Some weekend shakedown cruises until the storm season is over on the east coast.

Well it is time to get ready to head out again. Now on the little dock I am learning things about the boat. I burned up my charger so I am getting a bigger and better charger that can handle charging a 500ah charge. My battery bank is 2 sets of 2 6v 250ah Trojan 105 deep cycle batteries. What can I say they are big and I got a great deal on them. So I think I should get a charger that charges at about 50amps per hour. I found a good one made by Iota but will be checking with the consignment store first when my new visa card gets here.

My first weekend trip will be sailing up to the City of Washington N.C. for 2 days.

they have a 48 hour free public dock and it is a beautiful little city. I went up there to help Jeff get one of his boats back, and you can see some pictures from day 2 of that adventure on my Face book page. When I go there it will be to enjoy the town and take some pics as I relax.










Then after I get back here in Oriental for a few days to address any issues I might find and to check in with friends the next 2 day trip will be to Elizabeth City NC

I am told that it is a beautiful city as well. there is no reason that a shakedown cruse can't be fun. It's a big world and we only take up a small part of it.












If all goes well on those two trips then by the time I am done I will provision the last small Items I need to start heading South in the start of Nov, and onward to see as much of the world as I can.

The little dock time forgot

Well I moved my boat to the in town public dock last week but stayed on the hook in the harbor first, and that morning I got a lesson on why to double anchor when in a crowded harbor. When I woke up and looked out the companionway all I could see was a large mast. When the water changed I drifted and was then caught in another boat's anchor line. Well thats one of those things that wakes you up better then coffee. So I freeked and started doing what a good sailor does,,, went in to action. First I started my motor and as the people on the other boat slacked up their line I pulled forward was still tangled then set the motor in reverse and motored back a bit then forward again and we were freed. At that point I headed to the town dock. The town public dock is a dock you can tie to for 2 days every month. That night I ran i n to a friend who told me when your time is up I know the perfect place for you.

This is the dock that time forgot

As you can see the Shire is parked there now and it is a perfect spot for the Shire for a while.





The only thing about this spot is at the dock the water is about 3' and my boat draft's 4.5 so I have long lines and pivot the boat in the mud on it's keel to pull the bow in and board. But I love it. As live aboard boaters it's always good to remember meeting friends and helping others pays off. If not for the friends I had made here I would of never known about this little spot. So for now the Shire is a happy quiet peaceful place for me to stay until the storm season is over and it is time for me to start heading south again

Deer Fly

I was wondering if I should rename my boat 'Deer Fly Magnet' as I was out working yesterday. I think about 20 of them found their way over to me. If you have never dealt with them, they are a fly that likes to feed on blood, my blood. So after I put my porta bote back together one of the things on my shopping list is Deet (AKA Off) and I plan on getting those candles they sell to burn in my cabin that repel all the little nasties that seem to think I am a walking snack.

My first day on the hook in Oriental NC

Well today is my first day out on the hook here in Oriental. I pulled out of my slip around 7am and found a nice spot not far away. I think I am ready for sleep I was up all night with the friends I have made here in town. We talked of many things from politics to adventures past. All and all I would call it a good night and time well spent.

A picture on my boat here in the waterway. When I finely leave I think this will be one place I will always remember

Learning to throw a cast net

My friend Cindy from the Oriental Consignment shop loaned me a cast net to catch shrimp with, and I have been learning how to use it. Funny thing about cast nets, you can watch 10 youtube vids on them, and see 10 ways to throw it that works perfect in the video. Then when you try all 10 ways to cast it, not one of them work. I did catch 1 shrimp with it so I know the little guys are out there just waiting to come to my boat for dinner. I just need to learn how to cast it better. So every day I am out there for a few hours casting it and pulling it back in. I know at some point I will learn the throw that works for me.

My time here in Oriental is growing shorter by the day. Right now I am waiting for a check to clear and then I will be getting my final provisions to put out to sea. So my excitement level is pretty high.

I leave you this time with a quote from Homer's Odyssey 

'Odysseus spread his sail to the wind with joy, and steered the raft cleverly with the oar as he sat there. At night he never closed his eyes in sleep, but watched the Pleiades, late-setting Bootes, and the Great Bear that men call the Wain, that circles in place opposite Orion, and never bathes in the sea.'

My time in Oriental is finely growing short.

Well now I am counting down the days to my hard target date of Sept. 1^st when I will be pulling out of Oriental NC. It's a feeling of excitement to know this will finely be the end of my tenure here in this town. With the motor all picked out and finding a great deal on a used porta bote with the sail kit included I am really truly psyched. I am also getting better batteries, an inverter, a charger, and a small gas powered generator. I am also going to lay out a little for a better camera. Actually two better cameras

  One will be a Liquid Image HD and 5mp still camera that is waterproof up to 65 feet

The other is a Kodak PlaySport pocket HD video 5mp still camera that is water proof up to 10 feet.

Originally I was going to just buy one better camera with better quality but when I saw the liquid image camera I knew that for my adventure I needed one. The up side is that I can get both of them together for less then my camera budget of $300.00

I have made some great friends down here in Oriental Jeff who run's the Oriental Steamer (a great place to eat) and Cindy who runs the Consignment shop are both great people. So if you ever find yourself pulling in to this harbor make sure to visit both and tell them Brad says Hi. Pretty much all the people here are very friendly and a joy to be around. But my journey doesn't end here, there is so much world ,and I have to see as much of it as I can.

I have to keep going because I want to walk on deserted beaches in the rain, climb mountains, swim the oceans, and meet people in the smallest of villages, in as many places as I can. The world is a huge place and my house moves. So as I ready my boat to put out to sea I remind myself that a rolling stone gathers no moss.

My parting thought today as I get ready to work on some rigging is something that Sir Francis Drake once said, and I quote

"It isn't that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better."

I roller coaster week

This week has been full of some ups and downs. The motor thats being rebuilt for the boat is going to take longer then planned. So now I am looking local for a motor that will not cost to much. The other day I found a little work that netted me $50.00 and all the beer I could drink. I am friends with one of the owners of The Oriental Steamer, and he need the grease trap mucked out so I went to work and got er done. It felt good to spend the day working and 6 hours later I had a little more money in my pocket and all the beer I could drink that night. Another great thing was the owner Jeff had also found a crab pot for me 

So life is good I am eating fresh crab in almost everything I cook now:):):) You just can't beat fresh crab is it so good. Here in NC it is the blue crab that you catch and they are very very very tasty. Heck I am eating rice with dried peppers and crab in it as I write this.

This is what I look like when i am happy.

Life is good these days But today I had a bit of a reminder that On a boat we live by the will of Mother Nature, and she can be a very tough task master when she wants to be. A gale force storm blew in with more lightning that you can shake a stick at. So being tied up to the dock I could hear the clicking, creeks and moans as the wind put a lot of stress on my mooring lines. I had to pee sitting down do to the boat leaning about 12 Degrees to starboard, as it was rocking and rolling against the lines holding it to the dock. I should knows when all the ships started pulling in around the harbor. All and all I have to say every day is a new experience and I can't be happier that I chose this life. 

A view from my port hatch as the wind was howling at me reminding me Poseidon knows I'm home.

Fun things that can burn your home down

The other day  found out my fire extinguisher worked well. When the stove says use denatured alcohol they in effect are saying Rubbing alcohol is not the same thing. But with a clam head and quick thinking I was able to spray it down before there was any real danger. The white powder is from the type AB extinguisher, water would of also worked for for an alcohol fire, but as always when testing out a new used stove,,, I had the extinguisher in my hand before starting it. In the end with the right kind of Alcohol the stove does work fine but the pieces fit into my counter top stove so I just took what I needed to fix the built in one.

Tomarrow I am going to play with my dinghy

This is the the Zodiac that was shipped to me from New York. If your wondering about the shape I have to keep it partly deflated when it is sitting on top of my Boat. 

Charts are fun

A little showing my location right now I am the grey boat shape.

and

in this one I am the red dot on the Neuse River

Iceland geology at war.

Never let it be said that I am not excited about my journey through life. I think about the millions who have never really seen the world outside of their home town, and wonder do they look at life like a journey, or just a string of unfortunate events fallowed by death (You know I am I'm just kidding right?). I know some people are happy being in one place, and I can understand the enjoyment of feeling grounded. But I have never been that person. For me being in one place too long feels like being stuck. There is just to much world, and a finite amount of time to see it all. I also am not big on tourist traps. I want to see the beach that only 3 other people have ever walked on, or the small village with people that think seeing a new person is an event worth telling their friends about. I know when I start sailing south and pick up a job in Texas the first thing I will save for is a slightly bigger blue water sailboat. One that I can sail to Europe and around the globe. This pearson 30 is a great island hopper/shore cruiser, but not the choice I would make to head 2000 miles from land in all directions. 

I think when I get that boat the first place I will go is Iceland That is one of those places that the planet really shows off what it can do. Iceland is many different effects happening at the same time. One effect is that it sits on top of the line between two tectonic plates. At the center of the Mid Atlantic ridge it pushes apart by about an inch every year. Another real cool fact and the reason it is not at the bottom of the Atlantic is that it is on top of what is called a “Hot spot” that pushes the land up, and is why it is very active volcanically. It is the only place that you can stand on the Mid Atlantic ridge that's on dry land. As if that wasn't ample reason to go there, you also have fire meeting ice. Glaciers mixing with Volcanic activity in a war that has been going on for millions of years. It is just as if someone took all the coolest geographic activity and threw it all together in one place.  So as the ridge and volcanic activity make new land the glaciers are working their magic to slowly erode it away. 

Iceland's Geology

Iceland's Glaciers

Today I am adding a poem and a quote from Moby Dick.

As you can see I like to read a little from the written history of the sea every day, from books to poems. It helps me feel more connected and reminds me of the fact that life is a journey that we make. No matter what we do or where we do it. Sometimes life's journey has us sailing calm waters, and at times navigating gale force winds. The trick is no matter where your journey takes you is to always find time to relax, reflect, and remember there is an endless supply of choices that will lead us to the next moment. For me looking at the water, and the sky at night as I read helps me find those Zen moments. These are the moments when I remember why I decided to stop rushing to the next destination, and enjoy the path I have chosen to get there.


A Life on the Ocean Wave

By:
Epes Sargent

A LIFE on the ocean wave,
A home on the rolling deep,
Where the scattered waters rave,
And the winds their revels keep!
Like an eagle caged, I pine
On this dull, unchanging shore:
Oh! give me the flashing brine,
The spray and the tempest's roar!
Once more on the deck I stand
Of my own swift-gliding craft:
Set sail! farewell to the land!
The gale follows fair abaft.
We shoot through the sparkling foam
Like an ocean-bird set free; --
Like the ocean-bird, our home
We'll find far out on the sea.
The land is no longer in view,
The clouds have begun to frown;
But with a stout vessel and crew,
We'll say, Let the storm come down!
And the song of our hearts shall be,
While the winds and the waters rave,
A home on the rolling sea!
A life on the ocean wave!


From Moby Dick
By:
 Herman Melville

There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness. And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he for ever flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain, even though they soar.

I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.


Herman Melville

All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by

Going out sailing on a friends boat tomorrow so I am headed back to the ship for some rest tonight.
As I look at the stars tonight it reminds me of a poem by John Masefield

Sea-Fever
By John Masefield

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

Not all knots are the same

Well today is one of those days I find myself getting ready to climb my mast. WooHoo climbing up on a 45' poll as the boat rocks back in forth in the wind. One thing I need to work out is how to keep my body in a fixed position when I am at the top. Times like this I wish I just had a mast ladder it would make life so much easer. So I am looking at Knots. One of the many beauties of boat living is you learn a lot about the long and tangled history of knots. Sailers have knots for everything. You want to tie your pen to something on your desk so people can't walk away with it Sailers have a knot for it. But given the fact I will be climbing 45 feet off the deck of the boat I am also looking at rock climbing knots. Most of their knots stem from seamanship but are seldom used by mariners anymore. All I know is right now I have a 4 step plan Step one climb to the top. Step two tie a knot that keeps me there and don't fall. Step Three fix my weather van, rigging, and check my radio antenna. Lastly step four untie knot without falling, and climb down. It is funny how simple it all sound before you look up to the top of the mast and watch is swing back and forth.
Knots for everything

A jellyfish came to say hello today

I was lucky and saw a really nice Jellyfish swimming in the water this morning he was enjoying a nice morning swim.

Rice 101

One thing living aboard teaches you is what to do with rice. Rice is one of the perfect sailboat foods. It has a shelf life thats pretty long, no need to keep or cold or frozen, can be simple to make, and very filling. The only draw back is you have to know how to tweak the flavor. Lucky in todays world that is not hard. From adding canned Veggies to adding soup without the water you can have rice everyday, and at the same time have it taste like a different dish at each meal. Like tonight I took one bowl of dried rice 2 bowls of water cooked it and added one can of Cream of Mushroom soup. Very filling but makes me want to make more and eat till I am over full. When stopping in port with a farmers market rice with fresh peppers and some Asian flare can really leave you wanting to over eat. Another great trick is adding spaghetti sauce. There are just so many  things you can do to make rice one of the perfect at sea foods.

I think I found a motor

I have a friend at the restaurant I hang out at here in Oriental NC (The Oriental Steemer) It's a great place, if you ever stop there ask Jeff to make you buffalo calamari (you will thank me after you try it). well my friend there says he might have a 5hp long shaft. But if that one doesn't work I found a backup, it will be a few buck more then the 5hp long shaft but it is a 7.5hp med shaft. So by the end of the week I will have one of the 2 on the boat. I am pretty psyched. Now all I need to do is find a good inverter and then when my Zodiac gets here I am ready to roll. After talking to some friends this week I might head north before heading south. The ICW Intracoastal Waterway runs from NY to Texas so the choices are pretty open to me. I will let you know what direction I decide when I start provisioning for the trip. But I am feeling north first, I have family up there I would love to show my boat to.

The real price we pay when people we trust cut corners

What did he do to deserve this kind of treatment?

One more month in Clancy's Marina in Oriental.

Well one more month and I should be all set to head out for more then a day at a time. I have a zodiac on the way here and have been pricing Motors. Every day I find new things that need my attention and have been doing my best to make sure when I set sail I do it with everything as good as I can get it. Some times I get a little frustrated at the cockpit size of the Pearson 30 but then remind myself more boat means more work to control it. Knowing first hand that it doesn't take a large unplanned shift in the weather to create a lot of work, I think I will be just fine settling for the smaller space over having extra bells and whistles. When I set sail from here my next stop will be Beaufort N.C. From there more Sea Trials then out to the Ocean Blue. I have been thinking about making a quick trip north before heading down south to give them time to plug the well that is dumping oil in the Gulf. Not that it is an issue the well is pretty far north in the Gulf and I plan on sailing across the gulf when I get around Cuba so I can hit Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cancun before mooring in Corpus Christi.

A BP video

I think it is kind of funny that every BP plan to deal with the Deepwater Horizon well ends with BP getting some or most of the oil onto one of their ships until they can stop the leak. It is not hard to see where their priorities are. Check out the video

The Russians have a different way to deal with run away Oil wells. They use a small nuke send it down below the surface next to the well, and then set it off. It has worked more then once for the Russians. Well Nuking. So why are we not at least talking about the option? I would say the likely answer is that BP wants the oil, and BP is in control of most the media.

The Gulf spill wiget

No motor blues

Well I am still in Oriental looking for a motor to replace the one that was ripped off the back of the boat. Part of me is thinking about finding a friend who can take me to the spot I lost it and see if I can dive down and find it. But in the end I think I am going to build an electric inboard system. I will not have to worry about the waves knocking it off of the bracket in the back, and it will free the back up for a swimming platform. I will update as soon as something changes

Starting to feel better

Well I am on the mend my urns burn less my nose is even healing up. Now I am pricing inboard motors for my boat and planing out how I can keep my stuff in the boat more secure. What a mess I was when I pulled back into port. It's a learning experance. I will not let a bad weekend get me down, I spent years working in a crappy club with nothing to show for it but but debt, unlike that this is all for me. It's my boat and the start of the rest of my life.

Sun poisning ouch

Well I took out the boat for the first sea trial. I lost the motor do to heavy waters. I think i will get an inboard before I start my trip to Texas. The outboard is just not up to that kind of pounding. But other then sun poisning I am back on land and fine:)

work work work

Well I have running lights, now all I need is to get the outboard running lol. I have to get an outboard working so i can go sailing I find that funny in a way. I WILL have it working by tonight one way or the other. After it is running and i test it the next step is to pull it out in the bay and play around a little then I will anchor for the night. Tomorrow I will be sailing down to beaufort. there I will get better internet and be able to update more.

Gps afu

Well one has to love a gps system that will not work with the 64 bit windows 7. I have one a Delorme LT40 if you see that brand I will be the first to tell you DON'T get it. But tonight I am heading to get a new GPS system that I can plug into my notebook and use with my chart plotter. If all goes well monday I will be headed out for my first set of sea trials. I feel both me and the pearson are up to the task, wish me luck.

Home on the water

I am home on my boat. It feels good and I am very happy to be out of Binghamton. Next step is to start getting ready to head out to the sea. I would of posted more but there is no internet at the dock I am tied to.

Goodbye New York

Down at Mike's house today. Nice to be out of New York on my way to my boat in Beaufort NC.

Leaving is the hardest part.

Well I am now over a week late from leaving this place. I keep finding myself setback by different BS. Last week I learned a trusted friend lost some items that I had been hoping to get back from her. I can tell from her story that most likely she sold them, and thinks I'm stupid. I was going to have her arrested but looking at her life choices I can see it really would serve no good. You know blood from a stone and all that. In the end there is nothing I could have done that would be more punishment then the life she is making for her self. But would like to end this by saying that was the lowest of low and you really do suck ass, Tab

An Ozzy quote that always makes me laugh

A quote I love from Ozzy about Bucket head
"I tried out that Buckethead guy. I met with him and asked him to work with me, but only if he got rid of the f$%king bucket. So I came back a bit later, and he's wearing this green f@^king Martian's-hat thing! I said, 'Look, just be yourself.' He told me his name was Brian, so I said that's what I'd call him. He says, 'No one calls me Brian except my mother.' So I said, 'Pretend I'm your mum then!' I haven't even got out of the room and I'm already playing f^&king mind games with the guy. What happens if one day he's gone and there's a note saying, 'I've been beamed up'? Don't get me wrong, he's a great player. He plays like a motherfuc%&r"

Sushi is one of my many weeknesses

Man I got some Sushi today. Every time I get sushi I always eat till I am over full. The good thing is I have no shortage of wine to go with it. I think i am going to nuke a glass of Sake to wash this down.

My first part of the day Finishes pretty well

There is a reason I normally don't go on wine tours. The reason is I spend money like a crack addict. I bought over a case of wine today some with mead, some organic, some made by Hippies, all are simply wonderful.

I loved it and going with Mike you have to love a friend who all day ask's you and i quote "Let me know if you see someplace you want to stop" So guess what happens when I see one that catches my eye,,, Mike then says "No there is no time, we have to get to the hippy winery before it closes." LOL thanks for making my needs feel like they mattered Mike. It was a great day Our friend John is in town so the 3 of us had a lot of fun. John is a great guy and more of the quiet type. But me and Mike always feel free to act like total jackholes when we are together. Part of me feels sorry John had to listen to us and mostly Mike all day. So now It's on to Dinner tonight with other great friends. One thing is for sure if you visit my boat I will have a wine for the occasion for a while.

Busy day with friends

I have a pretty busy day planed. Wine tour with mike and a friend who is on leave from the Army. Then tonight Dinner with another very good friend. Hey any day you can be surrounded by good friends, good wine, and good food,,, is a good day.

Another day waiting in the Armpit of America

Well here I am away from my boat waiting for the final settlements to be made. I keep hearing any day now. One small ray of hope is Diner with a friend Friday and maybe Diner with another Friend Saturday night. Last night i finished spidering a site with most of Noaa's charts in PNG format NOAA charts of many US waterways.
Anyone who sails or boats in any form knows running aground sucks so charts are very handy

I am back in New York

Well I had to come back to New York to settle the last of my business here. I am looking forward to heading back to My boat early next week.