Last Updated 10/24/05

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Like all good things, our winter break, a hiatus on the beach in Wrightsville, NC, had to come to an end to make the time and space available to resume our dream of extended cruising. Celebrate was meticulously detailed, fully serviced, and ready to go; it was as if she knew it.

We said goodbye to Bennett Bros. Yacht yard Thursday, June 3, and ran to Wrightsville Beach where we finished loading all the stuff we had accumulated over the winter. I think the waterline dropped 3 inches! Sea trials complete and larders stocked, we eased off the dock Saturday morning, June 5, ran out to sea through a welcoming Masonboro Inlet, and turned northeast, bound for Beaufort, NC, some 70 miles distant.

We asked a professional captain to join us to support Andrea running the boat the whole way - checklists, undocking, navigating, standing watch, radio, etc. She put all the things she had learned this winter to practical use.

We anchored in Beaufort for the night. Instead of continuing north, we instead went back to sea on Sunday, 6/6, and run a fairly short distance to Cape Lookout. It is a beautiful, protected, deep anchorage surrounded by national seashores. Even on a Sunday, there were so few there. We dinked ashore and visited the famous light; we dinked to the other side of the mile wide anchorage and walked a mere 100 yards over the dunes to the ocean. Wreckage from Hurricane Isabel is plentiful.

Returning to our northerly cruise, we found everything on the boat working great - conceivably better than when newly commissioned a year ago. We ran hard to the Belhaven Waterway Marina, a great little newly refurbished marina for the night. On Tuesday we settled in at the Alligator River Marina where diesel was going for $1.15/gal and we loaded up! Wednesday we spent the night in Great Bridge, VA, but not before stopping for lunch in Coinjock and passing a dreaded tug and barge in the wide but shallow Currituck Sound.

We finally cleared the last of the draw bridges we will face for a while and arrived in Norfolk on schedule Thursday, settled in at anchor, and enjoyed days of family, friends, and fun. We spotted Reverie, another Selene 53 running north and hailed Frank and Vidia Marston who rafted for a little while. They were returning from a winter in FL and the Bahamas and may be heading north for the summer.

On Saturday, it was fireworks time at Norfolk's annual Harborfest. Ian, Heather, Grason, and Landon joined us to grill some burgers and watch the fireworks. On Monday I played a few holes of golf with my dad and got a hole in one on a very dinky par 3. I am embarrassed to even claim it, but it sure was fun for a while!

Roger joined on Tuesday to celebrate his birthday and Fathers Day. Drove to Williamsburg for dinner with Jean and Chuck, and then back to the boat. We were bachelors for the day on Wednesday as Andrea made more rounds of friends, and ForKids, the charitable agency she has been supporting and coaching.

All in all, the first leg of our 2004 cruising season was a great transition back to living aboard. We relished again the sea, the sky, the porpoises, nature, beauty, family, friends, and the countless micro-adventures that make every day a discovery of things new and different, and most often a completely pleasant surprise.

We look forward to our trip north this summer, but also know the return to home waters will be fun and exciting as it always is.

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