Belhaven Blue Grass and Hot Air Balloon Festival
The Crew of Southern Star had planned to attend the Balloon Festival last year but the weather did not cooperate. This year it was different. The weather was very nice and four vessels sailed from the Whortonsville area to Belhaven NC for the festivities. The fleet included Joan and Bruce aboard Wobegon, a 33 Pearson, Andy and Mary aboard Marissa a Hunter 29, Stefan and brother Martin aboard Layla, a Sabre 30, and of course Southern Star a Catalina 30.

Balloon Festival Pictures
Whortonsville to Belhaven Map
Hobucken Bridge - the Movie

Friday October 21, 2005
The fleet left at 8:15 am for the journey to Belhaven. The weather was simply spectacular except that there was no wind at all. This is a relatively unusual condition on the sound, but not unheard of. As Stefan pointed out, sometimes it's good to run the diesel and get it good and hot. We gave them a good workout running them for six and a half hours without interruption. We covered 36.6 nautical miles and ended our journey at the Belhaven Waterway Marina. I can't say enough about this marina. Les and Brenda Porter do an excellent job of making their guests comfortable and making them feel welcome. The marina is clean and well maintained. The men's shower facility serves double duty as a WWII naval museum complete with an authentic "Dear John" letter. Les and Brenda patiently assisted all four yachts land and get tied up, bow to stern. After settling the boats, everyone took an initial look at the town of Belhaven, which is a typical friendly, down to earth North Carolina coastal town. Heck, even the mosquitoes were friendly. After checking the local eateries, the Very First Mate and I decided on a little restaurant named "Fish Hooks" for dinner. The food was excellent and prices reasonable. We met Bob and Pat, the owners of a local "Thistle Dew" Bed and Breakfast who gave us a ride from the marina to the restaurant in their electric car, just because they were headed that way. After dinner we wandered up to the Wilkinson Center for "Moon Glow on the Lawn" where the balloon pilots inflate their balloons just for the spectator's viewing pleasure. The inflation of a colorful hot air balloon after dark is quite spectacular sight. We had a chat with one of the pilots from Benson North Carolina who was quite an interesting and knowledgeable fellow. We got lots of great photographs. The pilot's plan was to launch the balloons at 7:30 on Saturday morning, weather permitting. The consensus of all the pilots was that they would not launch if the wind would take them out over the Pamlico Sound. This lends credence to the saying. "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots".

Saturday October 22, 2005
The wee hours of Saturday morning brought some quite impressive weather. We were awakened several times by thunderstorms with close lightening strikes, which is of great concern when you are sleeping on a sailboat with a great 35 foot lightening rod directly above your head. The Southern Star crew decided to sleep in on Saturday morning. We were correct in our assumption that no balloons would fly in the stormy, very windy conditions. This decision is yet another testament to the wisdom of the balloon pilots. I am glad we got pictures on Friday because the rest of the weekend was simply not suitable for flying. After breakfast on the boat, we wandered over to the festival grounds. Judy shopped at a few antique stores and took in the local quilt show. The festival was quite enjoyable. It included a car show, a tractor show, pony rides, carriage rides and Stefan's favorite, a lawn mower pulling contest. I don't think they have an event in Germany that compares to a lawn mower pull. Stefan and Martin seemed to enjoy the competition. I missed the dog and cat parade and I'm really sorry our dock mate Art missed it. He expressed sincere disappointment when we returned with an account of the event. There was Blue Grass Music all day in the Wilkinson center. Lunch was served by local churches and civic groups and there were funnel cakes, cotton candy and ice cream as well. One of the most interesting parts of a visit to Belhaven is the Memorial Museum which is located in the old town hall building which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum features the personal collection of Eva Blount Way. What began as a collection of buttons grew into a fabulous collection of everything from china to firearms. There are even two fleas dressed in formal wedding clothes if you can actually see them. I had trouble even with the magnifying glass that was provided. Les and Brenda gave an old fashioned Pig Pickin' at the marina around mid afternoon. Judy and I enjoyed a ride on the marina's double bicycle. This is a strange looking contraption made of two bicycles joined side by side with a canvas top. We got many complements on our "ride" from the locals. They were especially impressed by the authentic bicycle bell on the handlebars. It's hard to top the excitement of a double bike ride. Later that evening, there was music on the marina deck and we discovered that Les, the dock master is quite an accomplished guitarist.

Sunday October 23, 2005
Sunday was my personal favorite. The weather was clear and cool. The fleet departed the marina at 8:30 all were bound for Whortonsville except Stefan and Martin who were going to Oaracoke to go deep sea fishing. The trip home was uneventful. Winds were from the North at 10 to 15 knots. The conditions were pleasant with a nice breeze and easy motion. Unfortunately the wind was dead astern for most of the trip. From Belhaven we proceeded down the Pungo river and crossed the Pamlico river. The wind was so light that we all motored most of the way. We then entered the Hobucken cut, which is too narrow to sail safely so diesel power was used until we got to the Bay River. Judy and I have had some very bad experiences sailing the Bay River but Sunday was not one of them. The direction we were traveling was a broad reach, which is a fairly comfortable point of sail for a Catalina 30. This direction continued for several miles. I had time to go below, crank up the trusty alcohol stove, and warm some delicious home made vegetable soup that Judy prepared before we left. I also warmed coffee to take the chill off. Lunch was delicious. Our point of sail changed back to a run (wind from dead astern) where the Bay River flows into the Pamlico sound. This point of sail was not quite as comfortable but it was such a spectacular afternoon that we decided to sail on and delay cranking the diesel for a while. We sailed all the way to Piney Point, which is very close to the Broad Creek channel and home. We arrived back at Ensign Harbor at about 4:30 in the afternoon. Nick and Art helped us land, and assistance is always appreciated. The Sounthern Star crew along with the Wobegon crew (Bruce and Joan) had been invited over to the home of Andy and Mary (Merissa crew) for horderves before we went to dinner at the M&M Grill in Oriental. This was truly an exceptional day, and weekend to say the least.

Monday October 24, 2005
We woke up on Monday morning to a moderate, steady rain. After four days of great weather, we have no complaints. We packed up in the rain and headed for home. We left Southern Star double tied and without canvas in case hurricane Wilma decides to visit the Carolina coast.

Hobucken Bridge the Movie
I recently discovered that our digital camera is capable of making movies. They are (thankfully) short and not very good quality but interesting none the less. On this trip I wanted to make a movie of a Hot Air Balloon launch but since all the balloons stayed on the ground, you will have to settle for a very short cruise on the Intercoastal Waterway. Hopefully, when you click the link below, you will see the movie. Good Luck!


Hobucken Bridge - the Movie
Balloon Festival Pictures
Whortonsville to Belhaven Map