Three Boat Flotilla, 1 Mantus Anchor, and 30 Knots of wind

Three boats, One Mantus

Yesterday, we had a couple friends come into the cove to visit.  The conditions were calm, so our friends rafted up to Banjo creating a cool three boat flotilla to spend a nice Saturday night.  Around 04:30 this morning, we awoke to significant wind gusts only to remember that we were the only boat anchored of the three.  The wind gusts were in the low-mid 30-knot range.  We found ourselves in the situation of a three boat flotilla all sharing one Mantus anchor. The specifics of the three boats were…

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Tropical Storm Michael, just in time for Halloween

Tropical Storm Michael

We aren’t out of the woods quite yet.  It’s time to hunker down again.  Tropical Storm Michael is anticipated to be a Category 2 Hurricane, as of this writing, when it comes ashore in the Florida panhandle.  NHC is indicating the potential for tropical storm force winds for New Bern, NC.  Below are the NHC graphics from Mon, 08Oct2018 at 09:30 EST. Hurricane-Force Wind Speed Probabilities 50-Knot (58 mph) Wind Speed Probabilities Tropical-Storm-Force Wind Speed Probabilities Earliest Reasonable Arrival Time of Tropical-Storm-Force Winds Most likely arrival time of Tropical-Storm-Force Winds…

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Hurricane Florence: Early Hours at BridgePointe Marina

Hurricane Florence

Although limited on time and resources, we wanted to get this video out.  Our hope was to show people exactly how fast storm surge can rise. During the initial hours of Hurricane Florence we witnessed several feet of rise over the course of a couple hours.  And those were the early hours. Coupled with wind and rain and the conditions only got worse as the day and night wore on. Please forgive the choppy editing. Video Description In an effort to assist and help our dock-master, several of us volunteered…

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Hurricane Florence: Slow Boat Sailing Interview with SV Banjo Crew

Slow Boat Sailing Interview with SV Banjo

Our home dock is BridgePointe Marina in New Bern, NC, which was hit very hard by the winds and storm surge of Hurricane Florence.  In the days following, we were contacted by Linus Wilson of the Slow Boat Sailing blog.  He wished to discuss our experiences with the storm and our plans aboard Banjo.  Although we are not experienced interviewees, we wanted to share the interview with you.  Also, we are not professional nautical engineers.  Therefore we were unable to comment on some questions.  We did, however, offer our views…

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Fiery Sunset at Anchor

Fiery Sunset

Last night provided an amazing fiery sunset at anchor.  In fact, it was one of the most captivating I have seen since we brought Banjo to New Bern.  Having made it through Hurricane Florence, I held a deep sense of gratitude.  Sitting on deck, the horizon was brilliant as if the anchorage sky was on fire.  Wanted to share the entire sequence.  It seemed as if the moment I turned my attention away, it changed again and again.  The sky kept sneaking up on me in completely different ways. After…

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