Drunk Drivers

Manteo, NC
N 35 54.528 W 075 40.102

We have been very lucky over the years. Despite the number of times we tied up to very public places, there have been very few incidents where we were bothered by bad people. Last night was one of those few.

It was First Friday night in Manteo. That means the shops stay open late, the streets are closed to traffic, and there are bands playing in the streets. We walked around and enjoyed it for a while.

First Friday also attracts some locals who come by boat and who tie up at the public dock. One of those in a party barge tied up about 50 feet away from us. Soon they were cooking BBQ on the stern for about 12 people. Cool. Then apparently those 12 people got into the sauce. As the night progressed they got louder and louder. Then, one of them found the compressed air horn which is very loud and blew that until it ran out of air.

We elected to not interfere so we went to bed. A half hour later I woke to the noise of a nearby engine. I looked out and saw the party barge leaving. The guests were leaning over the side screaming obscenities. Bear in mind, these were not ignorant kids, but elderly people of retirement age. Good, I thought, at least they're gone.

An hour later I woke again to the sound of more engine noises and loud voices. It was the same party barge, and now it was heading toward us, apparently out of control. My heart was in my mouth. I thought we would be rammed. Well, to make a long story short, they missed us and crashed in to the dock 6 feet away. I would have jumped out to yell at them or something, but a nearly naked man running around in circles and cursing wouldn't help the situation. Finally, they backed out and disappeared in to the dark. Good riddance.

Grrrr. Anger

Seriously, let me repeat. The truth is that such unpleasant experiences on the water happen less often than one would expect.