Port: Whortonsville, NC
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Labor Day Weekend 2006

06 September 2006 | South River
Lane Kendall
We added a vacation day to the Labor Day weekend this year so we would have a little time to relax and unwind. A short cruise to South River was planned if all went well.

Judy got a great picture of a pelican buzzing us.

Saturday September 2, 2006
We normally travel to the coast on Friday after work, but since this was a long weekend and we had some obligations at home we left on Saturday morning and arrived at the dock at about noon. Tropical storm Ernesto had passed on Friday and the water at the dock was high and much darker than usual. There was a lot of standing water and the bugs were ferocious. Oh well, it's their turf. We had left Southern Star with her bow to the dock hoping our sailmaker would install the new roller furler last week. No such luck. The first thing on the agenda was to turn the boat around, stern to the dock, because we hate to load and unload over the bow. I cranked the diesel and turned her around and everything was fine until I turned the engine off. There was a distinct buzz coming from the engine compartment. The noise turned out to be the electric fuel pump. The pump that Roger (our mechanic) had replaced about a year ago. I wasn't sure what was wrong, but after a short phone chat with Roger, we determined that there was no fuel coming through and the noise was because the pump was spinning but not pumping. It was as if there was no fuel in the tank. He suggested that I replace the filter cartridge that precedes the fuel pump. He said that sometimes a tiny bit of trash could keep the pump from working and if I could remove the obstruction, it would start pumping again. I did as instructed and after two hours of fretting, pulling hoses, priming and maybe even a little swearing it started pumping again. The engine cranked right up and I ran it for at least 30 minutes to make sure there was no air in the fuel lines. I then added the 5 gallons of fuel we had brought for the diesel.

Saturday night was hot and stuffy. As a matter of fact this seemed like the hottest weekend all summer. The temperature had been higher a few weeks before but the humidity must have been worse. We ran the AC and were glad we did. I had replaced the worn out foam cushion on my side of the V berth and it was really comfortable.

Sunday September 3, 2006
We slept late, until nearly 7:30. We had breakfast on deck and visited with dockmates that we had not seen in a while. Many of the boats were gone. Three crews had gone to Ocracoke, and two had gone to South River on Friday. We were planning our own trip to South River and we needed ice. We had not been over to the newly rebuilt "Paradise Cove" marina so we took off shortly before noon for ice and a quick inspection. Wow, what a nice place. We will return when we have more time. When we got back to the boat we decided to have lunch before we shoved off. The trip to South River was lazy. Judy was able to work on needlepoint and I dozed at the helm. The trip was several hours on the same tack. We sailed until it was time to enter the channel. We motored over to the Lukens cemetery and found a nice place to drop the hook. This is the new hook by the way, and I am happy to report that a Fortress Anchor is everything it is advertised to be. The new anchor, chain and bow roller combination worked extremely well. We still had the problem of too much sail on the foredeck while the anchor was being deployed and retrieved, but the furler will take care of that. Judy prepared an excellent meal of pasta and sauce. We enjoyed eating and visiting and just enjoying the peace and quiet. We turned it at about dark thirty. I was tired from engine wrestling the day before.

Monday September 6, 2006 Labor Day
Judy was at the helm, prepared to help me extract the anchor by using the diesel and her superior boat handling skills but as it turned out, I simply pulled the chain over the roller and the anchor came up with very little effort. This was a much better outcome than last time we tried to raise an anchor. When we woke up it was really too hot to cook and heat the boat, so we had grape juice with our cold cereal and headed out at about 9 am. We celebrated Labor Day by sailing back the Whortonsville from South River.

The return trip was much more exciting than the trip over. The wind was stronger and we had a little heeling action. We were close hauled all the way back. We nearly crossed the Neuse headed north and then tacked to starboard and headed east and back out into the river. We tacked again to port and headed north again. This course allowed us to clear the gum thicket shoal mark with room to spare. This was a very pleasant sail. The wind was strong enough to give a good ride and even throw some spray but not so strong that you feel like you are being blown off the face of the earth. Judy stowed the needlework in favor of her book because she could not hold the needle still enough.

On entering the Broad Creel channel we did something we had never done before. We passed marks 1, 2A and 3 under sail. The wind was from the right direction to allow this and we were feeling bold and, of course, the diesel was running (in neutral) the whole time in case it was needed. We doused the sails back in the creek where the wind was quiet. I'm not sure there is any advantage in sailing the channel. Our usual procedure is to bring the sails down before entering a channel and use diesel power alone.

We proceeded back to the dock and had plenty of help with our landing. While we were gone, more dockmates arrived so we needed to catch up with them. After Southern Star was put to bed, we got cleaned up and went into town for dinner. We have very important guests coming to visit in the next few weeks and we were anxious to check out the menu and accommodations of the "Steamer", a local eatery, for future reference. Spending time on the water wears us out and we were glad to climb into a comfortable berth for a good night's sleep. Our little portable air conditioner is an absolute miracle.

Tuesday September 6. 2006
Thunder woke us up on Tuesday morning. This is not a good thing but it is not so bad when you are tied up at the dock. We knew the bad weather was coming. Everyone had come home from Ocracoke a day early because of the forecast. We had breakfast, and packed up for the trip home. We turned her around again, so her bow was close to the dock for the furler installation. All evidence of fuel pump trouble disappeared. The engine ran cool and smooth all weekend. Hopefully, replacing the fuel filter was the cure.

We like to have plenty of time to get home after a weekend on the boat. We stopped by the sailmaker's shop for a chat and a time estimate on the furler project and went into Oriental for some small parts I needed for a project. We finally left at about noon and stopped at the Bayboro Burger King for lunch. We stopped again at the Neuse Sports Shop in Kinston, because it's hard for me pass by and not stop. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and that is a good thing. As I always say, it's a successful cruise if you sustain no damage to the vessel or the crew.
Comments
Vessel Name: Southern Star
Vessel Make/Model: Catalina 30
Hailing Port: Whortonsville, NC
About:
Southern Star is owned and sailed by Lane and Judy Kendall from Mount Pleasant, NC Southern Star (formerly Sea Breeze II) started her life on Lake Lanier near Atlanta. [...]
Extra:
1983 Catalina 30 Tall Rig with Bow Sprint
Builder: Catalina Yachts
Designer: Frank Butler

Dimensions:
LOA: 29' 11"
LWL: 25'
Beam: 10' 10"
Displacement: 10,300 lbs
Draft: 5'3"
Engine: Universal M-25 21HP
Tankage:
Fuel 18 [...]
Home Page: http://www.svsouthernstar.com

Port: Whortonsville, NC