This morning while having coffee and getting ready to depart Swansboro, I heard someone outside yelling “Help!”. I quickly popped my head out the hatch and saw the sailboat docked next to me trying to back out of his slip but the bow was pinned against the piling and rapidly coming towards mine. I jumped on deck and tried to pushed his bow away but the force from the current was too strong. A loud bang later, the stainless stanchions on the port side of my vessel was bent like a pretzel. My heart sank because there’s nothing I can do to help the situation. Two other boaters came by to help but his boat just wouldn’t budge. Eventually we rigged a line around a piling and used the winch to straighten out his boat so he can exit out of this difficult situation. He moved his boat to the outside of the pier then tied up to the dock.

Visibility shaken, the single handed captain got off the boat and apologized to me profusely. We climbed onto my boat to assessed the damage. Though it looked like the end of the world a few moments ago, the actual damage wasn’t as bad as it seems. A bent gate stanchion was the only victim (it’s still functional and can be replaced). Thanks to modern technology, we agreed on an acceptable settlement and did a quick electronic online payment, he was off on his way to Guatemala. What a way to start our day!

On our way to the next stop, the rest of the day was uneventful except when we passed by an area near Camp Lejeune, where the US Marines performed target practice in the middle of the ICW. Claudia and I were on high alert as we saw helicopters fly by and heard sounds of explosive nearby. We were told back home, by our friend Jimmy Kern, an ex Marine, trained here at Camp Lejeune, said they used to try to scared passing boats by shooting rounds for fun when they were bored. Thank goodness that didn’t happen.

We pulled into a peaceful marina with no current and no boat next to us. We were relieved.