One of the big annual events in the Oriental area is the Summer Solstice Race hosted by Ensign Harbor. The event starts with a casual regatta (sailboat race) and ends with an awards ceremony and pig pickin'. Southern Star lives at Ensign Harbor and for the past two years; she has been registered to participate. She has not had a good record for finishing the race. Two years ago, our fuel pump failed which would have made it difficult to get to the racecourse. Last year I had a serious back injury that prevented our participation. I'm happy to say that both the fuel pump and my back are much better but we decided to step back this year and do something different for the summer solstice weekend. We will probably try it again next year because a race, even a casual race, is a great way to hone your sailing skills because it allows you to compare your performance with other similar boats.

The forecast was good for the whole weekend but it was to be very warm. When asked about her preference for a destination, the Very First Mate replied, "Anywhere as long as we can plug in the air conditioner". No need to be miserable when you can be comfortable, right? We decided on a mini cruise to Oriental.

Friday June 22, 2007
We left for Whortonsville as soon as I finished work. We took the northern route again, through Greenville, and it proved to save a good deal of time since we made the trip in less than five hours. Traffic is usually very heavy around Raleigh on Friday afternoon. We arrived just after dark. The mosquitoes were especially ferocious because there was no breeze at all. We unloaded the car as quickly as possible. After being closed up for weeks, the boat was very hot. We started the fans to move some air and deployed our portable air conditioner, which we consider a true miracle of modern science. We used the "meat locker" setting and were soon cool and comfortable. The bugs seemed to like it too, and we had to stuff paper towels in the small cracks around the companionway doors to keep them out.

Saturday June 23, 2007
It's not very far from Whortonsville to Oriental. We can easily cover the distance in a little over 2 hours by running the diesel. We already had a reservation at the Oriental Marina so there was no reason to hurry. We eased into the day. There was a lot of activity around the dock because of the big race. We were able to visit with dock mates that we had not seen in a while. We enjoyed a light breakfast and an extra cup of coffee. It usually takes over an hour to get the boat ready to go. We got squared away and left the dock at about 11 am. As usual, we motored out the Broad Creek channel.

The racing fleet was getting ready to start. It would have been a good day for racing as long as the racers were not in a hurry. We may have done well because light winds usually favor smaller boats. The weather was not as hot as we expected. It was overcast and the wind was from the Northeast. It was less than 10 knots and almost dead astern. This relative wind direction is not the most comfortable point of sail, and in this case it was not comfortable for Judy. After about an hour, she took the wheel, her first line of defense against seasickness.

If you have ever read any of the historical fiction novels about the Napoleonic Wars you know that the ship captains regularly conducted "cannon practice" to get the crew familiar with loading, aiming and firing the ship's cannons. Southern Star is not equipped with cannons, which is unfortunate because we could have used them on several occasions dealing with discourteous boaters on the Intercoastal Waterway. It was however, a good time to practice shortening sail. The first step is to perform a heave-to maneuver. After the boat is in this position, it will slowly and quietly slide sideways downwind. It is a fairly simple task to shorten sail from this position in light wind. It is considerably more difficult if you wait until the wind gets to 30 knots. This is why practice in light wind is a good idea. We successfully put a single reef in the mainsail and the new roller-furling jib. We broke the heave-to stance and sailed away with the reef in place, then we performed a second heave-to maneuver to reverse the process. The practice session went very well and we proceeded on our course.

We arrived in Oriental at about 3pm. We were expected and the landing went well. The Oriental Marina and Inn is a great place to stay. The staff is very friendly and they make you feel welcome. The facilities are not fancy but we have always found them to be clean and well kept. The Very First Mate is not concerned with fancy, but clean is absolutely essential. We walked around town for a bit. No surprises here, because we are in Oriental a lot, but there is a new seafood market in town. As our regular readers know, grilled fish is our favorite dinner. I had hoped for a little better selection at the new market but fresh flounder is always a good choice. It ain't Spanish Mackerel but it will certainly do. I'm sure the selection will expand in the future. After securing dinner, and buying some boating essentials from the local chandlery, we relaxed on the hotel's deck in the shade and waited for the sun to set.

Dinner was excellent, as usual. Judy prepared broccoli with minced onions, wild rice and grilled flounder cooked in the usual manner. We put olive oil on the skin side and sprinkle some "Old Bay" or similar spices on the flesh side. The fish is cooked on an extremely hot grill for a very short time. We usually cook for no more than 7 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.

After dinner we went for a stroll. My friend Andy told me, earlier in the day, that there was going to be a live band at the new marina in town. The music was good but so loud we found that we could hear just fine a half a block away. We sat on a park bench and listened for a while until the bugs got a little too friendly. On our way back to the boat, we met some nice folks visiting from Maryland. Tom and Leslie had evidently been following our adventures and reading this ship's log for quite some time. They were staying at the marina's inn and recognized Southern Star at the docks. We invited them aboard where we chatted for a long while. They plan to make the move to the area and boat ownership in the near future. I was very pleased to find they were reading the logs and enjoying our adventures. We look forward to seeing Tom and Leslie more in the future. They promised to leave a comment on or sign the guest book on the website. It always makes my day when I get either. I enjoy writing the ship's log and I'd like to think that there are folks out there who enjoy reading it. So if you are reading this log, please let me know. Our new friends kept us up long after our usual dark-thirty bedtime so we turned in right away.

Sunday June 24, 2007
The weekend so far had been laid back and easy. Sunday morning was no exception. We slept until we were rested then enjoyed a hot shower. It was time for a nice breakfast. We went to the deli at the new marina where they start serving breakfast at 7:30 in the summer. We have eaten breakfast there before and it is always very good and reasonably priced. We strolled back to the marina where we prepared Southern Star for departure. We left at about 9 am for the trip back to Whortonsville. We learned a long time ago that you don't always get to sail when traveling by sailboat. We had a nice sail on Saturday so we weren't too disappointed when we found the wind entirely too light for us to sail back home in a reasonable time. If we were retired, we would have taken the time to sail all the way, but unfortunately we were expected back in the real world on Monday morning. We motored home without difficulty. Judy was able to do a bit of needlework and I just steered and enjoyed being on the water. I did manage to catch a pretty nice blue fish while motoring. In my opinion, blue fish is in the same category as catfish. I will eat it if there is no other fish on the menu.

We arrived just after 11 am and were greeted by several of our dock mates. There was a good turnout due to Saturday's activities. I cleaned the blue fish and put him in the cooler for Monday's dinner. We packed the car and prepared to the boat for another week of sitting idle. We always hate to leave but our little weekend voyage was a big success. We left for the high country (well it's higher than Pamlico County) a little before 2 pm. The drive home was uneventful which is always a blessing. We are already planning the next adventure. I am happy to report that the weekend cruise was completed with absolutely no damage to the vessel or her crew.