On behalf of a grateful nation . . .

On behalf of a grateful nation . . .

Wednesday November 11, 2020

It’s Veterans Day today.  On this day we are reminded of all those who have served our nation in the armed forces.  It strikes me that so many of the 16 million men and women who served in the Second World War have now passed away.  According to the department of Veterans Affairs only 325,574 veterans from WWII were alive in 2020.   Most of these people would be in their mid 90s.  Let’s hope that even when the last of these veterans has passed away, we still remember to be thankful for their sacrifice. (Vietnam veterans numbered 2.7 million with about 774,00 still surviving)

Before it started to rain today, I did some work on polishing the stainless steel.  There is still so much more that needs attention though.  I didn’t even finish down the port side of Cotinga.  It looks like the next few days are going to be quite rainy.  Progress on the stainless polishing is likely to be pretty slow.

After the band of showers passed through, we set off from Wrightsville Beach.   We motored southward beyond the Masonboro Inlet and into the ICW toward Snow’s cut.  Then at Snow’s cut we turned off to the town of Carolina Beach.  Mike had made a reservation for a mooring for two nights.  This should get us through the upcoming rain/thunderstorms and then we hope to set off again down the ICW. 

The geography of this area is complicated with Cape Fear separating the Cape Fear River to the south-west and numerous inlets to the north-east. Currents and tides are strong and highly variable depending on specific locations. The waterways are constantly shoaling and so it is good to make progress through some of the shallower sections on a rising tide. Although it was only a short ride today to Carolina Beach it sets us up well to go through Snow’s Cut and down the Cape Rear River on Friday.

Gloria

34 02.727 N, 77 53.386 W

This picture was created from a photo that I took last night of the fishing pier at Wrightsville Beach reflected in 4-fold symmetry and then converted to its negative. By the time I had finished editing the file in Photoshop it exceeded the 2 GB limit and couldn't be saved until I had slimmed it down!

Tonight's dinner - chicken piccata, spaghetti and broccoli - yummy!