Southern Star has not sailed much since our mid January trip to South River. Our Carolina winters are tolerable and there are days when sailing is very nice. Unfortunately I am usually working on those days. Here's the rest of the story. When our Son and his fianc� got engaged he called us while we were on the boat at Oriental Marina celebrating the Spirit of Christmas. When they found out that we were going to be grandparents, he called us while we were sailing up the Bay River on our way to little Washington. Later he told us that he would really appreciate us being close to home for the birth. It was really thoughtful of him to make sure we would be there but little did he know, wild horses could not have prevented us from being present for the birth. Since babies are always on their own private little schedules, we made sure we were always close to home when the time was close. Carson is a happy, healthy little boy born on February 6. The new family is thriving. Grand parenthood came highly recommended by many of our friends. We now know why. Holding a grandchild in your arms is like nothing else. Right now he is busy growing and doing all the things babies do including being spoiled by his numerous grandparents, great grandparents and the rest of the family. There will be much more about Carson in later log entries.

I traveled to the coast when Carson was about two weeks old. This trip was just to check on the boat. I did the annual electrical maintenance and changed the zinc in the heat exchanger. The weather was about normal for mid February and there was a good crowd at Ensign Harbor for a winter weekend.

We have owned Southern Star, or she has owned us depending on your point of view, for almost exactly four years. She lived on lake Lanier near Atlanta when we bought her. Immediately after purchase, I sanded and painted her bottom and repaired several dozen cosmetic gelcoat blisters. This was with the help of my friend John who had also surveyed the boat. The boat was immediately transported to Oriental, NC where she was splashed in Whittaker Creek. She has been in the water ever since. The diver who cleans her bottom about three times a year told us in October that the paint still looked fair but 4 years is a long time without new bottom paint and it is time for a haul-out. I called and arranged to have the boat hauled at Neuse Harbor Marine in Bridgeton, NC. The yard will do the bottom sanding, fix some minor blisters and apply paint. I have my own "to do" list for work that is easier to do when the boat is "on the hard".

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Thursday March 8, 2007
Judy had planned a trip to the mountains with some friends a while back so this was a "solo" voyage for me. I left home at midday and arrived at Ensign Harbor in time to add fuel and get Southern Star ready for an early morning trip to Bridgeton. The weather forecast was not great, but not impossible. This would be the first time that I have attempted to move the boat without my First Mate or someone else to help out. I don' mind telling you that I was more than a little nervous about the prospect. Anticipating that I would not sleep well, I set the alarm clock to 5 am and turned in early.

Friday March 9, 2007
I got up at 5 am and made a pot of coffee. I took a quick shower and came back to the boat to get the diesel started and warming up. I took everything I thought I would need to the cockpit including snacks, the thermos, binoculars and the GPS unit. At 6:45 I was ready to go and since there is was not a big crowd, I proceeded to launch by myself. Luckily the wind was from dead astern so getting out of the slip was not that difficult. I had no intention of attempting to sail without my mate and that turned out to be a good decision. Our entry point to the Pamlico Sound is very near where the Neuse River joins the sound. The forecast for the sound was for fair weather and winds of 15 to 20 knots from the Northeast. In this case the forecast was "right on the money". The wind had been blowing from the Northeast for some time and this extended wind action allowed the formation of the famous Pamlico Sound "chop", short steep waves usually in sets of 3. Nick (our dockmaster) would say the sound was "a bit lumpy". The good news is since the wind was almost directly astern, it added at least a knot to my over ground speed and shortened the trip considerably. With the rough conditions and a following sea, the boat demanded steering continuously. There was no time to do anything but steer. At one point I realized I had neglected to bring a chart up to the cockpit before I left. It took several tries before I succeeded in steadying her long enough to dash down the companionway for the 10 seconds it took to retrieve the chart. If you look at any chart or roadmap you will notice that the Neuse River takes an abrupt almost 90 degree turn near the area called Minnesott beach. I welcomed this turn because it put me in the lee of the fierce Northeast wind. After I made the turn, the wind dropped to a much more comfortable level and the wave action settled to almost peaceful. The rest of the trip was uneventful. I had time to call and check in with the Very First Mate and grab a snack. The entire trip was 34.5 nautical miles and took exactly 5 hours 46 minutes at an average speed of 6 knots. I arrived at Neuse Harbor Marine where I was expected. I was instructed to turn around and back into the basin. The yard guys tied her up and resumed their lunchtime activity of fishing.

I didn't know what to expect when the boat came out of the water but I was pleasantly surprised! Her bottom was in really good shape for being in the water for four years. There was very little marine growth except for some slime that was to be expected. Barnacles were present but scarce. The yard master and I found about two dozen blisters that could be fixed. All were small and cosmetic. If anyone tells you he has a 1980s vintage fiberglass sailboat that has no gelcoat blisters, he either just fixed them all, or he's lying. They are very common and seldom (actually never) cause sinking. The yard folks expertly sat Southern Star "on the hard" and braced her for the work to be done. Now the fun begins.

There were a couple of items on the agenda in addition to bottom paint. We lost an "in hull" depth-sending unit during a bad electrical storm several years ago. I wanted to replace that unit. The yard master was willing to do that but he suggested that it would take a lot less time if I removed the wiring from the depth sounder so that he didn't have to charge me for the time. I spent the rest of the afternoon disassembling my depth sounder instrumentation and putting it in a neat package for the yard guys. The main thing I wanted done was to improve the appearance of Southern Star's topsides. Topsides are (in this case) the white side parts of the boat, above the water line and below the gunnell. When I had her hauled at purchase I did not have time to attend to the topsides except to wash them with soap and water. As with most boats of her vintage, the topsides are chalky and dull. They can be compounded and waxed but due to the fact that the fiberglass has become pitted, a wax job won't last long and is very labor intensive. A couple of years back, a dock mate of ours used a product called Poli-Glow on his Sabre 30. It made his boat look new and it still looks new today with minimal maintenance. Seeing the results he got sold me and applying Poli-Glow became a top priority, slated to begin first thing in the morning. Our friends Doug and Sheryl had agreed to pick me up at the boatyard and give me a ride back to Ensign Harbor and my ground transportation. While at the dock I enjoyed a hot shower and picked up some fast food and cleaning supplies on my way back to the yard. I don't mind telling you that I was nearly exhausted and ready for a good night's sleep. A 14-hour day on the water and in the yard is a hard day for an old guy who spends 40 hours a week sitting on his rear. Since the yard master gave me permission to stay with the boat overnight and permission to plug my cabin heater in, I elected to sleep on the boat where I was very comfortable, and slept very well.

Saturday March 10, 2007
I rose early and brewed another pot of coffee. I wanted to take advantage of the perfect weather. The first step in the Poli-Glow process is to deep clean the surface to be treated. The "kit" comes with the required Poli-Prep solution that you spray on and scrub off. In fact the kit is complete including gloves, scrubbers and applicators. The only thing missing is that giant can of elbow grease that is required to do the job right. The brown waters of the Pamlico Sound tend to give boats a brown moustache which is difficult to remove. In addition to Poli-Prep, I used everything in my boat cleaning arsenal including scrubbing cleaners, mildew removers and in isolated cases acetone and steel wool to remove all the stains that were possible to remove. If acetone and steel wool don't take a stain off, it ain't coming off. By noon her topsides were cleaner than I had ever seen them. I took a break and enjoyed a cool beverage and light lunch. About that time my friends Richard and Frances called and invited me over to their house in New Bern for a hot shower when I finished working.

After lunch it was time to start applying the coats of Poli-Glow. Four to six coats are required and I had planned to apply the full amount since it would be a while between haul outs. The first coat was very difficult to apply because the porous fiberglass soaked it up and made the applicator stick to the surface. After two coats I was thinking "What have I done to my boat?" The instructions caution that it looks terrible until the third coat is applied. Each coat went on easier and when I had applied four coats I called Richard and accepted his offer of a hot shower. After the shower we drove over to a local restaurant for Eastern North Carolina barbeque. We all agreed that it is not as good as Lexington style but it is very good. The meal and the company was very enjoyable. I checked in with the Very First Mate again after dinner and took my weary self back to the boat for the night.

Sunday March 11, 2007
I try to avoid setting alarm clocks while on board a sailboat - bad karma. I woke Sunday morning later than I meant to because it was still pretty dark outside. When I looked out the fog was so thick I could hardly see the ground. The weatherman said it would clear by 8:30 and he was right. With all the dampness the topsides were still wet from dew. I used a dew removal trick I learned form Captain Chris at the Oriental School of Sailing. To get rid if dew, rinse it off with water. It's hard to believe but it works every time. It has something to do with the surface tension of the water droplets. If you simply wet the area with a hose and it will dry much faster than allowing the dew to dry on it's own. Southern Star was dry long before her sisters around her dried out. I used the drying time to unload the boat and pack the car. I didn't anticipate the last two Poli-Glow coats taking too long to apply. I loaded everything except the ladder and policed the area for trash I had left and by that time she was dry enough to proceed. The last two coats went on very quickly. During that time my friend Larry from Ensign Harbor stopped by to check on me. I could not believe the difference the Poli-Glow made in the appearance of the boat. She looked almost new. She will really look good when the bottom paint has been applied. I finished by about 12:30 and headed for home. When I arrived I told Judy that we could either wash the clothes I wore while working on the boat or just burn them in the driveway, her choice. All in all it was a great trip. I got a lot accomplished and hopefully the bottom paint will be done next weekend so we can move Southern Star home to Ensign Harbor. I have a few more small improvements and some annual maintenance to do, then we will be ready for another season of sailing adventures. Be sure to take a look at the before and after pictures in the picture gallery.

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