We moved the Applejack today. The skies were blue and the temperature rose
above 40 for the first time in days. The
conditions were perfect.
Winter is a time for hunkering down and battening the
hatches. We prep our homes with weather
stripping and insulation. We fill our
tanks with oil and stockpile wood for slow burning woodstoves. When the temperatures dip dangerously low, we
leave a light on in the out- buildings and faucets on a slow drip. We watch the weather channel for closings and
updates on predicted lows and sustained high winds. We want to be prepared for the worst that ‘ole
man winter can blow.
Eight months out of the year (barring any hurricane) the
Applejack is moored in front of our home in a mostly quiet bay. It can withstand the winds that blow up the
Pasquotank across that wide fetch. Its lines
are tied to ride up or down with the wind tides that are frequent in this upper
sound country. Sometimes she sits on the
bottom. When her mast and boom are
festooned with lights for the Christmas season, she stands proud and shines
like a beacon welcoming us home again.
We’ll be leaving tomorrow to head back to Farmville. It’s been a wonderfully long holiday with
lots of friends, family and fun, but it’s time to return to Virginia. Today has been a day of prepping.
George cranked up the diesel on the boat as I threw all the
lines on board. We headed out towards
black beacon (buoy #7) and eased into Cobb Creek. The Applejack slipped right into place behind
the O’Neal’s pontoon boat, and settled into her winter mooring as we tied the
lines, positioned the bumpers and topped off the antifreeze.
She was looking pretty snug when we left her. It’ll be Captain Eddie that’ll be checking on
her these next few weeks. We sure
appreciate it. She’ll be just fine.
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