We had to do something after successfully going around Cape Hatteras. Wednesday morning, we met Tom and Carol from Lionheart. They recently installed an Icom 710 and did not quite know how to use it. (ICOM Take Note, Great SSB, Poor manual) They came over for the morning and I gave them some quick instruction before the net started. After the net, Paul, Ian and Lise came over from Effie along with Bob and Sherrie from Shamal. After a quick discussion, we figured the best way to celebrate would be to do a cruiser's cocktail and potluck at a local park.
First on the agenda was to check with the Dock Master and make sure the local Police would not bust us for drinking in the Park. Seeing the inside of the Beaufort, NC jail was not high on anyone's list of things to see and do!
Next I put out a general announcement out on the VHF about the get together, while Bob and Sherry stoped by a few boats that where between the docks and there boat.
Then on to the grocery store and liquor store so we had what was needed to fix something to take. We headed to the Dockmaster's office where we were able to get a loner car to head to the various stores.
After running to a liquor store and then the grocery store, we saw a Burger King and made a bee line for it. After 4 months of no fast food, this tasted surprisingly good.
We returned to the boat and started preparing for our evening. Mike made salsa and I heated the chili dip we planned to bring. Finally we gathered cups together and packed the alcohol and sodas into bags. We walked with Tom and Carol down to the park and found Bob and Sherrie already there along with Rick and Evelyn from Annual Hope.
The evening was fun if a bit on the cold side with conversations going on in little groups. At its height, there were about 20 to 30 people there. We met a large number of people, though we only remember a few names, and more boats names. The food was only moderately varied as almost everyone selected the theme of Mexican with tortilla chips and some type of bean dip or chili or salsa! After a great evening, the party broke up and we left the site as we found it, neat and clean! Then made a fast walk back to the boat, as there are no heads near the site.
Voyages