Our grandson turned two on February 6. We celebrated his birthday on Saturday the 7th with a birthday party with a Chinese theme. Carson's Mom called it a Chinese "TWO" year party. She even had a cake that looked like a dragon. On Sunday the 8th we traveled to Cary for our nephew, Zach's Eagle Scout Award presentation. It was a busy and very enjoyable weekend. The weather was excellent with warm temps and lots of sunshine. We have had a very busy winter and there are lots of things still on our schedule. We decided to spend Valentine's Day weekend at the boat. It is one of only a few that we had free before warm weather arrives. We hoped the beautiful weather would continue and it did until the just before we left for the coast.

Friday, February 13, 2009
With the approaching April 15th tax deadline, Judy is working longer hours. We left home much later than usual and arrived at Ensign Harbor at 11:30pm. Since we had avoided Raleigh's rush hour we really made good time. The weather at the dock was greatly deteriorated from earlier in the day. It was our hope to actually go sailing on this trip. Realistically, we know that sailing in a Carolina February is possible but not likely. The boat was not terribly cold due to the mild temps. We were so tired our goal was to make the v-berth and turn in.

Saturday February 14, 2009
We woke to less than perfect weather. I described it a murky when I spoke to my Mom on the phone. We hoped for a sail but it was not going to happen. Judy said "Not only is it cold and rainy, there is no wind at all". I enjoyed a chat with one of our newer dock mates, Ed. I found that he is a fellow amateur radio operator. We traded "ham" stories and plan to get together "on the air". Once we decided not to go sailing we turned our attention to some small boat projects. There are always projects. Judy had been working on a beautiful piece of needlework to display on a bulkhead, for nearly a year. Her technique is "counted cross stitch" and the piece of her own design. It is a "sampler" of a complete nautical signal flag alphabet along with the boat's name. I was not aware that she had finished it until I found it framed and under the tree on Christmas morning. For those familiar with "counted cross stitch", she used 22 count fabric. For those not familiar, like me, 22 count fabric allows a high resolution image but is very difficult to do because of the tiny stitches. We already had two art objects on board. One, a Celtic knot design drawn by Mathew and another, a charcoal of the Captain at the helm, drawn by Judy's sister Nancy. In addition to the nautical flag sampler, we wanted to hang another piece of needlework that Judy had done years ago when we were sailing our Catalina 22, Sarah. It was a much larger piece that defines the term sailing, as "The fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense". How true!



We use Velcro strips to fasten things to bulkheads (walls of a boat) but we managed to arrive without any. We made a quick trip to Oriental and finally found what we needed at the Village Hardware Store. After much measuring and consultation we now have both new pieces on display. After the artwork was hung, I continued the installation of the new VHF radio I had begun on the last trip. The installation went well since I had brought the tools and supplies required to finish the job. The new radio has several features the old one did not have including scanning multiple channels. A radio check from ship to shore proved that the new radio was at least working. More testing will be needed to make sure it works at great distances.



Earlier in the day, we discovered that the elderly basin faucet in the head (bathroom) had developed a leak. That is to say, we just noticed the leak, there's no telling how long it had been leaking. We found a direct replacement for the faulty faucet at West Marine while searching for Velcro. It was much too late in the day to start a plumbing project.

We got cleaned up and headed to Oriental for the second time in one day, to celebrate Valentine's Day at the M&M Restaurant. We have set some sort of record, eating out twice in as many trips. I enjoy really good seafood and you can always count on at least a few excellent offerings at M&M. The good stuff is usually offered as a special, depending on what is available. Judy had a shrimp and scallop dish and I had blackened Rock Fish. Both were very good. When we got back to the boat we rigged the ship's theatre and viewed a couple of DVDs that Judy checked out from the public library before we left home.

Sunday, February 15, 2009
Our hopes for sailing on Sunday were dashed when we woke to a small craft advisory on the Pamlico Sound. It was no surprise since the boat had bounced and shivered all night. The skies were perfectly clear but it was quite cool and very windy. Too bad we could not have combined Saturday's warmth with Sunday's sunny skies. I decided to tackle the plumbing job. My Dad once told me that you should never undertake a plumbing job unless it was early in the morning and all the hardware stores are open. I was successful except for a stubborn leak on the cold water connection. I will remedy that on the next trip by applying some plumber's putty in the threads of the fitting.



When you own a boat, there's never a dull moment. Even if the weather is lousy, you can always find something to do. I have an ongoing to-do list that never seems to shrink.

I exercised the diesel engine for 30 minutes or so. It cranked like a champ and ran quite smoothly. I like to at least crank and run the engine for a while on each trip. If it's going to fail to crank, the best place for that to happen is at the dock. We packed and left about noon. It was a really nice weekend. After 36 years of marriage, we still enjoy just spending time together and this weekend was a perfect opportunity.