Hello and goodbye Wilmington

Allied Tug outbound Cape Fear River

It was another uneventful voyage from Savannah,Georgia to Wilmington,North Carolina.I as I say that please understand I am not complaining in the least bit.Uneventful is far better than eventful when out at sea.The current runs extremely strong in the Cape Fear River and has to be dealt with accordingly.Let me explain that.The "normal" routine when approaching a dock is to have an assist tug waiting in case the barge needs to be flattened out before making contact with the dock.If the barge isn't flat when it makes contact,then it usually misses the majority of the rubber and finds some concrete or wood to smash.Also known as me not doing my job by letting the Captain know what needs to be done to avoid this.So,last night upon approach to the dock,there was no assist boat waiting.Noting the current and the wind being in the same direction,the decision was made to wait for an assist.After a bit,the assist showed up.Apparently it traveled through a time warp to get here.A time warp from 1900.Needless to say the assist wasn't much help but long story short the barge made it to the dock,thanks to me and only me.I kid,I kid, no really it was a great group effort from all of my shipmates.Everyone performed there job as needed and the job got done in as professional a way as possible with multiple expletives involved.So next stop Philadelphia.Some rough weather may be in our future in the next few days but we can handle it.

Bald Head Island,North Carolina