Octoberfest at Ensign Harbor was a smashing success again, as usual. This annual event hosted by Nick and Jeanette, our dock masters, consists of a very informal race out on the Neuse River followed by dinner at their home. Cousins Steve and Donna accompanied us this year. They had been with us on Labor Day weekend and we invited them back for Octoberfest because they seemed to have such a good time.

October 2007 Pictures

Friday October 5, 2007Steve and Donna left for Oriental early on Friday morning. They reported later that they stopped by and spent some enjoyable time in New Bern on their way to the Cartwright House in Oriental, where they were staying. Unfortunately Friday off was not in the plan for us. We left home after work so we could get to Raleigh in time for rush hour. I called Steve on his cell after we had been on the road for an hour. They had finished dinner and were enjoying watching the Neuse River from the park near their lodging. I was a bit jealous because we still 4 hours of bad road to travel. We made good time and when we arrived at Ensign harbor we found clear skies and nice temperatures although the air was a bit muggy. We turned in, anticipating a busy Saturday.

Saturday October 6, 2007
We woke to clouds and considerable fog. There was no time to waste. We had to get Southern Star ready to race. We had to unload and load and organize and uncover and the whole process can be exhausting. The race at Octoberfest is a very casual event. In fact, Nick is careful not to use the term "race". He calls it a "closed course cruise to nowhere". Skippers win points not by their performance on the racecourse but by predicting how the other skippers will perform. It's really a pretty cool way to conduct a race. Nobody gets too serious about it, but it does give you an idea of your skill level against other boats and skippers. Some sailboats are inherently faster than others, based on their size and design. There is a standard system of rating their performance that I won't get into in this writing. If you know that the other skipper's boat should beat you by a mile and you finish a 30 yards behind him, you can feel good about your performance and this is what this informal event is all about. There were 13 boats registered for the race with only one no-show. This is the largest fleet that we have participated with so far.

As I have mentioned so many times before in my writing, the weather is the all-important factor that governs most aspects of our sport. Saturday's weather was less than stellar. At the skipper's meeting, Nick delayed the start of the race by 45 minutes due to fairly significant rain showers. The skies actually cleared a bit and all 12 yachts left the harbor at about 11 am for the start at high noon. Seeing 12 fairly large sailboats headed down the same channel one after the other is an impressive sight.

Getting a good start is a very important part of racing. I wanted to make sure we got a good start so we started working our way to the starting line. About 15 minutes before the start Nick announced (on VHF radio) that the start would be delayed for 15 minutes and we would eliminate one of the marks to make the course shorter because of a lack of wind. At that point the wind was probably 5 knots or less. It was fairly steady out of the southeast but very light. At this point I informed Steve and Donna that since this was their third cruise aboard Southern Star they were no longer considered guests and the had been promoted (or demoted, depending on how you look at it) to crew status. I quickly handed out assignments and duties to be performed during the race.

The stating time came and went and we had not yet crossed the starting line. We started almost exactly 4 minutes late. This sounds bad but we were out in front. Most of the fleet was at least 10 minutes behind us. The wind was holding at about 5 knots and we were doing very well, making a little less than 2 knots. Smaller boats have and advantage in light wind. About 15 minutes into the race the wind simply crapped out, I mean nothing. This is a very unusual circumstance on the Neuse River. We looked behind us and saw that the every boat was turned in a different direction. The wind was non-existent and you can't steer a sailboat that is not moving. The weather was still threatening and there was a bit of rain. Nick made the obvious decision to call the race. It was a bit disappointing especially considering our great start but we are used to having the weather determine a lot of what we do on the water. Several of the skippers stayed on the course but most returned to the dock, Too little wind is almost as bad as not enough. I figured it would be better to motor back to the dock and find something else to do than to sit for hours in a motionless boat.

We tied up and deployed the air conditioner. The weather improved throughout the day and the skippers that stayed on the course reported good conditions about an hour after the race was cancelled, but the wind was very light all day. Back at the dock Steve did some fishing and helped me get the outboard on the dingy. Steve had advised me on the engine trouble I had a few weeks ago and I was anxious to know if I had been able to solve the problem or not. The little engine cranked and ran just great. Steve and I took a test drive and then we interrupted Donna from her reading and Steve took her out for a dingy ride. Steve and I figured she could read next Thursday night after work but the dingy would be 250 miles away. Nick came down and asked several of us old guys to help move tables because the younger guys he had planned to ask were still out sailing. After that I did everyone a favor and took a shower.

Dinner was served at about 6:30. What a meal! Jeanette is an excellent cook and she makes it look so easy. Although the race was cancelled Nick still gave some prizes. "Ragtop" sailed by the brothers Don and Ken had actually completed the course after the race was called. They received a "Whortonsville Yacht and Tractor Club" burgee for their persistence. Steve and Donna gave in to the lure of a hot shower back at the Cartwright house. I can't say that I blame them. It had been a long hot day although they seemed to have a great time. We turned in shortly after they left. I was really glad we had deployed the air conditioner.

(Special Note... Our Grandson Carson is 8 months old today. He will be off to college before we know it.)

Sunday October 7, 2007
We met Steve and Donna at the Marina Deli for breakfast. It's a popular place. Good food, good service and reasonable prices. We ran into our friends Andy and Mary from across the creek. After breakfast we went back to the Cartwright house to first, see the house and second see Steve and Donna off. We waved goodbye at about 11 am which was check out time. I certainly hope they had as much fun as we had this weekend. Judy and I headed back to Whortonsville to get ready for our next adventure.

October 2007 Pictures