11.30 - Belted Kingfisher

A male Belted Kingfisher perches on a mainmast spreader at Oriental Harbor Marina

"The only kingfisher in most of North America," according to the National Geographic Field Giude. "Common and conspicuous along rivers and brooks, ponds and lakes, estuaries..."

"Call is a loud, dry rattle"... The bird's call was what whaat brought my attention to its' presence, but I would describe it more as a repetitive chittering.

I have seen these birds hovering near the mouth of Whittaker Creek, but not gotten a picture before today.

Kingrishers "hover over water or watch from low perches, then plunge headfirst to catch a fish."

Very cool. Now added to my photographic life-list.

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11.22- Gale warning

Two red triangular pennants fly at the Oriental Harbor Marina flag mast

Two red pennants means "gale warning"... This means winds from 34 to 48 knots (39 to 54 miles per hour or 63 to 69 kmh) are predicted.

The Oriental Harbor Marina flag mast is visible from most places in the harbor, and from the bridge over Smiths Creek...

If you are thinking about going boating, it is a good idea to glance at the OHM flag mast first... One red pennant indicates a "small craft advisory," which is either 15 or 20 knots, I can't recall. Red square flags with a black square in the middle mean "hurricane warning"... I haven't yet seen those flags at the OHM.

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9.08- Climbing the Mast

Self portrait while sitting astride the spreader bars of the Hirondelle's mast during a pause in my descent from retrieving a slipped haliard.

During tropical storm Hanna, the jib-halliard on Captain Dave's Pearson 39 (the Hirondelle) became detached from the deck, and the loose end rode up the mast until its shackle stuck in the fairlead (translation for lubbers and stink-potters: the rope used to raise the front sail came loose and the end slipped up to the top of the mast and got stuck there).

This being Oriental, other captains quickly offered assistance and tools to retrieve the halliard.

This morning, Capt. Tory came to help, bringing his "boatswains chair" (a.k.a "bosun's chair," a devise used to haul folks up masts for rigging work) and the heavy-duty drill with winch-fitting bit he uses to raise sails on his own boat.

We rigged the boatswain's chair to the main haliard and to an extra haliard (for safety) and I got the job of going aloft to retrieve the slipped jib-haliard from the top of the 55 foot (17 meter) mast.

Capt. Tory slipped the drill into the main haliard winch, and I got a motorized lift to the top (most of the way... some hand-cranking was required.) I had to stop at the spreader bars to untie the safety line, slip it around the spreaders and re-tie it to the boatswain's chair before continuing up. Same on the way back down. This was because the mainsail haliard and the extra haliard were on opposite sides of the mast.

It turns out the shackle at the end of the jib haliard had opened, and the loose end of the haliard naturally rose to the top of the mast due to gravity and wind acting on the part of the line that runs back down the mast. Once at the top of the mast, I grabbed the shackle end and lowered it down to the deck with no trouble.

Capt. Dave also gave me a couple of "while you're up there" tasks... running a new signal haliard (for flags) and another line for a future project.

While I was up there, Capt. Roy and Capt. Ken came by to watch from dockside.

I hung my little Kodak camera, in video mode, from my sidefor the trip, and stitched together a video of my journey, and the panoramic view from atop the mast. In the picture above, and the video below, you will see the Bauer 10 dinghy tied up in Hirondelle's slip, off the starboard bow.

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9.07- Slow Sunday at the Deli

Umbrellas guard empty tables on the deck of the Oriental Harbor Deli & Bistro, as a thunderstorm darkens the western sky.

As the "alien season" in Oriental fades in the wake of Labor Day and worries about Hanna-Ike-Josephine storms, there are few visitors in town this weekend.

During the summer season, aliens (and a few locals) enjoy lunch and dinner on the deck at the Oriental Harbor Deli & Bistro, with a grand view of Smith's Creek and the Oriental Harbor Marina.

Though clearly open for business today, I did not see a single customer this afternoon. The whole town is extremely quiet and empty for an early September weekend, but no doubt Hanna prompted weekend travelers to stay home for this one.

The Oriental Harbor Deli & Bistro resides in the early 20th century passenger depot building of the Norfolk & Southern Railroad Co.

In addition to the Deli, the old depot is also now home to the Oriental Harbor Marina's heads and laundry room, and "The General Store," which offers Oriental souvenirs, a surprising collection of wines and $2.00 cans of coke (the wine is much more reasonable than the cokes).

The N&S RR ran regular passenger service from New Bern to Oriental into the 1940's. The N&S RR 's first lines to Oriental were built in the very early 20th century, and provided important transportation for local timber and produce (mostly cabbages), as well as passengers.

Before the N&S RR built its line into Oriental, the Old Dominion Steamship Company had been providing freight and passenger services from Oriental to New Bern, Elizabeth City, Portsmouth, VA (and available transfer service to as far away as New York City) from its pier on the Neuse River at the end of King Street.

The N&S RR line traveled along Midyette Street to service three lumber mills, including the giant John L. Roper Lumber Co. mills located along Camp Creek, before crossing Broad Street to the passenger depot on the harbor front at Water Street. While N&S RR acquired an easement to build a planned spur across the village to the former ODSS warehouses and Neuse River pier on King St., it was never built.

The depot building now stands about about 100 yards away from its original location.

Below is an old N&S RR Map I have enhanced to show the main properties, rail lines and proposed rail line discussed above...

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