We purchased the boat in New Bern on December 9, 2010. We left the boat there in the Hilton marina while we had some cosmetic work done including some railings, big screen TV and a BadBoy Wi-Fi system installed.
On March 1, we moved the boat to Beaufort, NC, a distance of 45 miles. This was our shake-down cruise and boy did we shake. The winds came up about an hour into the trip and the waves increased quickly. We apparently hit one wave very hard and caused the shelving in the den, an 8 ft section, to come completely off the wall. We could tell later that this had happened before and someone had screwed the shelves back up. But, they had not thru-bolted them and down they came. We also cracked the base of the head. While in Beaufort we contacted a technician and had some electrical work done and replaced the cracked base.
The highlight of our trip to Beaufort, however, was meeting several of Rick's friends for dinner at the VFW. (On Friday they serve ribeyes and shrimp plates with all the fixings). These friends included Butch and Gloria Jones, Harriet and Gene Kirk, Mahlon Williams and his mother. One night, we had a lovely meal at Harriet's home. Thanks Harriet and Gene.
Just before leaving Beaufort, we invited several classmates to "docktails" on the boat and were happy when Sue and Richie Janis, Earl and Gloria Jones, Harriett and Gene Kirk, and Ann and Earl Temple all came over for some spirited conversation and fun. Thanks guys and gals.
On April 1, we moved the boat to our home in Sneads Ferry, NC to the slip behind our house. For the next month, we continued to get the boat ready for travel. We removed the broken shelving and replaced it with cabinets (with doors) and thru-bolted them to the bulkhead. they are not coming down. We did some minor cosmetic work, washing and waxing and cleaning and loading the boat with our clothes and provisions for an upcoming trip. We also learned that we had to replace the house batteries, all 4 of them. We decided to replace the batteries with golf cart, deep-cycle, batteries that are made for our type of use.
On May 2, on a high tide we slipped away from our dock to begin our first real "trip" on the new boat. Our destination is the Chesapeake Bay and the AGLCA Looper rendezvous in Norfolk, VA. After the Rendezvous, we intend to just explore the Chesapeake for about 5-6 weeks before returning to Sneads Ferry.
The first night out (May 2), we stayed at SeaGate Marina in Adams Creek. While there, we called my BHS classmate Ann Williams (Graham), a resident of the Seagate Community. She came over, toured the boat and then took us to her home on the ICW. Very nice. As an experiment, to make sure we had no more battery problems, we did not hook to shore power, but rather spent the night using battery power, just to prove that we can anchor out for at least one day and hopefully multiple days.
On May 3, we motored to Dowry Creek Marina in Belhaven. This is one of our favorite marinas with a friendly staff, clubhouse, pool, great facilities, and a courtesy car. We spent two nights there as Wednesday (May 4) was predicted to be windy and rainy.
May 5 found us in Alligator Bay Marina, just beyond the Alligator River Bridge. We had planned to anchor out, but the wind was up and so we decided it was better to be tied down. Luckily for us, we found about 6 looper boats at the marina and we had docktails. Most of the loopers are not people we knew, but as loopers we all feel like we know each other. It is nice to make new acquaintances.
May 6. We crossed Albemarle Sound in 2-3 ft waves. It was not too bad in the new boat. some of our travelling companions thought it to be too rough, but it was a typical day on the sound. We spent the night at the Coinjock Marina, and it was packed. We just love the homemade fried potato chips at the Coinjock restaurant. We went there for lunch and supper. Betsy told them it was her birthday, so the manager gave her some cheesecake. The Coinjock Marina has everything we need in a marina, including a very good ship's store. But, the food is the coup-de-gras.
May 7. We motor 38 miles to Great Bridge VA. We were going to stay with Atlantic Yacht Basin, but no one would answer our call or the telephone. One of the looper people called and said there was room at the free dock, just past the bridge. So, we went there, and Betsy put the 36 ft boat into the 45 ft space, with a little help from our friends. It was quite a fete. So, as I write this, we are tied to the FREE dock for the night, planning on going into Norfolk tomorrow, and staying about a week and a half. We will be at the Waterside Marina. 
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