We hope everyone had a great Christmas this year and Santa brought you exactly what you wanted. He sure did for Lisa and I. We woke up early made goetta, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast then opened presents. While everything that was wrapped was great, the best was loading up the car to speed our way down to Oriental for the long weekend. Sophia was excited to get there and was nearly sitting up front the entire three hour trip. Traffic was fabulous since most people were home with their families opening up gifts and playing with their new toys. Not our family. We were hoping Santa would bring some wind and a little sunshine. Of course, Santa never disappoints.
We pulled into Pecan Grove Marina and unloaded the car. Sophia was walked and the boat was loaded up. We were backing out of our slip before 11 am. A short motor down the channel and we were in the river. We had about 10-15kts of wind quietly pushing us around 5kts all afternoon. We could have gotten more speed out of Starjewel, but with the sun setting at 1700 we didn't want to be out long so we just lazily tacked and jibed back and forth across the river. It turned out to be a beautiful day. I think it got up to 75 and the wind kept it comfortable. The river is starting to cool off and it's quite chilly hanging your feet off the transom. Oh well, it is December.
Saturday we awoke to a fog filled land. Around 1000 the mist started to lift ever so slightly and the sun was peeking through the cloud layers to start to burn some of the steam away. We untied the dock lines and headed back out to the river. There wasn't much wind but when you drive three hours to get to the boat you try to make the most of it. While the marina was clearing out, the river was still hazy. We could see about 1/2 a nautical mile. We ended up anchoring just outside the channel to Oriental to wait for the vapor to dissipate a little more. After sitting in the still river for about 30 minutes the fog seemed to be getting thicker. With no wind and nobody else on the water you could hear every wing flap from the passing birds under the blanket of murkiness. Looking at the weather again, the entire day called for similar dew points and temperatures along with almost no wind. We decided the fog wouldn't be lifting anytime soon so we hauled up the anchor and headed back to the marina.
We got Starjewel tied up, unloaded, and everything stowed away before I started to clean her off. I don't know what moss monster lurks under our slip but if I don't clean off the deck and topsides at least once a month the green monster will slowly take over our boat. Unfortunately, our marina has already turned off the water for the winter. Luckily, I was able to use what was left of our 50 gallon water tank and the cockpit hose to clean up before we left. I'm not sure when they'll turn the water back on for the summer, but hopefully it will be soon or I'll have to find another way to fill up our water tank and keep the boat clean. That's a "next time" problem though. For now, here's hoping you had a great Christmas.
We pulled into Pecan Grove Marina and unloaded the car. Sophia was walked and the boat was loaded up. We were backing out of our slip before 11 am. A short motor down the channel and we were in the river. We had about 10-15kts of wind quietly pushing us around 5kts all afternoon. We could have gotten more speed out of Starjewel, but with the sun setting at 1700 we didn't want to be out long so we just lazily tacked and jibed back and forth across the river. It turned out to be a beautiful day. I think it got up to 75 and the wind kept it comfortable. The river is starting to cool off and it's quite chilly hanging your feet off the transom. Oh well, it is December.
Saturday we awoke to a fog filled land. Around 1000 the mist started to lift ever so slightly and the sun was peeking through the cloud layers to start to burn some of the steam away. We untied the dock lines and headed back out to the river. There wasn't much wind but when you drive three hours to get to the boat you try to make the most of it. While the marina was clearing out, the river was still hazy. We could see about 1/2 a nautical mile. We ended up anchoring just outside the channel to Oriental to wait for the vapor to dissipate a little more. After sitting in the still river for about 30 minutes the fog seemed to be getting thicker. With no wind and nobody else on the water you could hear every wing flap from the passing birds under the blanket of murkiness. Looking at the weather again, the entire day called for similar dew points and temperatures along with almost no wind. We decided the fog wouldn't be lifting anytime soon so we hauled up the anchor and headed back to the marina.
We got Starjewel tied up, unloaded, and everything stowed away before I started to clean her off. I don't know what moss monster lurks under our slip but if I don't clean off the deck and topsides at least once a month the green monster will slowly take over our boat. Unfortunately, our marina has already turned off the water for the winter. Luckily, I was able to use what was left of our 50 gallon water tank and the cockpit hose to clean up before we left. I'm not sure when they'll turn the water back on for the summer, but hopefully it will be soon or I'll have to find another way to fill up our water tank and keep the boat clean. That's a "next time" problem though. For now, here's hoping you had a great Christmas.