Cheryl's Notes:

Another week has come and gone. This one was full of excitement and offered me a new job opportunity. I am now ready to join the local volunteer fire department. On Wednesday, February 11, we were watching the UNC and Duke basketball game. One of our group was going to their boat to get something to eat. He left and came back into the lounge shouting that C Dock was on fire. Our boat is on C Dock. We went flying down the main dock to check out what was happening. We could see flames shooting 10-15 feet in the air. Halfway down the dock we realized that it wasn't the dock on fire, but a large grass fire on the far side of the marina. John kept going to check on our boat, and another marina member and I went running towards the fire. The fire had spread and was burning all along the seawall. We grabbed hoses, turned on the faucets and started spraying down the flames. We were able to keep the fire back from the docks, but the wind was blowing so hard that it kept spreading. Our goal was to keep the flying embers from hitting any of the boats. The local volunteer fire department came very quickly and took over the battle.

In the end, no boats were damaged beyond soot and ash. We were extremely lucky. The boats closest to the fire were power boats that have gasoline engines. They are more likely to explode than diesel. Also, we had a rack of dinghies near the fire. If the wooden rack full of rubber dinghies had started on fire, we would have had hot melting rubber flying through the air. If it had landed on any of the boats, we would have had the potential for a disaster. If just one boat had caught fire, the wind would have blown the flames from boat to boat. We were also lucky that the fire started when it did. It was about 9:30 p.m. when it started and we were still awake. It could have been a different outcome if it had started during the middle of the night when everyone was in bed.

On a better note, we had a great Valentine's Day. We went to a movie and dinner. The pizza was okay, but the movie theatre had great popcorn with butter on it. Tomorrow is John's birthday. I think that we will see a movie, but this time go somewhere for a great steak dinner.

John's Notes:

FIRE! That is the last word you want to hear on a boat or in a marina. Fortunately for me, I live with Smoky The Bear and was never seriously worried. Cheryl did leave out some of the facts, however. She is correct that I went running down the dock to make sure that the fire was not really on our dock. From the angle that I had, I wasn't sure until I got almost to our boat. When I realized that Cheryl wasn't with me, I assumed that she must be one of the people standing on the deck at the Hurricane watching the fire spread. Denise, our dock neighbor and I were standing on the end of our dock watching the fire and saying to each other that the two fools trying to put out the fire with a garden hose should get the hell out of Dodge before they become part of the fire. Little did I know that one of the fools actually resides on our boat. Good thing her father was a firefighter. I got all my fire fighting skills watching Rescue Me. Whew! Glad that's over.

We got our sails back Saturday. Got the genoa on but will have to wait for the wind to calm down to bend on the main. We haven't been out of the marina for three months and moss is starting to grow on the north side of the boat. It's time for us to start exploring again and working out some of the remaining bugs in our electrical system. We also have to spend a few more boat units before next fall but we can do that a little each month.

We've been thinking that next fall when we leave for the Bahamas that maybe we should just keep going for two or three years. Maybe that will give the country enough time to get back on it's feet. Seems like not a day goes by when you don't hear about it getting worse. Good excuse for being gone as far as I can see.

Tomorrow we are going to Oriental. Just heard that the Provisioning Store is having a 40% off sale. Their prices are normally better than West Marine anyway. Looks like a chance to save a little more money on the things that we still need. Hope that this isn't an indication that they might be going out of business. EVERYTHING in the store is 40% off. Not a good sign.

On a final note, I had to break down yesterday afternoon. I had to fill the tank in my car. The first time since January 11th. Only the second time since early December. Not sure why we still have two cars. Maybe because I love mine and Cheryl can't drive it. Hummmmm.