"We're having fish tonight!"

Revisiting the Intracoastal is just one big trip down memory lane.

The bridges in Florida. (We go through 32 bridges today? Seriously?) The shallow

water. (It’s not a question as to whether we are aground. Are we aground at high tide or

low tide?) The fishermen in the Carolinas. ( Could you possibly block the center of the

channel any more, guys?) The rusty “mustache” on our bow. (Will I ever get that off?)

The Albemarle Sound. ( Do we REALLY have to do that again?)

The memories that really count are of the unforgettable people that you meet along the
way.

Tessa and crew have been stuck in the Intracoastal since Beaufort North Carolina, as the

winds and waves around Cape Hatteras are strong and dangerous. So we began looking

forward to docking at R.E. Mayo’s commercial fishing dock on Goose Creek once again.

In 2008, we had the pleasure of meeting the honorable Mr. Roy Watson, who was 93 at

the time. He held court around their wood burning stove, telling stories while we warmed

up. We were captivated by his personality, charm, and kindness and hoped to enjoy his

company again this trip.

Thursday evening we docked just before sundown and enjoyed chicken tacos aboard and

a movie. Yesterday morning we hurried into the store office to check in and see Mr. Roy

again. His rocking chair was occupied by a younger man, who said that Roy had sold out.

“Passed on” is what immediately crose our minds. It was a relief to learn that the current

occupant of the chair, Mike Potter, was the new owner’s son. Roy was alive and well,

and had recently sold the business to Carol and Birdie Potter.

We each grabbed a rocking chair to enjoy their Southern hospitality and get acquainted

with Captain Mike. This day was no run of the mill Friday. He had just docked an hour

before from a 17 day scallop fishing expedition out on the Atlantic. He, his crew, and the

Potter family were in a celebratory mood, as the Jane Carolyn was loaded with her limit

of scallops. 18,000 pounds! They also brought in lots of flounder, including a big

whopping 15 pounder.

“Can we buy some?” I pleaded, salivating. “Not to be greedy, but would you happen to

have some fresh crabs so I can whip up some crabmeat stuffing for the flounder?”

He disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a zip lock bag of last night’s leftover

fried scallops and flounder. I am sure he expected us to heat them up for lunch or dinner,

but we devoured the entire bag right then and there, at 8:30 a.m., while we continued to

chat.

We overheard Mike call one of the guys over and ask about crabs, but I was surprised
when he whispered a little later that “your crabs are on your boat.” Sure enough, crabs

were on our boat. Not just a couple of crabs. A full LAUNDRY BASKET of them!

Could any one be more hospitable and generous? Well, Mike was only getting warmed

up! After he came on board to tour Tessa, we swapped some more stories and relaxed for

a few minutes until it was time to unload the bootie, which Mike invited us to watch. It is

a fascinating, fast, and furious process, which takes an astonishing two hours to

accomplish. After the scallops are shucked in the “house of pain” where carpal tunnel syndrome flourishes, they go into 50 pound bags which are tossed down a ramp, then

loaded into a big cardboard tower. All the while, workers are fork lifting ice into large

containers to be shoveled on top of the scallops before sealing each tower up. From there

they go to seafood distributors in New Bedford, then to retail stores, then to customers,

then to the frying pan.

Mike gave us a tour of the Jane Carolyn, then took us on a land tour of the local area, all

the while sharing interesting local lore. We were having a fantastic time, and wished we

could spend the entire day. Due to a tight schedule to get to New York we really could

not afford to delay departure. But not before Mike did one final favor! He demonstrated

how to properly fillet and scale a flounder.

All the way to the anchorage last night, and then while we savored fresh crab stuffed

flounder, we marveled at our good fortune. We could have been grieving over spending a

thousand dollars in Beaufort on a fuel injection pump, but already that pain has begun to

subside. We could be frustrated about being forced to do the Intracoastal with all of it’s

challenges, delays, and financial strains. We could be obsessing over going outside in the

North Atlantic overnight to New York. (OK, one of us is, but that’s beside the point.)

The point is, we are living a life that most only dream about, and we have the opportunity

to get to know some absolutely wonderful, unforgettable people. People who, after only

spending days….or even hours with, we are honored to call our friends.