Memorial Day weekend in Boston was great. We stayed at the famous A&M Kendall Bed and Breakfast and had great visit with our son and gracious daughter-in-law. We had a tour of the city, a good look at the USS Constitution, and we enjoyed attending their church, The Old South UCC. After flying home on Tuesday, we left for Whortonsville late on Thursday afternoon, hoping for a little cruise up the Bay River on Friday morning. Well as luck would have it, we didn't make it on the cruise. In fact we didn't even go sailing, but we did manage to float for three days and that was worth the trip.

Early June Weekend Pictures

Friday June 2, 2006
We left the dock at about 10 am with no idea where we were going. The weatherman was not being kind and promised unsettled weather late Friday and all day Saturday. When we got to the end of the channel we found winds of at least 25 knots, complete with whitecaps and very lumpy water. We were taking water into the cockpit and the sails weren't even up. Sailing in those conditions, especially with no good reason, is not fun, I don't care who says it is. We had been meaning to explore the nearby beach for a long time and, since we had packed Charlie Gibson (the dinghy), we found a suitable place to drop a hook and deployed the ship's boat for a little exploration. The high winds were to our advantage when we went ashore. I suspect the bugs would eat you alive if the breeze ever dropped below 20 knots. We had a great time, but we are easily entertained. We buzzed from beach to beach exploring in the dinghy and digging little trenches in the mud with our prop. Returning to the boat, we tied the dinghy off and raised the anchor. If you're looking for an upper body workout, try pulling a 15 pound Danforth anchor attached to 30 feet of 3/8 inch galvanized chain out of the mud while pulling a 5 ton boat into a 20 knot headwind. That will get your heart rate up, guaranteed!

When we got back to the dock, we found that the strong South West wind had blown even more of the water out of the creek. It's really tricky to land a boat that is over 5 feet deep in 4 � feet of water. Luckily we had Richard, an expert yacht wrestler to help us land. There was no finesse involved, this was brute force using boat hooks and lines. We managed to get her in the slip but had we waited much longer we would have been out of luck.

At the dock, Olivia, the granddaughter of two of our dock mate friends, wanted to go fishing. Since Susan, the fishing queen, was nowhere to be found, everyone pitched in and assisted Olivia in landing her very first fish. She is a quick study and learned to operate the rod and reel well enough to catch several fish, including a handsome croaker. She named them all before she turned them loose. I received a thank you note later for helping her learn to fish. The proud grandparents served everyone snacks and drinks aboard their Island Packet. We had a lively discussion that lasted until nearly dark. We returned to Southern Star for a light dinner and some much needed rest. Fishing is hard work!

Saturday June 3, 2006
Saturday was a lazy day at the dock. The weather was unsettled and the water was so low that leaving the dock was out of the question. We got up late, had breakfast and just messed about all day. Judy read and did a little boat cleaning. I tried my hand at using my new cast net, which did not go well. Richard and Frances (and Nikki the wonder dog) came by for a visit in the early afternoon. We went for a walk and took a dinghy ride just before the rain started. It rained heavily for hours but it was not stormy. Judy prepared pasta and a salad along with my mom's homemade bread for dinner. We turned in early because we needed to leave early on Sunday.

Sunday June 4, 2006
We rose unusually early on Sunday morning. Of course, the weather was just great with clear skies and a nice breeze, which are the expected conditions on the day we have to go home. We wanted to attend cousin Jennifer's house warming party that started at 2 pm back in Concord. There are at least 250 miles of road and 5 hours driving between Whortonsville and Concord, so we had to leave early.

Early June Weekend Pictures