the terminus of our summer travels.

This will be the final posting labeled "Summer 2010".  The rains continue to fall here in Wilmington, NC.  I’ve timed my haul out with record setting rainfalls for the area, 22.5” in four days.  The rain delay has provided plenty of time to ruminate on our summers travels.   At times I am buoyed by the memories, other times I am saddened that the earth below C’est la Vie marks the terminus of our summer travels.   I’m eager to get started on projects in the hope that the work will spark my wanderlust for future travels and ports of call.

I’ve ordered the GMI10 display and a Airmar transducer that speaks NEMA2000.  GEMECO is the only vendor from which I can procure an appropriate transducer (the B122 can accommodate a 30 degree deadrise and speaks NEMA2000).   Oddly GEMECO does not sell displays , so I went to GPSonSale and was able to purchase a new GMI10 for $100 less that listed on the Garmin website.

On a second project front all the rain has aided me in identifying the location of a starboard side leak that drips into the quarter berth.  The leak that first appeared in late August is in the leading edge of the large lexan salon windows that I installed 3 years ago.

I’m headed back to watching the rain fall.  More updates on fall projects to come.

Rain Delay on Haul-Out Day

In the image above, Bud is at the helm as we motor past the USS Battleship North Carolina in the Cape Fear River.  After a 24 hour rain delay due to 9.5 inches of rain yesterday in Wilmington, NC, we traveled up the Cape Fear River this morning to haul out at Cape Fear Boat Works.  The trip up river, 4.7NM from my recent dockage in downtown Wilmington, took under an hour.  The haul-out was uneventful.  C’est la Vie was hauled, power washed, and blocked by 13:00.

The project list is still in the process of firming up, but once finished with lunch we immediately attacked the depth transducer.  Removing the old transducer is step one in installing a new depth sounder.   Chisels, channel locks, and hammers eventually overcame the 15 year old 5200, and C’est la Vie is now one transducer lighter with a 1” hole in her hull.  Ultimately the project will require us to enlarge the hole to 2”, but that is a few steps ahead.  First I need to order the new system.    With the old transducer in hand and a much better understanding of the dimensions and area in which the new system will need to be installed, Bud and I spent some time reviewing options via the internet.  Currently I am leaning towards a Garmin GMI 10 display with a intelliducer sensor.  If anyone out there has had experience with this system I would be eager to hear your comments.

Looks like the weather is going to provide me with lots of time to create the project, shop for supplies, and order a new depth sounder as the area is forecast to receive another 10 inches of rain over the next 48 hours due to the passage of (soon to be named Nicole?) tropical depression.

Solo at sea, part 2

The day passed blissfully.  As promised the winds slowly backed around to the south and began to increase.  My 15:46 log book entry notes a speed over ground as 6.3 knots, 50.1 miles made good, 1 hour and 57 minutes out from the Masonboro Inlet outer buoy, and 280 pages completed in my novel.   The wind, too close on the bow to permit a headsail was beginning to look more favorable.   Perhaps I will get to run out the genny today?  For now I choose to continue on under the main and the motor.  Otto is steadily holding course.    Back to reading and watching the winds.

The stuttering of the diesel motor resonated through the hull and shattered my bliss.  Never has our 34 horse power Beta Marine engine given us a second’s hesitation.  Now it was convulsing like a neophyte swimmer after inhaling a slug of water.   A quick “why now” flashed across my brain, and then onto problem solving mode.  I snapped the throttle back to idle, and the motor calmed.  Fuel and air, fuel and air all a diesel needs to run fuel and air.  I leaped up on deck and grabbed the 5G can of spare fuel.  Opening the fill cap, I peer into the dark void of the tank.  I’ve never seen it so empty.  No time to wait on the funnel.  I thumb the spout to prevent spilling and aim for the tank opening… direct hit.   The can disgorges its combustible contents.  Once the can is emptied I sit in rapt silence listening to the purring engine.  That is better, but I still wonder why? 

Hull speed is down below 3 knots, but that can wait.  I scan the horizon for hazards.  Finding none, I head below to investigate further.  Accessing the engine compartment consumes a few moments.  In this time the engine continues to purr.  I run down a list of probable issues…

Fuel valves – all open

Fuel filter – bowl has some sediment, but things look good

Fuel line vacuum gauge – high, but in the green

Air – I cup my hand over the intake and feel a healthy suction

What else? 

Well if I did run out of fuel how did this happen?  C’est la Vie does not have a fuel gauge so we meticulously long the run time.  Based on the log book I had 16 hours and 58 minutes of run time when I started this morning.  I’ve run a bit over 10 hours today.  Thus I should have at least 13 more hours of run time, or approximately 7 gallons of fuel.   I’m confident that there was little fuel left in the tank, certainly not 7 gallons.

Fuel leak!?  I return to the engine compartment and literally sniff around.   I peer into the bilge.  I wipe my hands over the tank and fuel lines.  No signs of leaking.

Math error?  I scan through the log book.  No obvious errors.

A new hypothesis leaps into my conscious… someone siphoned fuel from our tank while we were anchored in Beaufort? 

As I ponder this possibility I head back above decks, scan the horizon, and then throttle back up.  As C’est la Vie again hits her stride at 6 knots, I listen intently to the engine’s hum. 

I complete my book, by my assessment Bob Morris’ best work to date.   C’est la Vie carries me into Wrightsville Beach motoring under the main. 

 At 18:26 I silenced the motor.  The Beta Marine had completed the day without another hic-up.  I am confident that we ran low on fuel.  I’m leaning towards theft, but plan to fill the tank tomorrow and continue to monitor for leaks.

By all accounts my first solo, offshore day was a success with a daily run of 69NM in 12 hours.  Now it is time for a swim, dinner, and a new book. 

Solo at sea, part 1

My day started long before dawn.  Wearing a headlamp for light, I worked down my mental checklist:

 turn on the VHF for weather reports and start the water for coffee…

crank in ten feet of anchor chain…

pour the water and press the coffee…

crank in ten feet of anchor rode…

ahh coffee and NOAA weather my morning ritual at sea…

crank in ten feet of anchor rode…

uncover the main, tiller, and dodger…

ahh coffee…

crank in ten feet of anchor rode…

 rig the jacklines, set the PFD/tether, and prep the auto pilot

ahh coffee…

crank in ten feet of anchor rode…

turn on the instruments, start the engine, hoist the main, start the days log book entry

ahh coffee…

crank in ten feet of anchor rode.

Down to 40 feet of rode it is go time.  I have taken to raising the rode in ten foot increments over time because it allows the chain above the water to drip dry before finding its way into the locker and I find that I haul up less mud with this system.  This morning I’m in about 20 feet of water so the final 40 feet will come up in on final push.

As I rest the anchor in chocks on the bow sprit, the eastern sky begins to glow.  Drifting now on a flooding tide in a narrow channel, I hustle to secure the anchor and stow away the bucket, bush, and windlass lever.   I take the helm relieved that the light winds and racing current have only pushed C’est la Vie down the center of the channel.   Sheet the main, shove the throttle forward, and C’est la Vie responds by moving confidently towards Beaufort Inlet with a full moon nearing the horizon off our bow.

Nearing the Beaufort Channel I’m surprised by the volume of outbound traffic.  I’m certainly not alone out here.  The conditions are forecast to be pleasant so I guess many of the local anglers are starting the weekend fishing a day early.  The ocean swell is moderate and the winds are light out of the northwest.  We slip out into the ocean with the sun rising on our stern.  I can see the silhouette of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse rising from the Cape.  Rounding green 11, we depart the channel and set a course for Masonboro Inlet.  Once the irregular seas associated with the inlet subside, I turn the steering over to Otto, our autopilot, and pause, my first moment of reflection of the day. 

Satisfaction mixed with a bit of pride.  Things are going smoothly.  I make breakfast and crack open the next Bob Morris novel, A Deadly Silver Sea, pause for a moment… I hope there is no irony in my choice of novels.  The horizon is clear, the weather is delightful, and Otto is silently working the helm.  All is well.

Departure from Beaufort, NC

After a over a week of using The Beaufort Coffee Shop as an office;  reuniting with friends and businesses down east; meeting some new faces; afternoon laps in the creek; and quite time at anchor it is time to depart Beaufort. 

Sounds like a simple, “hoist up the John B sails, see how the main sail sets, call for the captain ashore” –STOP – the reality is… take the dinghy ashore to scrub the growth off the hull; dive under C’est la Vie to scrape barnacles off the prop; untwist the anchor rodes;  fold and store the dinghy on deck; scrub the two anchor rodes inch by inch to remove nearly a month’s worth of growth; and then start up the C’est la Vie’s engine an motor out of town in the waning daylight. 

I started my departure prep just after lunch and set the hook off a Shackleford Banks under a rising full moon.    No laps today… none needed I’m wiped out and plan to rise early tomorrow for my first offshore, solo passage – Beaufort to Wrightsville beach – 65NM in the Atlantic.  I’m too spent from my afternoon’s efforts to expend much nervous energy on tomorrow plus the weather looks fine and C’est la Vie is ready for some sea time.

Settling into time alone on C'est la Vie

Along with the variety and quality of my meals (double boca burger anyone?) life is certainly different now that I am solo and working.  The past couple days I’ve spent working on the computer preparing for the upcoming Florida Outward Bound season and laying the foundation for the school’s return to the OBX in summer 2011.  Since I cannot simply plug the computer into the outlet here on the boat, I’ve become a regular fixture at the local coffee shop.   I am looking forward to a couple of days of traveling down east in both the car and kayak as part of my recon of the OBX course area. 

We are still anchored in the same spot at the western end of Taylor’s Creek.  I have now met all of our immediate “neighbors” in the anchorage.  Of the five closest vessels, three are seasonal live aboards that have jobs in town.

I’ve continued my afternoon laps, approximately ¾ mile each afternoon, and have begun to notice some improvement.  I have grown fond of swimming as an afternoon workout and will miss when my time on C’est la Vie winds down.  I’m not up for swimming laps in the Barron River, at least not until cooler weather arrives and runs the alligators back up into the marshes.    Well that’s all in the future… for now I’m going to focus in my double boca burger in paradise – yum!

Here we go round the anchor rode

I drew upon my latent climbing knowledge to free up the rode.  

The most vexing part of untwisting the rodes was my inability to pull up enough rope rode to tie off the line.  Typically I would simply let out some more chain on the other rode and this slack would permit me to haul in on the rope rode.  Unfortunately the twists in the two rodes prohibited this solution.

Using an 8 foot loop of 4mm cord I tied a prussic knot to the rode, ran the cord through the bowsprit, and back to a two to one on deck.  The prussic knot will slide freely along the rode until force is applied to the cord. When force is applied the prussic knot cinches down on the larger diameter line and will not slip.

This system allowed me to secure the rope rode and  take pressure off the twists .  With this system in place the only thing remaining was the grunt work of coiling up the remaining ¾” rode; passing it through the bowsprit; and then  while standing in the dinghy pass the coil around and around the chain rode.

This entire process took about one hour and provided a necessary distraction from a day of working on the computer.

Twisted Rodes

During our absence C’est la Vie seems to have done some spin moves. 

Due to limited swing room and strong daily tidal currents, we set a Bahamian Moor at our present anchorage in Taylor’s Creek.  The anchor set up is effective, but an undesirable by product is twists in the anchor rodes.

Does anyone out there have a good system for avoiding the twists when riding on two anchors? 

My plan is to pull up enough of the rope rode to tie off the anchor side to a bow cleat.  I will then coil up the bitter end of the rope rode and pass the coil down through the bowsprit. With the coil below the bowsprit, I will jump in the dinghy and begin to unwind the rodes.  Once the rodes are free of one another, I can then pass the coil back through the bowsprit and reattach the bitter end to a cleat.

Does anyone out there know of a better way to unwrap the rodes?

My plan is to wait for tomorrow's flooding tide where there will be less pressure on the rope rode.  So if anyone has suggestions please let me know soon.

Life in the fast lane?

Since our trip to FL in late August and our return to Beaufort with our car, life seems to be moving at a much faster pace.   Does the presence of a personal automobile speed up our lives or has fate simply stepped in to speed things up?  Here is a brief recap of the last 10 days…

We drove up the mountains.  Anne caught up with friends in WNC while I spent a few days working at NCOBS Table Rock Basecamp.   We then returned to Mooresville to visit with my family for a couple days.  Anne flew out of Charlotte, NC to join her mom in New Hampshire.  Due to some health issues, her mom has returned to the States from her Peace Corps post in Swaziland.  Anne will remain in New Hampshire until October 1. 

I arrived back in Beaufort today, Monday, and have been scrambling about in an effort to open up the boat & restock the galley.   I also dropped our mainsail off at Omar Sails for some minor repair work.

I’ll be solo on C’est la Vie until the last week of September when I plan to haul out in Wilmington, NC.

Sea Kayaking with Trish

Trish and I launched our kayaks at the Harker’s Island Bridge this morning.  Our hope was to get a bit of exercise, do some recon of the NCOBS OBX course area, and take in some Americana as the masses converge on Shackleford Banks for Labor Day Weekend.  We were successful on all accounts.  

Our first stop, Whale Creek, required crossing back sound between Harker’s Island and Shackleford Banks.  NCOBS uses the Whale Creek area as a course start campsite. We wanted to check out the area to ensure that the water depth and shoaling would still allow egress for skiffs hauling gear and students.   The recon was fruitful. 

After a brief walkabout at Whale Creek, we reentered the kayaks and paddled our way westward along the banks.  The further west we traveled, towards Beaufort Inlet, the more rich the Americana became…

Upon reaching the western end of the banks, we made landfall to check out the inlet and stretch our legs.  The residual swell from Earl’s recent passage dissuaded us from crossing the inlet.  Instead we rode the flooding tide and swells northward and used the high tide to slip across the flooded tidal flats of Carrot Island.   The final push of day trip came as we fought the rising tide westward up Taylor’s Creek to C’est la Vie’s anchorage.  

We arrived to find an empty vessel.    Anne had already made her way into town for some porch time with friends at Handscapes Gallery.  Trish and I hastily packed up gear, showered, and joined the gang on the porch.  A fine end to a day on the water in sea kayaks. 

The morning after Earl

All is well in on C’est la Vie in the South River. Earl moved further offshore, to the east, during the night.  I managed to sleep most of the night.  With the anchor drag alarm set to ring if we moved more that 150’, I awoke at midnight and four a.m. to monitor the boat and conditions.  During my time awake I never observed wind gusts above approximately 50 knots and we did not drag out anchors at all. 

Currently the winds are WNW at about 20 knots with clearing skys off our bow (see image above). 

With Earl departing our area we now plan to return to Beaufort, NC.

Waiting on Earl

The winds continue to build and the skies grow darker.  Save for removing the blades from our wind generator we have made all our preparations for Earl’s arrival (see image above.)  We have found a secure anchorage in Southwest Creek, off South River, off the Neuse River (34°55’N 76°33’W) that provides good protection from Earl’s forecasted N to NW winds. 

Ironically I explored this area via sea kayak about a decade ago as part of a recon for the NCOBS’ OBX Sea Kayak Program.  A friend and individual influential in the creation of NCOBS, Doc Borden, once lived along the banks of the South River.  Myself and other Outward Bound staff used his home as a base of operations during one summer season of kayaking programs along the Cape Lookout National Seashore.

Back to Earl, currently the winds are forecasted to be 40 to 50mph with gusts to 70mph.  Our greatest concern is dragging our anchor and ending up pushed aground by the winds.  Fortunately the shoreline in this area is lined with salt marsh.  If we do drag and ground out we will come to rest in soft mud.  To avoid dragging we have set two anchors in a vee to our NNE.  We chose the NNE because this is the direction of our greatest fetch.   The image below is of our dual anchor set up.  The hose over the secondary anchor rode is serving as a chafe guard.

The community of South River is under a mandatory evacuation due to potential flooding from storm surge and heavy rains.   Since we are on a boat neither of these factors are a threat to us.

We were please to see another sailboat, Sandpiper, a 40+ foot sloop arrive in South River to ride out the storm.  Misery loves company.  They anchored in the main fork of the river just out of sight from us, but we are in radio communications.

Fo0rtunately the anchorage has spotty, but sufficient cell service to both monitor the storm via the internet and to talk with family and friends on the phone.

Now we wait and hope Earl’s passing is uneventful.

time to splice (a.k.a: the splice of life)

We raised the anchor and began motoring up Core Creek along with the morning flooding tide.  On our last trip up Core Creek, August 14, we departed Beaufort midway through a flooding tide and were able to ride the rising tide all the way up to the Neuse River.  Today we departed at the onset of the flood tide.  Somewhere around Bock Marine we outran the flooding tide and spent the remainder of the transit  fighting current.  Lesson:  Leave Beaufort 3 hours into a flooding tide when traveling north up Core Creek / ICW.

On our trip inland Anne took the helm so that I could focus my energies on creating a new anchor rode.  On our secondary anchor, a 35# Bruce, we have used a 20’ section of chain with a 130’ section of 1/2” three strand line.  We plan to set both anchors to ride out Earl, but feel that the ½” rode minimal for the task.   Our primary anchor has 100’ of chain and 320’ of ¾” three strand line.   Our solution is to cut 200’ off the end of the ¾”, three strand primary rode and create a new 200’ section of ¾” to use as a rode for our secondary anchor.   Confused yet?

To join the new rode to our secondary anchor, must splice the rope around a shackle via a chain splice.   Since my splicing skills are a bit rusty I started by creating a simple eye splice in the bitter end of the new rode (see image above.)  This proved helpful, but frustrating since this section of rope was well used and very stiff. 

Eye splice complete, I was all too happy to move onto a chain splice in the opposite, less used, and more supple section of rope.  The final product is pictured in the image below.   This will be joined to 20’ of ¼” stainless steel chain to create our new rode.

Hurricane Earl preparations

We continue to hope that Earl will track further east.  The image above is the forecast track as of Wednesday morning.  We are preparing to move C’est la Vie out of the Beaufort and head inland to a secure anchorage in the South River.  I placed a red thumbtack on the map below to highlight our planned anchorage.

This seems like the best area for us to hide from Earl’s passing.  Unfortunately the Verizon coverage map is less than favorable for staying in touch with everyone.  Hopefully we will have cell phone connection, but coverage in the area is spotty.

Our plan is to set our anchors in the South River by this afternoon and begin to prep the boat by removing sails, canvas, etc.  The storm is expected to pass during Thursday night.  If all goes well then we will be back in Beaufort/Taylor’s Creek by Friday afternoon.  

kayak project day

We made a long one day drive back to Mooresville, NC on the 27th.  With the time created via the marathon drive, I took on the task of finally addressing some maintenance and repair needs on my personal kayak.

Ten to twelve coats of color restoring wax brought back some of the original color to the deck of the kayak.  In the image included the bow is waxed and the stern is awaiting attention.  Note the ever present assistance from Carlie the dog.

With some help from Bud, I also addressed the nagging leak in the forward hatch.  We found a crack at the base of the hatch.  We hung the kayak upside down and laid up a doughnut section fiberglass cloth on the inside of the deck.

With my personal kayak looking good I am all the more eager to head back out to the Outer Banks for the NCOBS Staff Sea Kayak Camp.   It has been too long since I last visited the Core Banks.

a summer visit to our winter home

Our terrestrial travels are going well.  Anne and I departed C’est la Vie on Tuesday.  She is hopefully resting peacefully in Taylor’s Creek.  We spent Wednesday in Mooresville, NC visiting with the Lovett’s.  Thursday we drove to NCOBS’ Table Rock basecamp for an end of season debrief and the Staff Appreciation Dinner.  Anne and I enjoyed catching up with friends and co-workers.  Friday we caught a flight to Fort Myers and then rented a car.   By Friday afternoon we had the power, water, septic, phones, and internet up and running on Sunset Island.  The caretakers have been doing a good job of maintaining the base and thus far nature has been kind.  The image below was taken as we departed on the ferry boat.

Now we are headed back north in our personal car.  We have packed up supplies to do some sea kayaking, bottom paint C’est la Vie, and attend an October wedding in Maine prior to returning to Sunset Island in mid October.

Parting ways with MV-Sunshine

Here is an image of this morning’s sun rise alongside the Cape Lookout lighthouse.  

After a week of traveling alongside MV – Sunshine, we parted ways this morning.  Sunshine motored out of Lookout Bight early in the day.  Anne and I remained in the bight until the afternoon and then headed into Taylor’s Creek to prepare C’est la Vie for our departure.  We plan to attend the NCOBS Staff Appreciation Dinner on the night of the 25^th and visit Sunset Island, FL on the 26^th.  Life at 6 knots is about to give way to some high speed travel.

Oriental to Cape Lookout

To take advantage of an ebbing tide down Core Creek we departed Oriental early in the morning.  The forecasted thunderstorms that drove us into Oriental Marina yesterday afternoon decided to make a surprise appearance.  The image above is looking off our stern at a squall line chasing Sunshine down Core Creek.  We were able to ride the tide all the way out Beaufort Inlet all the while peering over our shoulders at the ominous clouds. 

Once in the Atlantic we turned nearly due east towards the entrance to Cape Lookout Bight.  The winds continued to build and now we were running parallel to the nearing squall lines.  Despite the menacing skies we never caught a drop of rain.  By the time we were settling onto our anchors in the bight the skies began to clear.  The winds, an unexpected 15 to 18 knots from the north, continued throughout the afternoon.

While I was walking Carlie along the beach in the bight, I observed a large motor vessel, approximately 50 feet, pass just off the bow of an anchored 37 foot Tartan sailboat.  From my vantage point the motor vessel appeared alarmingly close to the bow of the sailboat.  Seconds later the sailing vessel was drawing rapidly alongside the motor vessel.  My first thought was, “what an odd gust of wind.”  Then I realized the motor vessel had run its props afoul of the sailboat’s anchor rode. 

Now both vessels  hung on the sailboats lone anchor.  If the single anchor, set only to hold the sailboat, failed, then the north winds would quickly set both vessels on the shore.  Rather than deploying an additional anchor, the crew of the motor vessel focused solely on setting out fenders between their hull and that of the sailboat which now looked like an odd appendage dangling off its port side.  

After a couple minutes of spectating, I loaded up Carlie and returned to Sunshine.  Sunshine was anchored within 150 yards of the unfolding fiasco.  The crew of the sailboat was absent.  Previously I had noticed a red dinghy off the stern of the sailboat.  Scanning the horizon with Bud’s binoculars, I located the dinghy across the bight by the lighthouse.  Moments later I set out in our dinghy, Origami, to locate the captain and crew of the sailboat.   I delighted in the sense of purpose as I  bounced across the bight, spray soaking my cotton shirt.  I arrived to find the red dinghy anchored in solitude and spent a couple minutes shouting for the owners, nothing.  Returning to Origami, I motored on a few more minutes to the beach off the lighthouse.  Unsure of how I was going to locate the owners, I beached Origami and was immediately beset upon by a large, energetic family that spoke little English and obviously wanted me to take their picture. 

My frantic search for the owners took a backseat to a tourist photo session.   Memories captured… handshakes and thank you’s dispensed, I once again began to wonder how to find the sailors.  Rounding the dunes at that moment was the quintessential cruising couple… man and wife; graying but still fit; clad in 360 degree brim hats; nautical themed canvas tote bag.   Sure enough, I confirmed they were the owners of the Tartan and informed them that a large power vessel was afoul of their rode.  With a quick thanks that made haste to their dinghy.

By the time we all returned to the anchorage, Sea Tow was on the scene with a diver in the water.  Eventually the diver freed the vessels and retrieved the anchors.   We learned later that the two boats knew each other and were among a large group that had a planned meet up in the bight. 

We wrapped up our day with a walk along the Atlantic side of the beach.

Marina Bound

With NOAA forecasting gloom and doom we decided to come into the marina.  Storms were predicted for the area and we didn’t like getting glares from the guy we were near.  So, after coffee in town at the Bean we went back to our boat and began to pull up the anchors.  It was a good thing the Cape Dory guy was not on his boat as we did have to push his boat away from our anchor while we pulled it up.  We were not in danger of fouling our lines or doing any harm to his boat but his vessel had drifted atop our anchor.  

Jeff used some fancy footwork and fended off the boat.  Oddly enough it was not the side with all the fenders!

We then started the motor and docked at the marina.  That thankfully was uneventful.

Weather prediction it is only really a guess and the guess was not the reality.  No storms.  Oh well, Jeff and I rented some bikes and rode all around town.  It was fun to see all the old houses along the waterfront.  This is another place that I would love to live.  Don’t know what I’d do for a job but the area is wonderful, laid back and friendly.  Well, most folks are super friendly.

The folks we met- Bill and Lynn, Gil and Laura, and the beautiful boats we looked at on the hard at a yacht brokers was worth the price of admission. 

Bill and Lynn are on a Nordhaven 43 called Wandering Winds.  They traveled from California through the Panama Canal.  What an adventure!  We chatted for an hour or so.  He is a NOLS grad (national outdoor leadership school) from the 70’s.  He remembered so many snippets from his course.  What a cool thing to hear about.

Gil and Laura are “locals”  they moved here from other places and Gil makes wooden furniture.  Laura owns a sail loft as well as is a chef.  We had lots to talk about since they just took possession of a Drascomb Gig.  That is the same type of boat that The Mag is.  They are in the process of restoring it.  Maybe once we get back to Florida we can help them out with measurement if need be.  Not too many of the boats were made.  I think I heard Jeff say about 100 or so.  What a wonderful small world!

Oriental, NC again

We left our anchorage in Silver Lake and again anticipated sailing back to Oriental. We passed the dredge Merrit in the channel and got ready to sail. The winds were even more fluky than they were coming to the island.    We did hoist the main but it didn’t last very long.  We put on Otto and he did a super job of steering us back to Oriental.  We thought we’d anchor in the same place as before.  When we arrived to the anchorage we realized that most of the shimp boats were gone.  It looked so empty.

I didn’t do the best job as skipper while Jeff was readying the anchor.  We really were too close to another little sailboat.  A cape dory with a folding dinghy.  The owner was a grumpy old man.  He didn’t yell at us but just glared.  Then when that proved to not work he put fenders out all along the side of his boat that was facing us.  Jeff put out a second anchor and we swung on it for a while as a storm was looking like it wanted to form right on top of us.

 I took the dinghy in to meet Muriel at the pool.  As is their custom,  the Lovett’s left after us in the morning and arrived way earlier than us in the afternoon.  The pool was still a wonderful treat I also took a shower and scrubbed.  3 or 4 more like that and I might begin to feel like all the salt, sweat and sunscreen has been washed off!  The storm dissipated and I drove Origami back to pick up Jeff.