Tax season and weekend boating do not work well for us because Judy is working full time and does not get off until 6pm. Starting a 5 hour drive at 7pm in the dark to arrive at a stone cold boat at midnight does not appeal to either of us so our trips are short when we make it at all.

We had a great time with Carson last time when we brought him and his Daddy. Carson has matured a lot since he started school and is a very well behaved child and a pleasure to have around. He showed no fear at all the whole time he was on the boat and did not want to leave when it was time. The funniest things actually happened after he got home. Being his “Gram’s” grandson, he is genetically predisposed to bring a pillow no matter where he is going. He also brought his favorite blanket for good measure. Regular readers are familiar with the authentic boat aroma that comes with almost every sailboat. An overnight stay will leave any fabric with an unmistakable odor. Carson’s Mom thought she was doing him a favor when she offered to wash his blanket and pillow case but he would not even discuss it. He said, “I don’t want it washed, it smells like the boat!” Carson’s great grandfather (Bill) was submariner during the Korean War and got a hearty laugh when he heard what Carson said. Bill said that all real sailors smell like diesel fuel. A week or so after we got back Judy found a T shirt with a line drawing of a keelboat (similar to ours) on the front. She gave it to Carson and he loves it. His Mom reports having to use air freshener because he won’t take it off to have it washed. Luckily, Judy was able to find an exact replica so now he can wear a clean sailboat shirt every day. In a very unusual unsolicited phone call, Carson asked his Gram if we could take him to the boat during his spring break because he wants to learn to sail the boat. We are not sure about the spring break scheduling because it is during tax season. I guess things could change but it appears that we have a sailor on our hands.

In preparation for this trip, I cooked a large batch spaghetti for dinner on Friday. The leftovers were packed along with some crusty bread and bag salad was packed for Saturday’s dinner. When we are down for a short time like this trip we don’t like to venture out for dinner. We are not too excited about restaurants in general and it is a lot easier to just warm up a good meal.

Saturday March 16, 2013
We left home a little earlier than usual. We packed very little and we would be there for only a short time. We stopped in Asheboro for breakfast at IHOP. The meal was quite good and the service was too. We seldom rush to get to the boat so we made a couple of other stops and arrived shortly after noon. We were concerned about the weather because we had some raindrops on the windshield in Raleigh and the cloud cover was heavier than forecast. It started to clear as we got closer to the coast and when we passed Kinston the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds. At Ensign Harbor the weather was quite pleasant but the wind was stiff. There was a small craft advisory on the sound, but that was of no concern because the boat would not leave the dock.

Stefan was busily cleaning his boat with a pressure washer when we arrived and Chris was busy on “Away”. Chris had take “Away” out sailing for the first time last weekend. He said she did very well but he only used the jib and mizzen because the wind was quite stiff. Her good behavior was not unexpected. She is after all an Allied Princess, a blue water boat that could easily cross an ocean. Nick greeted us a soon as we arrived. He told me that our sail cover needed attention. The front Velcro fastener was worn to the point that it would not stay together in a blow. Evidently he had gone on board several times to re-fasten it. The Velcro fastener, in fact the entire sail cover was a temporary fix 10 years ago. I believe it is the original sail cover that came with the boat which makes it 30 years old. That’s a long time even for sunbrella fabric. I took the sail cover off and used my heavy soldering iron to “drill” holes in the fabric and Velcro and used some stiff electrical wire to create temporary mechanical fasteners. Nick may have to board the boat but it won’t be to re-fasten the sail cover. I will need to squeeze in yet another project in the next few weeks. Stefan recommended a kit from SailRite. I looked it up on line and it does seem like a good deal. I can get a high quality sail cover for less than half what a loft would charge for the finished product. I already have the sewing machine that will do the work.

Judy headed out to take a walk shortly after we got there but reported that it was too hot to walk. She retired to the cockpit to finish Stella Grace’s Easter basket. On the last trip Carson got great joy from helping Gram turn the pressure water off when the water pump failed to stop pumping. The water pump had never worked well. I bought it to replace the last one when the pressure switch went south. Since the replacement, I found a pressure switch at the consignment shop and rebuilt the original pump. I decided this would be a good time to swap them out. Due to a brain cramp on my part, it took twice as long as it should have but I got the job done and the new pressure switch seems to be working well. I did a couple of other minor things like replacing the rigging tape on the turnbuckles and replacing the short length of line between the backstay and the end of the boom. By then it was getting late and Stefan was already cooking his dinner in the cockpit. After showers we warmed our dinner and took it to the cockpit. We had a nice meal with a lively discussion with friends.

Sunday March 17, 2013 St. Patrick’s Day
We were up fairly early and had bagels for breakfast. We needed to get home so we could prepare for the upcoming week. We had not brought much so it didn’t take long to get ready to leave. I went out and measured the boom so I could size the sail cover kit. Judy did her usual preparation and we left for home at about 10:30. A stop for an early lunch at King’s in Kinston was in order. The food there is good and reasonably priced. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

We hope to do a lot of sailing this season. There are several guests we want to invite from home and we would like do some cruising in company with our dock mates. I suspect that Carson will be a regular fixture in seasons to come. It looks like the summer may not be long enough again this year.