The weekend following our return from our Florida trip was Thanksgiving, a very important holiday for us, and my personal favorite. About six years ago we prepared our first turkey dinner for various family members. It was meant to be a one-time thing but it instantly became a tradition. We enjoy doing it very much and this year we had a family member celebrating his first Thanksgiving. Carson is nine months old and he seemed to enjoy going over the river and through the woods (literally) to Grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. We were able to spend a lot of time with him on Thanksgiving Day and the following weekend. He is growing so fast it is hard to believe and we plan to spend all the time we can with him and will probably become pests to his parents.

The unfortunate failure of our diesel to start when Jack and Vanessa came to go sailing had been addressed by our trusted diesel mechanic, Roger. He called while we were in St. Augustine to let us know we were on his "list" and he would take care of the problem as soon as he could. Within ten days he sent us a bill detailing that he had rebuilt the starter motor and replaced the solenoid and bendix drive. Roger is a man of few words. I had hoped for a faulty electrical connection but I was glad he finally got to the root of a problem we had experienced ever since we have owned Southern Star. At least I know now what our starting problem was and that it is fixed.

Since we had not been to the boat in almost a month I was suffering from brackish water withdrawal. I really wanted to hear the diesel crank without clicking and there were a couple of other chores on my "to-do" list. As you know, it really doesn't take much of an excuse for us to make a trip to the coast.

Friday November 30, 2007
We left home at about the usual time. The weather was downright cold and I didn't hold out much hope for sailing on Saturday. We stopped for dinner in Clayton, taking our normal route from Raleigh on Highway 70. We arrived at the boat about 9:30 and unloaded the car. As you can imagine the first order of business was to get the cabin heater going. After an hour or so the cabin was habitable and we were glad Judy had packed the winter sleeping bag that we use as a blanket.

Saturday December 1, 2007
The weather was clear on Saturday but very cool. Actually, frost on the deck qualifies a cold. I estimated the high temperature for the day at less than 60 degrees. The winds were brisk and if we had needed to go somewhere we would have but a day sail would not have been comfortable and would have certainly caused a mutiny. The local chandlery in Oriental sponsors a nautical flea market on the first Saturday of each month and I headed there first thing in the morning. Judy declined my invitation saying she would prefer to have a cup of coffee and stay in the (now warm) cabin with her book. Smart woman! I didn't' find any items I could not live without but I did enjoy a good cup of coffee and a danish at the local coffee shop. When I returned to the boat it had warmed up a bit and Judy was preparing for a walk. She does not enjoy hearing the diesel run so this was a good time to give the newly rebuilt starter a try. I am happy to report that the engine faithfully started without clicking even once. Hopefully the pesky starter problem has been solved. Only time will tell. Judy went walking and I fixed an annoying fuel leak in the alcohol stove. I cleaned the area behind the stove while I had it out. I also worked in the head (bathroom) to replace a broken fastener on the porcelain facility. After cranking the diesel and making the two small repairs my mission for the weekend was accomplished. About midday, several of our dock mates arrived. We had been alone at the dock until then. We were visiting on the dock when we noticed one of the boats leave the slip, which is not unusual, but before he got out of sight his sails were up and he was headed back to the dock. It dawned on us that his engine had failed and he was trying to sail into his slip. Auxiliary sailboats are called auxiliary sailboats because the have engines. They have engines because sailing a six-ton machine into a 15-foot wide slip is nearly impossible especially if the wind is blowing you away from the slip in question. The captain and crew were doing a admirable job but it just wasn't working out. They managed to get back to the dock but could not manage getting into their designated slip because of the wind direction. Luckily a little motor skiff was watching the show and offered to assist by towing the boat the last 50 feet to her slip. No matter what others may say, there is always something exciting happening in Whortonsville.

When the sun started to set, the cold returned. Everyone scattered to warm boat cabins. Joey, one of our dock mates indicated that he planned to use the "equator" heater setting over night. Judy and I listened to an hour or so of an audio book before Judy prepared a nice dinner.

Sunday December 2, 2007
The wind blew hard all night but by morning it was calm. We hadn't planned to stay long on Sunday so we got up early and drove down to Oriental for breakfast. The trip home was uneventful. We were early enough to have a relaxing evening.