New Bern, North Carolina. C Whispers home for a few months

We had a few really busy days in New Bern decommissioning the boat. Sails came off, so did the boom, all canvas, solar panels, life raft, outboard engines and anything else that was movable that could cause a problem if there was a tropical storm or hurricane. Inside I was obsessive about bugs so we cleaned and cleaned. Every crumb was cleaned and everything was bleached. The oven was cleaned, the fridge and freezer was cleaned and we even went through a pack of Q-tips🤣🤣. We were obsessive as I don't like to share anything with bugs!!! We even set out ant bait, cockroach containers and flying bug ribbons.

We then had the task of taking the boat to the boatyard where she would be taken out of the water and set on stands and plywood "on the hard". This could only be done with particular winds and tides as it affected depth of water and we needed 6 feet. Mike (boatyard owner) had called in the morning to say he did not see it happening today as conditions were not favourable. Lucky for us conditions changed and he called back to say "come now"!

This excursion across the river was a little eventful (seems to be our norm🤣🤣) as we had mistakenly put the outboard motor over the compass affecting our charts. So we got out in the river and the charts were not lining up with what we were seeing🧐🧐🧐. Thankfully the boatyard people could see us and called to say if you continue that way you will soon be aground😩. We had that experience once... we did not want it again. So they guided us in to the boatyard for her to be taken out of the water and set up for a few months..After she was set on the ground we finished preparing her to keep her as safe as possible, including plugging in a dehumidifier, getting the dinghy underneath, etc.

One last evening laughing with Cathy and Brent and we were on our way back home. We were so thankful to Cathy, Brent and Princess Lola for being so kind and giving. Some people are amazing ❤️❤️❤️

We knew that Duke could not fly because of flying restrictions for dogs in the heat so we rented a car to drive back to Bangor, Maine. Andrea came to pick us up there. Mark will pick us up at Andreas.

Our plan is to go back to New Bern in October and resume our trek to Florida. Then we will wait for favourable conditions to cross to Bahamas for the winter. To us this seems surreal. We had planned this for so long but because of my health we did not know if we would ever make this happen. With lots of food, a continuous monitor, lots of alarms and a perceptive husband we are making this happen🎶🎶🎶⚓️⚓️⚓️.

Thanks for those who have followed and your comments on this site and privately. I was torn whether to do this or not as family and friends wanted a way to see what the heck we were up to and what this lifestyle was all about!!! I am glad I shared it. Once we get to Bahamas, there should be more under water experiences for Byron and those who visit (This water phobic person better get use to it too lol). 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣