Swansboro - The great storm

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We could see it coming, the radar was plain but we were surprised at the strength of the winds. The front hit us at 9:00 or so and we were buffeted by winds up to 37 kts (42 mph) for the next 1.5 hours! The marina is not particularly well protected from that direction but the dockmaster put in in a slip facing the direction of the storm and with all the lines I added, we were fine ("Will this line do more good lying in the cockpit locker or out on the dock between the boat and a piling...?", the question always has the same answer, the problem is that philosophy usually results in a spiderweb of lines - oh well, it never hurts to be on the safe side). We had a few anxious moments when we saw the water rise to within a few inches of the bottom of the docks but then it subsided and never actually washed over the fixed docks.

After that bit of excitement, the rest of the night was an anticlimax. We had more rain (much more..) but the winds never got above 30 again so it wasn't so bad. This is the same front that's headed north so you too can enjoy the colder weather. The high on Monday is only predicted to be 61! Which brings me to another point: we were sitting in the cockpit a couple of days ago (before the colder weather came) and noticed it was getting a little chilly with the sun behind a cloud and the breeze piping up, we closed up the cockpit enclosure and out of curiosity I looked at the cockpit thermometer, it read 79! Talk about blood thinning! We used to laugh at people visiting from Florida and wearing heavy jackets when the temps were only in the 60s, well we have joined the crowd! At least we have the enclosure which is great when the sun it out and even helps otherwise since the wind is kept outside.

Notice the chimney in the middle of the house

Ann has been looking for fried oysters and we found a restaurant here that served them so off we went. The Riverside Restaurant has a pick up service if you're at Casper's Marina, convenient. The restaurant is built around a Sears and Roebuck kit house which was popular years ago. The distinguishing feature is a single chimney in the middle of the house. With four rooms on the first floor and four more on the second floor, the design allows for each of the eight rooms to have a fireplace. What a clever design! I hadn't seen that arrangement before. The fireplaces I've seen were always located on one of the sides of the house, seldom in the middle. By now, the house has been added to and the kitchen greatly expanded for the business. Ann liked her oysters, very well done.

On Monday we're off to Adam's Creek and the Cedar Creek anchorage, probably a cold, windy day. PS, we were hailed agian by the Coast Guard who asked when was the last time we were boarded! "10:30 yesterday", ansswered Ann! With that they passed on by. Must  be training day...