My repairs are all complete, & I left Hampton about 9:00 this morning after spending the night in air-conditioned comfort for the first time!
I'm again stuck with motoring but am making good time and plan on making Deltaville this evening. I just motored through a pod of dolphin who put on a great show for me, but unfortunately not for my camera!
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August 17, 2011
August 09, 2011
Robin Hersey's photostream
Robin Hersey's photostream on Flickr.
These are the pictures from the second half of the trip.
Grand Cruise, 2011
Grand Cruise, 2011, a set by Robin Hersey on Flickr.
I'm testing posting my Flickr photos directly to the blog.
July 13, 2011
HOME!
Home just after noon.
USA currently 1-0 over France!
Miss the beach.
Miss the boat.
But ever so happy to be home!
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USA currently 1-0 over France!
Miss the beach.
Miss the boat.
But ever so happy to be home!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
July 12, 2011
In Port for Awhile!
The Goober is all settled into her temporary home for repairs in Hampton, and I'm in a nearby bar cooling off with a couple of cold ones! I was right: it's hotter than the hinges of hell out there!
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
The Loop!
Just arrived & the I-64 highrise bridge, reaching the point where I entered the Dismal Swamp portion of the ICW over 7 weeks ago. The loop is complete!
It's looking like a scorcher today, but I should have a breeze all the way to Hampton.
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July 10, 2011
Homeward Bound
Left Manteo about 8:30 this morning bound for Coinjock. I've just passed west of Powell's Point on the mainland end of the Wright Memorial Bridge. A bit of an emotional moment as my end of the OBX passes from view.
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
July 01, 2011
Sailing Thoughts, part one
1. I think the thing that I've learned most from my sailing experiences is that I need to accept that I am a sailor of limited experience and expertise. I have been able to handle most of what has been thrown at me, but my lack of experience has been frustrating at times. I can't help but think that a more seasoned sailor would have handled my setbacks in stride and not let them become the issue that I have.
My conclusion from this is not that I have no business being out on the water but that a trip of this magnitude might have been a bigger bite that my experience will allow me to comfortably chew. I think I will concentrate my efforts more on day-sailing and shorter cruises in the Chesapeake in the future.
2. Another lesson learned is that cruising cannot be done on a schedule. The weather, the wind, and a myriad of other factors have to be considered before putting to sea, and those factors are not always going to fit nicely into your calendar. My current example of this is my departure from the Outer Banks a week from today. I know that I'll have to motor the whole way, and I know that I don't want to do that into the wind, especially over open water which I'll be on the first part of the trip. If I get northerly winds, I'm just going to have to wait for a change in Manteo, or suck it up and poke along at 2-3 knots. Keeping my fingers crossed.
3. I'm not the loner that I've always thought I was, or could be. Since Patsy died, I have taken it as kind of a challenge to handle things by myself; not to become a hermit, but to be independent. I've found on this trip, however, that I'm not all that good at long legs at sea with nothing to do but watch the water, the weather, and the instruments. You can only read, lay in the sun, and work sudoku for so long before boredom sets in. I have gained an appreciation for the stories I've read about people going a little batty on long trips at sea. I don't think I'm quite ready to go postal, but I do think I need to cultivate more crew in the future.
4. I notice that all three of the comments above have been on the negative side, and I want to make sure that I close this first section of sailing thoughts on a positive note. I have had a wonderful time. I've visited wonderful places and met wonderful people. Yes, parts of it have been frustrating and even frightening. I don't mind admitting that I never want to have to motor through a 50+ knot thunder storm again, but at the same time all of my experiences have been worthwhile, even the negative ones. This trip will always be one of the highlights of my life!
1. I think the thing that I've learned most from my sailing experiences is that I need to accept that I am a sailor of limited experience and expertise. I have been able to handle most of what has been thrown at me, but my lack of experience has been frustrating at times. I can't help but think that a more seasoned sailor would have handled my setbacks in stride and not let them become the issue that I have.
My conclusion from this is not that I have no business being out on the water but that a trip of this magnitude might have been a bigger bite that my experience will allow me to comfortably chew. I think I will concentrate my efforts more on day-sailing and shorter cruises in the Chesapeake in the future.
2. Another lesson learned is that cruising cannot be done on a schedule. The weather, the wind, and a myriad of other factors have to be considered before putting to sea, and those factors are not always going to fit nicely into your calendar. My current example of this is my departure from the Outer Banks a week from today. I know that I'll have to motor the whole way, and I know that I don't want to do that into the wind, especially over open water which I'll be on the first part of the trip. If I get northerly winds, I'm just going to have to wait for a change in Manteo, or suck it up and poke along at 2-3 knots. Keeping my fingers crossed.
3. I'm not the loner that I've always thought I was, or could be. Since Patsy died, I have taken it as kind of a challenge to handle things by myself; not to become a hermit, but to be independent. I've found on this trip, however, that I'm not all that good at long legs at sea with nothing to do but watch the water, the weather, and the instruments. You can only read, lay in the sun, and work sudoku for so long before boredom sets in. I have gained an appreciation for the stories I've read about people going a little batty on long trips at sea. I don't think I'm quite ready to go postal, but I do think I need to cultivate more crew in the future.
4. I notice that all three of the comments above have been on the negative side, and I want to make sure that I close this first section of sailing thoughts on a positive note. I have had a wonderful time. I've visited wonderful places and met wonderful people. Yes, parts of it have been frustrating and even frightening. I don't mind admitting that I never want to have to motor through a 50+ knot thunder storm again, but at the same time all of my experiences have been worthwhile, even the negative ones. This trip will always be one of the highlights of my life!
My family, those that are coming, arrived yesterday: mother, two sisters, and brother-in-law (thankfully another male!). We've all gotten settled into our beach routines and other than my having no idea what the code to the pool is (because I never use it), all seems to be going smoothly.
Barb and Ray have some friends from home who are joining us for cocktails tonight and everybody's cooking one night while they're here, so I know I'll be well-fed, probably overly-so!
On the sailing front, I have arranged to take my boat to a yard in Hampton on my way home for repairs to the problems mentioned in the last post. I don't know whether I will end up leaving it there and return home or wait for repairs and return to Urbanna. Details when I know them.
Barb and Ray have some friends from home who are joining us for cocktails tonight and everybody's cooking one night while they're here, so I know I'll be well-fed, probably overly-so!
On the sailing front, I have arranged to take my boat to a yard in Hampton on my way home for repairs to the problems mentioned in the last post. I don't know whether I will end up leaving it there and return home or wait for repairs and return to Urbanna. Details when I know them.
June 27, 2011
(Lack of posts recently has been due to my being way too busy sitting on the beach!)
I'm going to spend some time trying to figure out exactly how to get this handled. My inclination is to motor the boat to a yard in the Norfolk area and get the mast pulled there. Most of the trip up to Norfolk is motoring through the Intracoastal Waterway anyhow. All I need to do is find a boat yard that can do the work.
June 23, 2011
After an extremely hot night on the boat which produced much-interrupted - but thankfully lots of - sleep, I'm semi-well rested sitting in an air-conditioned coffee house in Manteo sifting through hundreds of emails. Of course, only about 20% of them are worth reading, but I gotta clean house! (How did J. G. Wentworth get my name!?)
My major item for the day is getting a car. The aforementioned car accident (that I'd still rather not talk about!) left my car in the shop while I was sailing and left me with the promise that "It will certainly be ready in two weeks." You can guess how that's worked out! I have found out that my insurance will provide me another car rental, so I'm waiting on Enterprise to call me back.
The smoke from the fire here is actually worse than it was in Engelhard which is right next to the fire! I got an email from an old high school buddy with some information on the fire. Click here if you'd like to look at it:
http://outerbanksrealtors.com/cms/real-estate-events/realtor-news-announcements/pains-bay-wildfire-update-6-17-11.shtml .
I'm probably going to rent a modest hotel room tonight so I can get a decent night's sleep, and hopefully be in the beach house tomorrow for some serious down time!
My major item for the day is getting a car. The aforementioned car accident (that I'd still rather not talk about!) left my car in the shop while I was sailing and left me with the promise that "It will certainly be ready in two weeks." You can guess how that's worked out! I have found out that my insurance will provide me another car rental, so I'm waiting on Enterprise to call me back.
The smoke from the fire here is actually worse than it was in Engelhard which is right next to the fire! I got an email from an old high school buddy with some information on the fire. Click here if you'd like to look at it:
http://outerbanksrealtors.com/cms/real-estate-events/realtor-news-announcements/pains-bay-wildfire-update-6-17-11.shtml .
I'm probably going to rent a modest hotel room tonight so I can get a decent night's sleep, and hopefully be in the beach house tomorrow for some serious down time!
June 22, 2011
Manteo Bound
Motor sailing towards the Old House Channel that goes to Oregon Inlet which I'll take & then turn north to Manteo.
I've been getting a whiff of smoke from the big fire, but it's not too bad so far. It's supposed to be well up in the 90s today, but thankfully I have high clouds blocking the sun right now.
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Engelhard to Manteo Tomorrow
[Posted about 8pm Tuesday, but low cell service here; won't send.]
I'm in Engelhard, NC on the last night of my two week cruise between beach trips. I'll spend more time on the pros & cons of my cruise south later, but let me just say that although I've really loved the trip, I'm also really looking forward to an actual bed and air-conditioning come Friday!
Engelhard is right on the edge of the big fire that's been raging down here for months, but you wouldn't know it tonight; it's clear as a bell. Of course that probably means that I'll end up sailing through smoke on my way to Manteo tomorrow!
The couple that owns this little marina also have a cafe here and I was able to get here in time today for a fantastic fried flounder "dinner" (they close at 3:00!)
If the weather forecast holds, I should have mostly downwind sailing tomorrow which is good, because I've had some problems with my furler and I'd rather not use the jib unless I have to.
For those of you following my ramblings here, I should be posting lots more thoughts and pictures once I get to decent wifi and a decent keyboard! This little bluetooth keyboard for my cell is nice, but just different enough from a standard one to drive me crazy.
On to Manteo!
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I'm in Engelhard, NC on the last night of my two week cruise between beach trips. I'll spend more time on the pros & cons of my cruise south later, but let me just say that although I've really loved the trip, I'm also really looking forward to an actual bed and air-conditioning come Friday!
Engelhard is right on the edge of the big fire that's been raging down here for months, but you wouldn't know it tonight; it's clear as a bell. Of course that probably means that I'll end up sailing through smoke on my way to Manteo tomorrow!
The couple that owns this little marina also have a cafe here and I was able to get here in time today for a fantastic fried flounder "dinner" (they close at 3:00!)
If the weather forecast holds, I should have mostly downwind sailing tomorrow which is good, because I've had some problems with my furler and I'd rather not use the jib unless I have to.
For those of you following my ramblings here, I should be posting lots more thoughts and pictures once I get to decent wifi and a decent keyboard! This little bluetooth keyboard for my cell is nice, but just different enough from a standard one to drive me crazy.
On to Manteo!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
June 21, 2011
Bound for Engelhard
(9:20am) Just cleared the Big Foot Slough out of Ocracoke bound for Engelhard. I'm motoring into a relatively light wind now (oh joy!), but southerly breezes are forecast for later today which means I might get some actual sail time in.
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
June 20, 2011
Actually Sailing!
Left Oriental this morning & am headed back to Ocracoke. Mostly motor-sailed until the wind picked up. Now sail only! It's downwind but moving fairly nicely. (It's so nice to not have to listen to the engine!)
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
June 19, 2011
Fathers' Day!
I got a phone call from each of my wonderful children today which considerably brightened my mood.
Also helping are forecasted winds that should actually allow me to sail back up to Ocracoke tomorrow! (Keeping my fingers crossed!)
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June 18, 2011
I had the worst day sailing ever yesterday. I left Ocracoke early after filling up with fuel because I knew that most of my trip would be motoring into the wind which I just hate! I reached a point, however that I thought I might be able to motor sail and I put my jib out a bit to catch some wind. That worked fine, until – The Storm!
The radio starts squawking about a line of dangerous thunderstorms heading straight for me. So I started getting ready by furling the jib and in the process of doing that the jib halyard broke! So I had to get the jib down and stowed below decks and get all battened down before the storm hit. I did and rode its big winds and waves out and found a somewhat favorable wind to head to Oriental (motor + main sail).
That was going fine until – The Next Storm! It was mercifully shorter but the winds were awful. My wind gauge showed maximum winds of 50.5 knots - not fun! So I ride out my second dangerous thunderstorm of the day and of course the winds are dead in my face for the rest of the trip.
However, I did manage to make it to Oriental by about 5:30, drank a rum or two, got some dinner, and hit the rack – for over 10 hours. (I rarely sleep more than 6-7 on the boat!)
Today has been a bit less “exciting” as I’ve explored my old sailing school town. I even ran into Chris Daniels, the owner of the school who was my instructor all those years ago. There was a big art show in town, I got some laundry done, and just kind of chilled for the day.
The experience is more harrowing in retrospect, but it has left me a bit shy on confidence. I’ll use my few days here to get the boat - and my head - ready for the trip back north.
[I’m posting some more pictures to the flickr.com site.]
June 16, 2011
I've added more pictures to the set but here are a few highlights. Check out the full set here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/22029008@N02/sets/72157626851401244/show/
This is a picture of the Manteo Causeway bridge. Like so many places I've been on this trip, I've been here hundreds of times before, but never by sea!
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