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A familiar boat has returned to local waters. Many Pamlico residents will remember seeing a 1930’s wooden powerboat named “Luv Tub” in years past. It served as the committee boat for a number of Whortonsville Yacht and Tractor Club Regattas, its profile marking the finish line. She belonged then to former Whortonsville resident Charley Frazier (whose profile — Santa beard, fishing hat, housedress — marked a few Whortonsville July 4th parades).

The 1932 Richardson has been renamed “Mother Goose” by its new owner, Ray Everest. Ray bought the boat 4 years ago.

This boat finds distinct owners.

TownDock.net found Ray along with Maxey Gillenend at Nick Santoro’s Ensign Harbor docks in Whortonsville.

"MotherGoose" at Ensign Harbor, Whortonsville.

Ray and Maxey’s friendship goes back over three decades – they get together for at least a couple of weeks every year to do some traveling. Last week they set out to take the boat up to Washington, DC. They ended up in Washington, NC – but we’ll return later to their navigational abilities.

February 23, 1969. Ray Everest and Maxey Gillenend were two young Marines in the Vietnam War, in southwest Danang near the Laos border. That day the fighting was intense, and Ray was hit. The shoulder and neck wound caused extensive bleeding, and it was feared mortal. Maxey figured Ray would likely die. He also knew enough about Ray’s personality to say something inspirational.

“If the sonofabitch dies, it’s his own damned fault!”

It made Ray mad. Both men say it’s why Ray didn’t die that day – he was too mad and too stubborn to give up.

Since then both men have gone on to very different lives. Ray lives in Mocksville, NC (near Winston-Salem), and has enjoyed a career of developing and owning restaurants – and raising a son.

Maxey Gillenend and his wife live in Nashville, TN. He is a Special Agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Ray Everest

Maxey Gillenend

Every year on February 23 they get together and as Maxey puts it, “celebrate life.” Some years they meet at a roadstop restaurant. Other years, at an airport. One year in Mexico. But for more than three decades now, they always meet on February 23 and raise a glass, thankful to be alive.

Apart from that, they also take an annual voyage, which is what brought them to Pamlico County’s waters last week.

Ray says he hasn’t used the boat over the past 3 years. Most of time “Mother Goose” has spent time sitting in a slip at Minnesott Beach. Then, three months ago Ray had the boat put on the hard. He did some work on her before she went back in the water at Sailcraft Marine in Oriental.

It is often said that wooden boats don’t like to be taken out of the water, and Mother Goose is no exception. She developed a bit of a leak.

A week ago Ray and Maxey departed for Washington, DC.

They went up the ICW. Maxey says it was when they began crossing the Pamlico River that they noticed water starting to cover the floorboards.

“Ray was navigating and driving – I was bailing. There were hundreds of gallons down there. We kept switching off driving and bailing, and somehow we missed a turn in the river.”

Maxey has his own explanation for their alternative navigation.

“In reality, when you don’t have a destination – you get there anyway.”

Which is how, just a couple days out of Oriental, they found themselves in Washington – NC. Leaks were repaired. They enjoyed little Washington’s free docks. Now they are back and plan to spend the next couple weeks onboard “Mother Goose” discovering anchorages, docks, bars and restaurants between Whortonsville and Beaufort, NC.

At the end of this voyage Ray will keep “Mother Goose” at a familiar home – docked in Whortonsville.

Posted Thursday September 19, 2002 by Keith

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