Love Odyssey

I guess our boat is the ark and so where are the animals?  I feel like the rain never stops–today we had not even a patch  of blue sky or sunshine for even a minute.  Our Odyssey couple have had to run between the rain drops to navigate Beaufort.  We are happy about the outcome of the Odyssey cruise but I’m afraid our couple (who are from out of state) will remember North Carolina as a sloppy, wet state.  We had to cancel our trip with our couple to Cape Lookout and to Bird Shoal island.  But at least they got lots of help with their individual issues and they are on a positive path to a better relationship.

Tomorrow morning we head back to Oriental where we began this Odyssey–having come a full circle both in the trip and in the voyage of marital intimacy.  Bryce and I are tired but happy to have helped another couple with their relationship issues.

Helen   05/18/12

We are in Beaufort with our Odyssey couple and we would love to take them to Bird Shoal Island to see the feral horses, but it keeps raining.  We thought we could dodge the rain mid-day, but mother nature had other ideas and interrupted our plans for a dinghy ride to the island.  So at 4:00 we took a chance and went for a quick dinghy ride down Taylor’s creek to look at the anchored boats and expensive houses facing the water.  As soon as we returned at 5:00 the sky was menacing again and by 6:00 it was raining.

We had planned to take our Odyssey couple to Cape Lookout for a day in the sun and surf but tomorrow does not look very promising because of high winds and more rain.  I’m aware that the coast has been in a drought situation, but enough rain is enough…rain, rain go away!

Helen   05/17/12

We left Ocracoke at 6 a.m. under cloudy skies heading for Beaufort.  We figured we would arrive about 4 o’clock.  There was some wind early morning and we put up two sails, but after an hour we had to turn into the wind and the sails had to come down.  In the meantime we were watching the weather radar and we could see thunder storms building down near Wilmington and heading in our direction.  By mid-morning the sky behind us got dark and we heard thunder in the distance.  On and off most of the morning we were threatened by those clouds but our luck held out and we stayed dry.  At three o’clock we were ready to dock up at Beaufort Town Docks but it looked like a race with a storm system–once again we lucked out.  In fact, it let us have a beer and chips at the Dock House at 5:00 and even a 20-minute walk to a corner store for more bottles of water.  Now at 7:00 the rain gods are celebrating their victory with a loud thunder storm while we sit cozy in our boat and read.

Helen   05/16/12

It has been raining on and off all day.  It seems like every time we look outside it is raining or the sky is gray.  Between storms we see some sunshine but it never lasts for more than a few minutes.  And, no, I have yet to see a rainbow!

We plan to leave Ocracoke very early tomorrow morning for Beaufort.  That is a 10 hour sail if conditions are right.  The weather forecast is for winds 5-10 knots and the possibility of showers mainly in the afternoon.  I am ready for sunshine and warm temps.  We are hoping to take our Odyssey couple to Cape Lookout on Friday if the weather is good.  Cross your fingers!

Helen  05/15/12

We usually leave Ocracoke after two days but the weather radar is predicting thunderstorms and blustery winds for the next couple of days, so we are holing up here.  Our Odyssey couple is enjoying discovering the island and they are relieved that they have more time to play when not working on their relationship.

I am falling in love again with my husband–what a great therapist he is!  He is so perceptive  about what is going on under the surface- and I feel blessed to be able to be his co-therapist.  I guess along the way of living with Bryce for 30 years I have learned a few things because my thinking about what is going on in our couple’s relationship is right on track with that of my husband.  Pretty awesome!

Helen   05.14.12

Yesterday we motored north on the Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke–I say “motored” because there was no wind.  The sun was warm and inviting, perfect for sitting in the cockpit and working on relationship issues.  I always enjoy getting to know our Odyssey couples.

This couple had a rough time on Friday getting to Oriental.  Their commuter shuttle from Atlanta blew an engine and had to be diverted from New Bern to Raleigh- Durham airport.  Delta gave them a voucher for a taxi cab to New Bern, so instead of arriving at 4:30 in the afternoon we finally picked them up at 9:30 pm.  Our traditional Captain’s Dinner, that we always have at the beginning of an Odyssey, had to be cancelled.  Maybe we will postpone it to the end of the trip.

Yesterday we listened to our couple tell us what difficulties they have been dealing with.  Today we will start working on some strategies to help fix some of the issues and also to clarify their goals.  For me, this is so different from what I do in the office (fix kids’ communication problems) and it is very interesting working side-by-side with my spouse.  I really have a lot of admiration for him!

Helen  05/13/12

We are excited about our first Love Odyssey cruise of the year that we will start next weekend.  We have been fixing things, cleaning, and making sure all systems are working well.  Our back-up outboard engine, a small Johnson, gave us fits yesterday when it would not start.  Bryce changed the spark plug and got fresh gas, but it still refused to start.  So that engine also went off to the repair shop.  Last weekend the Yahama 15 horse also was sent off for repairs.  We have crossed our fingers and are hoping that we will get one of them back before next Saturday.

I have been cleaning everything in sight.  It’s amazing how a boat seems to get dirtier than our house in Cary;  at home I dust once a month; here I dust every weekend.  Maybe it is because the pollen is still pretty bad and the boat is open a lot more than the windows in our house.

Tomorrow Bryce and I are planning to re-bed a window in the aft stateroom.  Yesterday I noticed some mildew growing on some of Bryce’s hat which were stored below the window and some discoloration in the wood under the window.  Over time the caulk gets hard and brittle and moisture forces its way inside.  We are getting to be old hands at this now.  We have re-bedded most of the pilot-house windows over the past few years.  And so it goes…  we just hope this is the last project before our cruise!

Helen  05/05/12

We have our first odyssey of the year scheduled for two weeks from today.  We are excited!  We need to make sure that all systems are “go”.  Yesterday we tried  out the dinghy and found out that our Yamaha outboard engine was sputtering and dying.  Bryce tried swapping in some new spark plugs but that did not fix the problem.  So off to the outboard repair center and hope we get it back in time.  This is the problem with boats.  There is always something that is breaking down or about to break down.  I don’t think there have been many days where every system has worked perfectly!

Tomorrow we need to take the big boat out of the slip and fill her up with diesel.  It would be fun to just go off for a quick sail down the river, but we need to do more work like check out our sails.  Today I have been cleaning out lockers and re-organizing stuff.  Somehow things get messy over the winter and then they get hard to find.  Meanwhile Bryce is at his New Bern office seeing clients.  I love having the boat all to myself all day–it’s quiet and I get to do whatever I want whenever I want–yeah!

Helen   04/28/12

It feels so un-natural.  We are home this weekend.  Bryce had a workshop he needed to attend in Charlotte on Saturday, so we stayed home in Cary.  I got to do a lot of cleaning around the house and yard and I also planted my garden (tomatoes, peppers, and herbs).

This is also a birthday weekend.  Bryce’s birthday was April 7 and my brother’s is April 30, so we always celebrate the two guys together.  We generally alternate family birthday bashes between our house and my brother’s.  So today I am host to the party.  I have a pork tenderloin in the oven, roasted spuds, and green beans, along with a tossed salad and dips for appetizers.  My sister-in-law is bringing carrot cake cupcakes for dessert.  YUM-O!

Helen   04/22/12

The past three days we have been vendors for Love Odyssey Charters at the Oriental Boat Show.  This was our first time “selling” our charters to the public.  It was fun telling the Love Odyssey story and answering questions about what we do on our cruises.  I also loved taking folks below to show them our beautiful boat.

The weather was fantastic–blue skies and warm breezes.  I’m sure the weather encouraged folks to come out  and see  the boats and vendors of stuff nautical.  The press found us and we got a good plug in the New Bern “Sun Journal”.  We also were interviewed for a Sportsman’s  program of a Rocky Mount television station.  Now we will wait and see who wants to schedule an odyssey with us this summer.

Helen    04/15/12