A Dragon’s Tale

It took us 12 days to move Wind Dragon from Sail Harbor Marina on Wilmington Island in Savannah, GA to Cape Fear Marina in Wilmington, NC. William, Lexi, Zac, Derby and myself were the crew on her inaugural journey, which was an epic family trip. None of the crew knew how to sail. None had ever been sailing. Two were canine. We motored her all the way up via the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) and along the way we saw sights, shared experiences, laughed until we cried, and formed bonds between us as a family which can never be broken.

Wind Dragon stayed 3 years in the marina at Bennett Brothers before being moved for haul out at Cape Fear Boat Works in Navassa, NC where we planned to strip and repaint her bottom, but instead she spent the next 6 years on the hard. Why? Well, the short answer is that life and employment circumstances change. Projects run long and savings run short. No part of boat ownership is cheap, and it was better to keep her on the hard for both maintenance and monetary reasons.

Unfortunately in the fall of 2018 hurricanes Florence (September) and Michael (October) battered North Carolina and pounded the coastal areas with powerful surges and mass flooding that overpowered the banks of rivers and creeks for weeks, and cut land access to many coastal areas for months. 

Wind Dragon rode out the storms on the hard, but she sustained a lot of damage from high winds and debris which broke hatches and exposed her natural wood interior to the rains, humidity, sun, and heat. Of course, electricity was lost with the storms, so the pumps died leaving water sitting inside. It was early 2019 before we were finally able to make it back to the coast to see her and although we expected damage, nothing prepared us for as much damage as there was.

That same night we had no choice but to make the toughest decision we’ve had to make as a couple, resolving to cut our losses and look for a new way to fulfill our lifestyle dreams. We salvaged everything we knew we could save, tossed everything we couldn’t, and headed back toward Charlotte with heavy hearts. They say the best day in a boat owners life is the day they buy their boat, and the second best day in a boat owners life is the day they sell it. Wind Dragon was placed for sale and sold within a week. It didn’t feel like a good day.

For all the time we owned Wind Dragon we thoroughly enjoyed her, even if we weren’t able to sail her as planned. We hosted many friends and family aboard at the docks while she was in her slip, and we continued to travel to and spend every other weekend aboard her even during the years she was on the hard in the yard. Much love, time, work, money, effort, and tears were put into her care and upkeep, and she was more than just a boat to us; she was our second home. After such a devastating loss many questioned if we would ever have a boat again, but it was a question we always felt best left unanswered.

At last update we were told Wind Dragon still rests on the hard (on stilts) in the yard at Cape Fear Boat Works.