Spending QT with Slowly

Loving Her and Leaving Her

Slowly, You Know We'll Be Coming Back To You!

We have meant to write this last log for awhile now. Much happened after we left Beaufort the morning of the 7th. And all good happenings. It was a grey day as we left through the turning basin and past industrial parts of Morehead city. But we were excited to arrive at our destination: Oriental's Sailcraft yard, one of few places one can do one's own work. It was a short and rainy cruise and Tim managed to squeeze into the tiny creek and the boat lift with much skill.

It seems it will always be a bit terrifying lifting your pride and joy, and your home out of the water on two large seatbelts. But so was Slowly taken and driven to her spot in the densely packed yard. She had a bit of growth on her bottom and the Miro-inspired bottom paint was looking a little worse for wear. Towering above us, she looked expectant of this week spa we had taken her to.

The guys working beside us at the yard were all very nice and it was relatively fun being on an early and hard-working routine. Walking under boats bottoms, new and old, it felt good to be working on Slowly. We wanted to give her all the attention we could before we left for the holidays and then Montana.

Sanding took a bit longer than we thought it would, mostly because when you're not sitting under the boat you forget how hard it is to hold a sander up all day long. We also had decided we would sand and paint her entire hull, not just her bottom. We got through a few layers where you could see patches that hadn't been sanded enough before she was painted the previous time. Those are the easiest parts to sand because the paint just peels right off.

We were happy to meet some new friends in Oriental. Sean, who we met at the yard introduced us to a few people at the holiday festivities in town and soon we felt accepted as part of the community. Oriental is a small town, not very close to major roads or much else at all. It is, however, the sailing capital of North Carolina and is also host to some young folks that are buying and renovating some of the charming old houses in town. It tends to be a retirement community but we were lucky to be there during a weekend when everyone came out and shared stories and drinks. The Christmas parade was fun and filled with tractors and antler clad dogs (dogalopes?) and we enjoyed the candle-lit streets and the cider drinking locals.

After a week of sanding and repainting, mending the swim platform and touch ups on the cabin sides, Slowly was looking extra fine. She glistened and sparkled and we glowed with pride knowing that she appreciated the attention. We were happy to accept compliments from the guys around the yard and Slowly blushed even more. Everything went smoothly during the splash and we scooted back out to the Neuse River and around the corner to the Oriental harbor where we parked her in the very shallow Smith Creek.

We had found her a slip through a friend of a friend at Blackwell Point Marina and though she has about an inch under her keel she is in a quiet and beautiful spot. It's the first time she's been the biggest boat in a marina and we were feeling good that our trip had gone so well. The hard part was knowing we were going to have to leave her [I've got to travel and hit the gravel, but I'll be back! -Ed.] after having spent so much good quality time with her and when she was looking the best we had ever seen her.