Our Memorial Day Weekend trip was originally planned as a whole week on the water. Things don't always go as planned and Judy's mom had surgery scheduled for Tuesday morning. We drove back home on Monday afternoon so Judy could keep her dad company during the surgery. The surgery went well and mom was scheduled to stay in the hospital for a few days.

Wednesday June 2, 2010
We went to the hospital early to check on mom. She was doing well and in good hands so Judy was comfortable with leaving. Our route was on the interstate and it seemed like it was unusually long. The weather was unsettled with a forecast for hot, windy and rainy weather. We stopped in Lexington, NC for a fast food lunch at Arby's. We had a couple of other stops to make so the trip took longer than usual. When we arrived Chuck was there doing some boat work. Tish and their daughter were to sail with him to Ocracoke for the music festival on Friday.

Thursday June 3, 2010
The weather was very unstable when we woke. There was a thunderstorm before noon and we felt it would be better to stay in port since we didn't have any hard plans. We went to town where I bought an American flag and a wooden pole to fly it on. I launched the dinghy and tried the outboard. As usual, there was a problem. It could be a dirty carburetor or an adjustment but it just didn't run very well. Tish and Susan (her daughter) arrived late in the day and we enjoyed meeting her. Judy's dinner was chicken, coleslaw and squash and onions. We rigged the ship's theatre after dinner and watched a movie. It was a nice relaxing day on the boat although the weather was very hot and still very unsettled.

Friday June 4, 2010
So far we had not really spent much time on the water and we were determined to do some sailing. We went to town for ice and returned to finish getting ready. We needed to pump the waste tank and discovered the dock's waste caddy pump was not working. We decided to take advantage of the pump-out station at the River Dunes resort. The cost was $10 but it was completely painless other than that. We may take advantage of the service more often. We made it to Broad Creek marker 1 at about noon and saw a nasty little black squall up river headed our way. I radioed our friend Bryan who had headed to Adam's Creek about 45 minutes ahead of us. He said it was a serious rainstorm but he had not seen any electrical activity. We ducked back into the creek and dropped a hook to wait it out. After about an hour most of the storm had passed and we ventured out into the river. There were still patches of rain. The wind was strong and building. The water was rough as well so we motored the 5 or so miles over to the South River entrance. There were a few other boats in the anchorage and the river provided good protection from the wind. We enjoyed salmon patties, coleslaw and macaroni and cheese for dinner. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed the cool breeze and a good night's sleep.

Saturday June 5, 2010
It was a beautiful morning with a nice breeze from the southwest. We had coffee and pop-tarts for breakfast and then pulled the anchor and headed out the channel. The weather was very warm but it was the best it had been all week. We sailed up river toward Oriental and went as far as the Whittaker Creek entrance, then turned and headed down river (east) out past Piney Point. The wind was very nice at about 10 to 12 knots. It was steadily building and clouds were gathering. We sailed about 15 nautical miles then went back to the dock. By 1pm the heat was oppressive. We did the landing chores, took a cool shower and headed for New Bern. We went to Richard and Frances' house and admired their newly remodeled kitchen. Dinner was at Stingray's in New Bern. Steve and Donna had recommended it and Joey and Dorothy really raved about. Joey had given us a menu earlier in the week. Our reviews were mixed. The food was good. Mine was especially good because I had blackened Red Snapper. That's not exactly what I ordered but that was due to a very inexperienced waitress who was doing the best she could but was overwhelmed with waiting on more than a few tables. I think we will give it another chance. Hopefully they will flesh out the menu so that the side items are as good as the main dishes. We said our goodbyes to Richard and Frances and headed for the comfort of an air-conditioned boat. We watched a movie and turned in.

Sunday June 6, 2010
We were up early. I wanted to pack Charlie Gibson (our dinghy) for transport back home. I need to work on the outboard and it seems to only act up when under a load. We were surprised to find the Ufers aboard Layla. We had not seen Stefan, Marita and Sebastian for quite some time and we enjoyed catching up. Sebastian has grown like a weed since we saw him last and we found he is going to have a sibling in September.

Just before we left I noticed that the bilge pump ran. I also noticed it ran on Saturday afternoon. That's not a lot but it's enough to look into why there is so much water in the bilge. On inspection I found the stuffing box was dripping. It was not pouring but it was dripping more that I would have expected nearly 24 hours after stopping the engine. Since it was time to leave and I didn't have any suitable wrenches with me, I made the command decision to call Roger and have him take a look. I found out later that he had adjusted the stuffing box and stopped the leak. He said I should keep an eye on it for the next 50 or so running hours to see if it needs re-packing. This is one of those boat maintenance items that compares to having worn brake linings replaced on our car.

We finished packing and headed for home. The week was not exactly what we had planned but it was still fun. The little ship performed flawlessly as usual.