Are we in December already???????The exceptionally cold weather still persists but the winds have weakened...yesterday night was quiet and the coming night should also be peaceful although close to freezing temperatures are forecasted for the area. We lighted both our oil lamps to make it really cozy...listening to Chopin and eating hot soup! Saturday, warmer temperatures around 20C should be back...

Yesterday we set a goal, namely to have the boat ready by Sunday to go offshore...and we made a list, yes, another "To do" list...We drove 8 miles in order to buy Kerosene for our stove and lamps (I was exceptionally kind to the dockmaster who let me borrow the car of the marina) and Heiner filled all the diesel tanks and canisters. He still has to replace our stove burners and attempt to rig a more efficient SSB antenna, get in touch with Chris Parker (the propagation is very poor and we can't hear him at all@!##) and inspect all pipes and pumps...When our friend arrives, we will go over the emergency procedures with him as we got our Epirb today and will put a survival bag together. It is very challenging to prepare for such a long passage...

Several boats have left Beaufort to sail outside to Charleston...and other boaters have used the exceptionally low tides to do bottom jobs...

The banks seen here on the picture are the Shackleford banks usually inhabited by wild ponies...we have not seen one this year. http://www.shacklefordhorses.org/