Getting Started to Get Started

After an easy two-day trip followed by a couple of nights on the boat, Daughter Middle and Granddaughter Youngest headed home. Those were some really good days, the kind that linger in the memory for a long time and always spark a smile. We all sat in the fly bridge before they headed off, watching the gulls play while a big sailboat motored out of the channel and turned north. If there is a better way to start a day I don't know what it might be. We also talked about plans to have the rest of the grandkids meet up with us along the way as temporary crew, though not all of them at once. First Light is a lot bigger inside than was Kintala, but not near big enough to have 11 grandkids aboard at the same time.

Taking a break from unloading the trailer with my daughter who deserved the break. She worked hard!!

A couple of small projects and one major change to the inside of the boat were finished after the unloading. There is a motion-detecting, solar powered light that shines on the ladder to the fly bridge. A minor bit of tech that just makes one smile when it lights up all by itself when a body approaches the bottom step in the dark. New and improved cup holders adorn the flybridge. Not too important one might think, right up until that first night passage when nearby hot coffee is a safety issue. In the main salon the two chairs we bought to replace the hideous chairs that came with the boat turned out to be not much of an improvement. With a car available to haul replacements Deb went hunting. She found a storage bench that fits the space much better and, as the name implies, has storage. An important feature since I exceeded my Ukulele limit, brought my pan drum (to go along with my electronic desk top set), and we never really had a place for Deb's guitar even though it was always going to make the trip. Now they all have a safe and protected place to rest when not in use. Just as good, the bench takes up much less room than did the chairs, making access to engine space far easier. Two home runs with one swing of the bat. The rest of the day was spent bringing some kind of order to the pile of stuff in the salon. By work day's end the interior of First Light was looking like a pretty nice living space, the sun screen was up around the back deck, and the disaster tool storage area under the port side couch was much improved. I can now open it and go looking for a tool without a sense of impending doom. Other projects are also under way or have already been crossed off the list. There are cameras mounted to monitor the engine room and some minor canvas repairs are complete.

It will still be a couple of weeks, at least, before we drop the dock lines and head North. There are several modifications still to be made. After those are finished, all of the boat's systems and the dink need to be subjected to their normal duty loads and any discrepancies (of which there are sure to be several) will need addressed. The first test run will be just a few hundred feet out into the anchorage where we will sit for a few days and make everything work. Moreover (and truth to tell) we need to recalibrate bodies, heads, and hearts for living on the water once again. Time is different here, nature is closer, both beauty and hazards lie nearby. A careless step is far more likely on a moving platform; a thoughtless move or forgotten chore can easily lead to a big headache. Wind and waves move our world and ignoring the weather is sure to cause grief. All lessons once learned that need to be polished up.

Until now, First Light has been a project boat. Yesterday I went looking for an item in the “bathroom bag” and couldn't find the bag. I asked Deb where she had stashed it and was told, “I put all that stuff in the head medicine cabinet. We live here now.” Oh yeah, we live here now...how about them apples?

The forward engine camera view with the lights on...

And in total darkness. The infrared feature works really well. I also scared Tj half to death
by testing the two-way talk feature without warning him :)

We did a short stop at Pilot Mountain again on our way down here. it's a great mile long hike
around the bottom of the peak.

My daughter is an accomplished photographer and is seldom without
her camera.

We determined that Pint Size has the wing span of a Red Tailed Hawk

Every visit to Oriental, NC must include a visit to The Bean for ice cream!

Traveling in style

After returning the trailer to U Haul in New Bern, NC we visited Glenburnie Park while waiting
to meet some friends for dinner. It has a very interesting history.

Glenburnie Park in New Bern, NC

She spent over an hour playing in the sand