126??

Why Skeeter Beater 126?  The Skeeter Beater comes from the use of my Outdoors Research Bivy Sac, sort of a one-man tent with no-see-um netting that keeps the moquitoes at bay.  I was going to put a link to a website for the bivy sac here, but now that I look I see they have changed the types (and cost) of bivy sacs that they offer.  I'll have to do a little more research on that.  I got mine a year ago from Amazon.com.    I'll need to check on that as I know my sailing partner will want (need) one.

The 126 comes from some of some early winter planning on the trip.  I was looking at two different options.  One involved circling Pamilico Sound counter clockwise from Engelhard to Swan Quarter, Oriental, Cedar Island, Ocracoke and then back to Engelhard.  The other option was Engelhard to Pamlico Point, Oriental and ending at New Bern (and renting a car to retrieve my jeep and trailer from Engelhard).  Both of those trips measured about 126 miles.  Bruce liked the second option best, he pointed out that it offered more places to visit, creeks and bays for anchorage and more protection in case of bad weather.   We have since added Bath and Vandemere to the trip, bringing the path to about 155 miles.  We have ten or eleven days for the sail, so that should work out just fine.  We can always add or subtract stops depending on winds, weather.

One place that we will not miss is Oriental, the great little sailing town on the Neuse River.  We spent an afternoon and night there during our '07 trip, meeting some great folks and enjoying a couple of cold ones on the waterfront.