Steve and Donna have sailed with us more times than any other guests. In fact we don’t consider them guests anymore and I regularly put them to work. Tote that barge, lift that bale. The weather this summer has been so wet that we only recently felt we could schedule a day this year. They made reservations at the Neuse River Suites earlier in the week, then the weather forecast really went south. The marine forecast was for small craft advisory from Thursday until late Sunday night. We pay attention to weather forecasts but even if it is a good forecast it can change in minutes.

Friday September 27, 2013
We made a standard trek leaving right after work. Dinner was at the American Roadhouse in Asheboro. I called Steve to make sure they had arrived safely and were having a good time. Steve and Donna have a good time no matter what they do and they were doing great when I called. Steve asked me to call him in the morning and let them know if we were sailing or not. I had made no promises except I would decide when the time came. After a couple of stops for gas and ice we arrived at about 10:30 and proceeded to unpack and settle in. The wind was not as strong as I was expecting with a small craft advisory in place.

Saturday September 28, 2013
We had gone to be late on Friday and I did not get up as early as I sometimes do. It was a spectacular morning. The sky was cloudless and the air was cool and dry. I was still concerned about taking the little ship out in an advisory but what I was seeing at the dock did not match what the forecast said I should see. The forecast was for 20 to 25 knot winds all day long into Sunday. You can’t always tell by the conditions at the dock what it will be like out on the river but I would have expected to see more of a breeze if indeed the wind was 20 knots on the river. I looked at the current weather readings at nearby weather stations and the highest wind I could find in the area was 16 knots and that was at Ocracoke. The mate and I discussed it and we decided to put a reef in the mainsail and venture out. If it was too rough, at least Cousin Steve would get an hour long boat ride.

I called Steve and relayed the plan for the day. While they were on their way I got the boat ready and put a reef in the mainsail. During that process I broke a sheave (pulley wheel) in the jiffy reefing system. This is not a particularly significant piece of equipment but I made a mental not to get it replaced as soon as reasonable. Steve and Donna arrived at about 10am. We loaded up and left the dock shortly after because I figured the weather was not going to get any better.

I was pleasantly surprised at the conditions. The wind was fairly strong and I was glad I had put the reef in. I am not a great judge of wind speed but I guessed 15 to 18 as opposed to the 20 to 25 that was forecast. If you look at the entire sail rig on SVSS, she carries a main and 150% Genoa headsail. The headsail is considerably larger than the main. I had reduced the size of the main by probably 20%, so that means that we were using about 30% +- of our normal complement of canvas. I was still recording speeds of over 4 knots (over ground) under the reefed main alone. Not too shabby. The really good thing is that the boat was sailing flat and level and was performing like a thoroughbred in the less than ideal conditions. Although the boat was doing well the seas were quite rough. It was not as bad as expected but still not good. Judy on occasion is bothered by the motion. She was not sick but was not having a particularly enjoyable time. She stayed back behind the wheel most of the sail so she could have a good view of the horizon. She did not go below and I informed the crew that lunch would not be served until we returned to the dock.

We had a nice sail but we didn’t go far. We crossed the Intracoastal Waterway then turned around for home. I did not crank the diesel right away and decided to prolong the sailing by sailing into the channel. We met Joey and Dorothy on their way out for a day sail in the Hinckley Bermuda 40. What a treat just to see her sail by with a bone in her teeth. Donna got a good video on her phone and sent it to Dorothy via the Internet. As an added attraction when we entered Broad Creek, we were entertained by a very large pod of dolphins. It is hard to tell how many were there because only a few were visible at a given time. I can say that it was one of the largest groups we have seen in the wild and we enjoyed the entertainment. Trying to get pictures can be maddening so we usually just watch and enjoy and don’t even try to take photographs.

The wind direction is not always right for sailing into the channel but it was favorable this day. After we gained some cover the wave action was much less and the mate’s discomfort got better. I don’t like to run a channel with the engine at the ready so I cranked the diesel and let it idle in case it was needed. We sailed all the way to the confluence of Broad and Brown creeks. We had very nice sail after all.

We were back at the dock by early afternoon. Steve helped me put on the sail cover and set up the sun shade. The weather was great and although we had some cloud cover it was generally sunny. We had some lunch and relaxed for a while. As usual Judy was very flexible about preparing dinner. She has been sailing and camping for many years and still amazes me with the meals she can pull out of a simple galley. We were not even sure we would be able to sail so she was prepared for all contingencies including going out to eat. After a crew meeting we decided to venture into Oriental to see if I could find my broken part and while we were there we would pick up some fresh off the boat shrimp. I found the part although I think the marine consignment in Oriental is very overpriced. No wonder they don’t seem to have much of a selection or much business. We did much better at the fish market. We bought 2 pounds of beautiful fresh shrimp. After stopping at a couple of boat yards and the grocery store for ice we came back to the boat and started dinner. It seems like we are either finishing or starting a meal. Steve and Donna volunteered to clean the shrimp. Judy was busily preparing dinner in the one-person galley. I made sure the ice was safely in the cooler then donned my captain’s hat and assumed a supervisory role. Of course nobody else knew that but I really had nothing else to do.

Soon the shrimp was in the pot and I was in charge of timing the 3 minute boil. Of course I used the GPS so the start and end time would be exact according to the atomic clock. The table was set and the guests were seated to an outstanding dinner of shrimp, rice, coleslaw and crusty bread. It was great and nobody left the table hungry.

It had been a long day and Steve and Donna retired to their hotel room shortly after dinner. If they didn’t have a good time they sure had us fooled! We turned in early as well.

Sunday September 29, 2013
We were up early for hot coffee on deck. The sky was murky but there was still plenty of blue. We enjoyed a simple breakfast and started the process of going home. I tend to drag my feet when it is time to go home because I am never actually ready to leave. We had made arrangements with Matthew and Amber to stop by on the way home so it wasn’t quite as hard to leave. We stopped at King’s in Kinston for Barbeque chicken. It was quite good for restaurant fare. We stopped in Cary and played with Jonas for a while and continued a blessedly uneventful journey home.