The Jamestown - close

Later, after dinner aboard (meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans), we settled in for the evening. Just before dark we had noticed a commercial tug boat heading south out in the river. The next time I glanced out, the tug was coming in the channel that leads to the marina – that got my attention. The 65-70’ heavy, steel work boat was idling up to the pilings that make up the marina perimeter and one of the men aboard called over that they were having trouble with their propulsion and was hoping for a place to spend the night and arrange for some help. The owner agreed to let them try to tie up to a series of the perimeter pilings but that didn’t work out. Next, they tried to carefully maneuver the tug into one of the larger slips next to the fuel dock but the fit was marginal and they feared they might bump a piling and break it off. In the end, the tug moved out into the river and anchored outside of the channel. That was Sunday at Dowry Creek Marina, near Belhaven, NC. We would later see the tug, Jamestown, still there when we left early Monday morning