It's Monday June 15, 2026
Lots of boats come to Oriental, some tie up at the Town Dock for a night or two, others drop anchor in the harbor for a while. If you've spent any time on the water you know that every boat has a story. The Shipping News on TownDock.net brings you the stories of the boats that have visited recently.
August 12, 2009
It was to be a half day tour. Just a few hours. When Mike and Kathleen Murray of Greensboro and their three children hopped aboard Will Flannery’s Offshore Rafting inflatible Sunday morning, their destination was the Shackleford Banks and they hoped to see dolphin and ponies.
Mike and Kathleen Murray of Greensboro and their children arrive back at Oriental after a full day on the water Sunday.They saw more than that. In the Beaufort Inlet, Will and the Murrays found themselves behind a fisherman in a 20-to-25-foot boat. There was some wave action, and while the man struggled mightily to bring in a large fish, his boat got swamped. Will says the boat suddenly went over on its stern.Another boat tried to get near the man to rescue him but had too much draft. That’s when Will steered the inflatible in and Mike Murray and his 13-year-old son, Patrick, worked to bring the man aboard.
Mike says that it seemed the man, “didn’t quite understand the gravity” of the situation. “He was upset,” Mike says, that he didn’t get to keep his fish. (The man lost his cell phone and glasses too.)
Will and the Murrays remained in the area for about a half hour as other boats and towing services came to the man and his boat.
When they resumed the journey, Will exteneded the half-day tour in to a full day. They saw the dolphin and the ponies. They had a late lunch in Beaufort.
But the rescue was a highlight of the day. “It was a blast.” Mike Murray said later, on returning to Oriental’s Town Dock. “Often times, we’re the ones that need help.”
At the end of the day, the family was singing a well known song about “a three hour tour”.
Will Flannery, at right, with Mike and Kathleen Murray and their children, Patrick, Will and Kate.The Murrays, who came to town this weekend to pick up Patrick after a session at Camp Don Lee, says they plan to come back for another visit. Will says that if they go out on another ride with Offshore Rafting, he can pretty much guarantee seeing dolphin and ponies. But not necessarily being part of another rescue.
Posted Wednesday August 12, 2009 by Melinda Penkava
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