Can’t Tie a Knot There’s a saying that goes a little something like this…“If you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot.”  Well that’s great and groovy until you have to untie all of those “a lots” especially when you’re in a hurry.  Taking fifteen minutes to untie a dozen granny knots just to move a fender two feet over when you are coming into a dock is a little less than ideal. Practice, Practice, Practice I have no idea why, but knots befuzzle me sometimes.  I have…

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Boat Pet Safety – Muster Your Pets!

Sailor

Boat Pet Safety: Location, Location, Location When it comes to pet safety on boats, there are a myriad of topics to be considered, and, usually, we do pretty well.  One of the foremost lessons about people or pets aboard is that it is critical to know that everyone is safely aboard.  We learned an important lesson this morning to this regard. The Unexpected Phone Call Around 11:00 hours, we went down below into our stateroom to have some cuddle time.  We had been below for about 30 minutes when Shannon’s…

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The Microburst, and the Dock

Sailor

Preparing to go sailing During the summer months, we didn’t get many opportunities to take Banjo out on the water. This was partly due to work & maintenance schedules, and partly because of bit of caution. This is the tale of what happened to warrant our caution.  It is a tale of the Microburst, and the Dock experienced by the crew and guests aboard SV Banjo in June 2017. We arrived in the New Bern, NC area in June 2017 and had originally spent a month at the New Bern…

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Offshore Charleston, SC to New Bern, NC part 1

Sailor
Leaving Charleston SC

After docking in Charleston, SC for about a week at the Cooper River Marina, and eager to start our second offshore sailing adventure.  We hired a delivery captain that would help us get to New Bern, NC safely.  Although I had a lot of offshore sea time in the Navy, I was never the one driving the boat.  And there are a lot of things that can go wrong.  Needless to say, neither Shannon nor I had the experience to take Banjo outside into the great big ocean by ourselves…

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