Love Odyssey

I have never had a bad day at the beach and today was no exception.  We packed up some sandwiches and drinks, loaded up the dinghy with towels, chairs, small table, beach umbrella and our little Yorkie, Mitzie-Sue.  Off we sped to the backside of Carrot Island, dog barking with glee.  Mitzie is the perpetual two-year-old; everything is exciting.  Never-mind that she took the same trip to Carrot Island yesterday afternoon—oh no, it is all new and exciting again today.  Bryce and I enjoy her enthusiasm and spunk.  Just look at Mitzie about to kill a ghost-crab!  I would have let her have the experience, but Bryce kept begging me to spare the crab—and maybe her nose!

I think everyone in the Carolinas with a boat was on the water today.  We set up our chairs to watch the traffic streaming in and out of Beaufort inlet.  There were racing sailboats, kayaks, catamarans, runabouts, fishing boats, and the occasional multi-million dollar yacht coming and going.  Then there were all the families with barbeque grills, umbrellas, radios, screeching kids, and barking dogs to add color to the scene.  What fun to just watch!  I don’t think anyone had a bad day at the beach.

Helen –05/30/10

We were supposed to travel back to Ocracoke for the holiday weekend.  I was feeling ambivalent since we had already spent three days there last weekend, but what the heck, I do love Ocracoke.  So when Bryce said that we were going to sail back there again on Friday morning, it was fine and I was psyched.

   It is always hard to get dockage on a holiday weekend and our generator decided to die, which meant that if we didn’t want to roast and be conservative with power while sitting on anchor in Silver Lake, we better leave very, very early in the morning.  So yesterday morning we got up at 3:15 and left our dock a half hour later.  We noticed that the wind was blowing much harder than the weather forecast had predicted, but heck, we are a blue water boat and should be fine.

  When we got out in the middle of the river and put the boat on autopilot, the chart-plotter kept trying to send us back to Oriental.  Bryce had to keep re-programming it, probably about three times.  Then it started to get choppy and the boat was taking lots of blue water over the bow.  We had the windshield wipers going so we could see where we were heading, I was holding the dog in my lap so she would not fall and get hurt with the motion of the boat as she slammed down on waves, we were taking in some water on the galley floor from water being shipped into the dorades, and our power cord that we had coiled up on the bow was perilously shifting around and in danger of falling overboard and fouling the prop.  In addition, the motion of the boat made it difficult to fix breakfast, so Bryce and I nibbled on granola bars.  But as we looked at the radar and listened to the VHF radio conversations from other boats also on their way to Ocracoke, we realized that we were going to be at the head of the pack (of sailboats, anyway) and would most assuredly get dockage.  The boat was flying at 7.5 knots in spite of beating into the wind on engine alone.

 Then as we left the river and got into the Pamlico Sound, the boat’s motion got worse and although we knew that we could make it, we asked ourselves if we were having fun—definitely not!  I admit, I am a fair weather sailor—I don’t like putting my body into a washing machine on the spin cycle.  So we turned the boat around and headed back up river (I think our autopilot and chart plotter were right when they tried to do this earlier!).

 So here we are in beautiful Beaufort, tied up to the town docks and loving every minute of it!  Sometimes Plan B is the better plan.

 Helen –05/29/10

We should be in Bellehaven, but here we are in Ocracoke and I couldn’t be happier! We had been planning to check out Bellehaven this weekend, but lack of a functional dinghy engine resulted in making this destination switch the last minute. I have to admit, of all the destinations around the Pamlico Sound, Ocracoke is by far my favorite. Yesterday morning we left bright and early from our dock in Oriental under blue skies and barely a wiff of breeze. In fact, there was light fog on the water and at times almost a mirage of land that turned out to be a bit of stirred up water. About six hours later we motored into Silver Lake, which is really not a lake, but a very protected harbor. No problem finding a vacant dock at the Park Service Docks. Next weekend it will be a very different story as everyone with a boat tries to find dockage for the holiday. Yes, there is some advantage to making this trip when everyone else is still at work.

 I love to stroll the quiet lanes and roads on this island. Yesterday we walked around the village, noting what shops and restaurants had changed since we were last here a year ago. We had to check out the Community Store, now an up-scale grocery store, and the Jolly Roger, where we consumed a beer and fries for old times sake(we have been doing this on every visit for about twenty years). 

Enjoying Life On Ocracoke

Today we made our way to Ocracoke Coffee Company on the back road for some of the best java I have ever had (or could it just be the atmosphere?). At noon we hiked to Springer’s Point and had a little picnic on the very site where it is said Blackbeard the Pirate had his last party before he was captured and beheaded. Yes, I like Bellehaven and we do plan to sail there this summer, but I’m pretty happy with the treasures of Ocracoke.

Helen – 05/22/10

“Loafing” is not a word that Bryce and I use very often.  In fact, it is rare indeed for Bryce and I to use that word in reference to ourselves.  We are both very work-driven individuals and most weekends when we come down here to the boat we have a list of jobs and projects that we plan to accomplish.  But somehow this weekend was different.  We spent the majority of the time just “loafin’”. 

 Our inactivity was probably driven in part by the weekend offerings in Oriental.  Pecan Grove Marina, where we keep our boat, had their annual ‘Spring Fling’ at 1:00 yesterday.  This was really an excuse for slip owners and renters to schmooze at the club house over a barbeque chicken plate.  So there went a few hours.  Then when we returned mid-afternoon to the boat, stomachs laden with all that greasy goodness, a nap seemed in order.  I can usually nap for a just a half hour, but Bryce, who I am sure majored in napping in grad school, can usually while away a good two hours, and yesterday he did.  By the time he awakened from his siesta it was nigh on dinner time.

  Now I had read in the local newspaper that there was supposed to be a pig pickin’ at the inner harbor, so we decided to check it out.  Unfortunately all the tickets for the pig pickin’/fund raiser had been sold out hours before, but it sure smelled good and there was a great trio playing Irish music on the deck next to the tiki bar.  So we grabbed some beer and chatted up some friends for at least an hour.  By then we were really hungry, so we ordered some pizza and took it back to the boat for dinner.  The newspaper also said that there was going to be some live music at Oriental Harbor Marina; we had heard Night Cruise many times before and liked their sound, so at 7:30 we went back to listen.  When they took a break, we walked back to the inner harbor and listened to more music; a new, energy-filled group had replaced the Irish trio.  Then all that walking back and forth got us hungry again, so we stepped across the street to the Bean and had ice cream cones while sitting on the porch and listening to the tunes.  Yes, we did a lot of loafin’ yesterday—and I think we deserved it!

 Helen   05/16/10

This morning we left the coast before seven a.m. so we could make it back to Cary in time for the extended family Mother’s Day dinner.  As I sat at the head of the table in Biaggi’s restaurant and surveyed our family, I felt very proud of this group and bursting with love for them.  Across the table our 38 year old son faced me.  We talked briefly about a trip to Nova Scotia when he was nine, sitting at a picnic table in Fundy National Park and eating five pound lobsters that we could not finish.  Next to me our 23 year old daughter talked excitedly about her up-coming graduation from UNC-G this coming Thursday.  Our daughter-in-law, eight months pregnant, told us about her plans for the summer with a new baby.  It seems this baby is going to get its sea-legs early since we will be taking them to Cape Lookout when baby is only a month old!  All the while our grandson, Andrew, soon to be five, entertained himself at the table with Matchbox cars and spoke about starting kindergarten in August.  My mother, who is ninety-two, eagerly joined the conversation and I am sure had many of the same feelings I was experiencing.  My brother sat next to our mother and engaged our son in conversation about his new red truck, while my sister-in-law tried to nail down a weekend to come sailing with us.  And then of course there was Bryce, sitting by my side, my rock, my soul-mate, and my PIRATE!  Yes, what a joyous day to celebrate the wonderful family that we have!  My wish is that every mom today can experience this pride and joy!

 Helen   05/09/10

This weekend we had our first 3-day Love Odyssey cruise and it could not have been any more spectacular. The weather gods smiled upon us and gave us sunny skies, perfect sailing winds, and very little humidity. We left Oriental on Friday morning around eight a.m. We motored through the Intracoastal Waterway, which we call “the ditch” because it is so narrow. Lovely homes line much of this waterway, with gently rolling lawns ending at the water where boats of various sizes are docked.

Around eleven o’clock we put up sails and proceded out of the Beaufort inlet. The ocean was so clear and blue. We had only been sailing a few minutes when our odyssey couple noticed motion in the water. Sure enough there were several dolphins cavorting in our bow wave. Then a few minutes later we noticed a large dark shadow off to the distance and a whale breached the surface! He seemed to be accompanied by more dolphins. What fun for all of us as we rapidly snapped photos and tried to guess where the whale would surface next.

We entered the Cape Lookout bight about 12:30 and anchored in some of the prettiest water–we could see fish swimming around the boat. Too bad that we forgot our fishing poles!

After a quick lunch on board we lowered our dinghy and motored to the lighthouse. The ride was a bit wet and splashy, but it felt good in the warm sunshine. There is a small museum in the lighthouse keeper’s house that is run by the national park service. After a walk across the dunes to the ocean, we returned to our dinghy and traveled to the far corner of the bight where we disembarked and walked to the old abandoned Coast Guard Station. We kept a sharp eye out for nutra, which are like large guinae pigs that were imported here from South America during the Second World War to help keep down the vegetation; no luck spotting them on this visit, but we have seen them in the past.

 Saturday morning we sailed back to Beaufort. We did spy a few dolphins near the boat, but alas, our whale was no where in sight! After anchoring in Taylor’s Creek along the Beaufort waterfront, we dinghied to shore and strolled along the waterfront where wooden boats of all descriptions were lined up. This was the weekend of the Wooden Boat Show. A large tent was erected in one area and at least twenty teams were vying for recognition in a boat building and rowing contest. We also enjoyed the Maritime Museum up the street where watercraft of all sorts were displayed, including artifacts from the pirate Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge.

Sunday morning we re-traced our route back to Oriental under a bit hotter and windier conditions, but still very pleasant. A few dophins frolicked around our boat on the way.  We know our first Love Odyssey couple had a wonderful time on the water.

 Helen- 05/02/10