Distance Traveled in 1999   268 miles

July 8, 1999
Ann, Laurin, Justin and I took our first trip to the Balou II Catalina 27 we purchased with Jim Barbour last month. We arrived about 5 PM at Sea Harbour – once we found it! After we turned onto Straight Rd., we missed the sign for Sea Harbour. We ended up back at the grocery to ask directions. Justin found a lady who was going past Sea Harbour – so we followed her there. Jim had left Balou II in slip 84. We found Sea Harbour to be a very nice and friendly place. After arriving, we took the boar around to the fuel dock and emptied the holding tank. On returning to the slip, I was going too fast and rammed the dock! The boat suffered no damaged, but a 2x6 on the dock was split. I screwed it back down. It started raining about the time we arrived at Sea Harbour, but stopped later. Ann grilled hotdogs for supper. The four of us played Contract Rummy that evening – Justin won. Ann & I slept in the v-berth, Justin on the pull out berth and Laurin on the short settee. While we had a large fan in the companionway, and a small fan in the v-berth, it was hot sleeping that night.

July 9, 1999
A beautiful, hot, day. Justin powered washed the deck while I scrubbed with a brush. Ann and Laurin cleaned the water tank and inside the boat in general. They rearranged where things were stored in general. We went sailing after lunch. Ann backed us out of the slip, and took us out the channel into the Neuse River. We started off with a full mainsail and Genoa. We later reefed the Genoa as the wind built. Laurin and then Justin took turns at the helm. I brought us back into Sea Harbour without crashing into the dock this time. We went to M&M’s for supper. It was a very hot night for sleeping. Lying there with the fans running, you could feel the sweat rolling off your body.

July 10, 1999
We got up late and went shopping. It was hot. We purchased new sheets, halyards and lights. We had a pair of M&M Brownie Sunday’s for lunch. We stopped by Oriental Sail Makers and Sailcraft Services to pay for work they had done. Wally (OSM) is going to check the mainsail next week for a shrunk luff rope. We purchased an air conditioner at Whittaker Creek Marina. Everyone sleep much better that night! Ann and I signed a year contract on slip 84 at Sea Harbour.

July 11, 1999
We went sailing out in the river a while before packing up and heading back home.

July 23-25, 1999
Ann and I came to the boat for our 23^rd wedding anniversary. We stopped at West Marine in New Bern on the way down. She gave me money to purchase a Magellan Map 410 GPS. I offered to buy her a grill or foul weather gear. I fear that after 23 years I have not figured out how to buy anniversary presents! It looked as the person needing foul weather gear was going to be me! I ended up paying penitence at the Treasure Company in Oriental (necklace and earrings). We went cruising in the river some.

September 10-12, 1999
Ann, Justin and I came down for the weekend. We sailed around the area Saturday and Sunday.

September 26, 1999        56.6 miles (estimated)
Ann and I left Oriental for Ocracoke in the morning. The wind was not favorable, so we motored. We spent a couple of days there walking and shopping. Had a wonderful meal at the Back Porch. The best part was a dessert of vanilla cream covered in raspberry sauce.

September 29, 1999         70.4 miles (estimated)
Ann and I had planned to sail to Cape Lookout via the ocean – the weather forecast was for 6-8 foot seas and rain the next day. Ann was not comfortable with that (or with being stuck at Cape Lookout in the rain). So we decided to sail back across the Pamlico sound and down the Intracoastal Waterway toward Beaufort. We made it about halfway down the ICW before the end of the day. We stopped at Sea Gate Marina for the night. We saw a beautiful sunset.

September 30, 1999         9.7 miles (estimated)
Ann and I left Sea Gate and motored on to Morehead City. We docked at Morehead docks – nice facilities – but a strong current at the docks. We ate lunch at Sanitary Restaurant. We spent the rest of the day wandering the town. Ann & I ate supper out. We also purchased some shrimp and scallops for the next night supper. Bummer act of the day was when I tripped over the AC power cord on the deck while carrying digital camera. I fell on my face and the camera fell into the water. Later that day I was able to able to hook the camera with a fishing lure. While the camera was ruined, the memory chip was ok.

October 1, 1999         11.95 miles (estimated)
Today Ann and I left Morehead City and sailed to Cape Lookout. The wind picked up as we left the channel out of Morehead City. I had full main and Genoa out, and it proved to be too much. I tried to reduce the Genoa, but problems we had been having with it, kept it from rolling in. The weather helm got be to be so bad that at one point the boat tacked. Ann had been sitting on the cabin when the accidental tack took place. It upset her (i.e. she hollered at me). Being she felt she could do better, she gladly took the helm. It was not long before the weather helm once again tacked the boat. Ann then apologized. Once we reached Cape Lookout, we tried to anchor close enough to the shore to be able to get off the boat onto the hook – but we were not able too. Ann declared that before we came back to Cape Lookout again we would have a dingy. She read while I fished (using some of the shrimp for supper). I caught lots of small fish, wish I threw back. Late in the afternoon we grilled the shrimp and scallops with vegetables. Just as the sun went down, the mosquitoes came out in hordes large enough to carry and elephant away! We dove into the cabin with our food and put up the screen over the companionway. It probably took us 15 minuets to kill all the mosquitoes that made it into the cabin.

October 2, 1999         11.65 miles (estimated)
Today we sailed back to Beaufort and docked for the night at Beaufort City Docks. As it turned out, the two boats next to us (Xanada and Chop Sticks) were from Oriental and contained a number of friends, including Chuck Amos (who I have eaten lunch with once a week for years). Ann and I ate at Clawson’s that night. While visiting Scuttlebutt after supper, we came up with the idea of using a nautical them in the game room. We got a border and our first sailboat model.

October 3, 1999         23 miles (estimated)
The last day of our trip. We motored back up the ICW to Sea Harbour. We were taking the back exit from Beaufort which took through a drawbridge. We made numerous calls to the bridge on channel 16 – only to have someone called us back and tell us that we had the wrong name of the bridge (even though it was what was on the map) and that we had to call on channel 13 – which our radio does not have! There was a fellow working on a boat next to the bridge that was kind of enough to call the bridge for us. Leaving the bridge, I miss-read the markers and ran us aground. Ann was in the hammock chair reading. She was almost thrown out of the chair – book and all, but managed to hold on. We were able to back off and move back into the channel. No other excitement was had on the trip back. The week was more fun than we had anticipated.

October 22, 1999         56.6 miles (estimated)
Ann, Justin and I motored to Ocracoke due to unfavorable winds. Heard and saw helicopters firing on a target – that was wild and noisy. Docked once again at Anchorage Marina. I ran the new heater that night – but just on me. No one else wanted any heat.

October 23, 1999
We rented bicycles today and rode around the island – lighthouse, hardware store for ice cream and to the beach. That afternoon we sailed into the ocean – a lot of fun in 8-10 foot swells. We ate supper at the Back Porch that night – it was cool. On the way back to the boat, Justin spotted the Gegenshein. A first – and rare – treat for all three of us. After having froze while sleeping last night, Ann and Justin decided that they wanted to share the heater tonight.

October 24, 1999         56.6 miles (estimated)
The wind was blowing out of the North as we left Silver Lake this morning. Waves were 6-8 feet with a period of only 3-4 seconds. This caused every other one to break over the bow. While it was a sunny day, the temperature was only in the 50’s, the wind was blowing over 20 knots – gusting over 30 knots causing a lot of spray to be thrown over the boat. It was too rough to read or do much of anything else in the cabin. Justin and I took turns at the helm. This rough trip back made the drive home miserable – leading us to avoid a sail back from Ocracoke and then drive home on the same day.

November 19, 1999         22.6 miles (estimated)
Jim and I arrived last night with plans to sail to Ocracoke to give him some experience sailing outside of the Neuse River. The wind was from the NE this morning with strong swells, so we took the prudent course and motored down the ICW to Beaufort. Other than missing a right bear off before we got to the Morehead City bridge, we had no problems. We docked at Beaufort City Docks and ate at Clawson's. I purchased the large sailboat at Scuttlebutt that Ann wanted for her birthday.

November 20, 1999         22.6 miles (estimated)
Jim and I left Beaufort today for Oriental via the Beaufort City Bridge. No problems motoring back. We stopped at Whittaker’s Creek and filled the diesel tank.