9.23- New deck-grippers

New Sperry Topsiders!

Just got some new "Sperry" top-siders from the "West Marine" store in New Bern!

Classic, never out of style!

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9.9- Unilateral mid-race course change

"Maggie's Magic"(left) and "Il Gatto" (right) as seen from "Light Wind" during the Wednesday night beer-can race

Race Report:

The winds were in the 10 to 12 knot range, giving the Capt. and crew (including me) of the appropriately named "Light Wind" something of a chance of keeping up with the other, much longer vessels in this weeks informal Wednesday Night Race around the three gov.t markers near Oriental ("Oriental 1," "Adams Creek 1" and "Neuse River 7" a.k.a. "Garbacon Shoals").

For some reason the race started on a downwind leg from Oriental 1 towards AC1... normally the race starts at Oriental 1 and heads first towards the more windward of AC1 or NR7.

The two boats in today's picture had something of an advantage on "Light Wind" on the dead run towards AC1, but we were pleased to remain within striking distance of the leaders, knowing that "Il Gatto"s weakness was pointing upwind, while "Light Wind"s favored point of sail is close-hauled in 10 knot winds... giving us a good chance to catch up on the upwind leg from AC1 to NR7...

Sure enough, we rounded AC1 and steadily began catching up with "Il Gatto"... "Maggie's Magic" leaped far ahead of everyone, so the race to NR7 was on between "Il Gatto" and "Light Wind." This was all that mattered to us - a chance to whup ass on Capt. Joe.

While we were on our second (starboard) tack heading upwind towards NR7 after a port-side rounding of AC1, and "Il Gatto" was on her third (port) tack, we had her on a "constant bearing, diminishing range"...

The only question was who would cross whose bow, a bit hard to judge because of the distance, but we were on a starboard tack, so "Il Gatto" would have to give way and cross our stern if it was anything close... that would put us in position to tack on top of her and steal some of her wind until we were well ahead of her!

It seems Capt. and crew of the 30 foot Nonsuch "Il Gatto" were aware they were about to be passed by a 22 foot Catalina, so they came up with a strategy to avoid the embarrassment...

"Il Gatto"s Capt. Joe, the organizer of the un-organized race, decided to make an ad hoc change to the race course, unilaterally eliminating the NR7 leg of the race. We first suspected this when "Il Gatto" tacked again onto a course that did not appear headed to NR7. We then hailed her on the VHF, and asked for confirmation of the race course... We were told that it was from O1 to AC1 and back to O1, in a voice that feigned surprise that we had needed to ask (Maggie's Magic, the vessel on the left in the photo had by that time reached NR7, so we began to smell a rat)...

Our radioman responded with an ironic but unprintable remark concerning the appropriateness of a particular vernacular translation of the name of Capt. Joe's vessel.

It is unclear to us if Capt. Joe had even bothered to announce the mid-race change, since we were concentrating on trimming sails and pointing high more than we were on monitoring the VHF ... but even if he did announce it, sailboat racing rules require all course changes to be announced and confirmed prior to the start of a race.

As it was, "Light Wind" ended up crossing the NEW finish line a mere five minutes behind "Il Gatto" (about 6 to seven statute miles between start and finish)...

After "Il Gatto" lowered her sails, uh, I mean sail, and fired up her engine like a bunch of lubbers, we held ourselves a victory lap by beating up into Raccoon Creek for the post-race committee meeting at the Tiki-Bar... we topped it all off with a 9.8 "Bean"-scale landing* at the town dock under full sail and right in front of the awed and shamed faces of Capt. Joe and his crew, who were just sipping their first beers at the Tiki-Bar.

Our formal protest, and "Il Gatto"s varied excuses, were presented to the race committee on the Tiki-Bar deck... But since we were all splicing main-braces, no official decision was ever reached.

That's OK... we'll get her next time!



Footnotes:
*note to non-local sailors - The "Bean" rating for landings falls within the realm of "local knowledge"... sail into to Oriental harbor, land at town dock and get a coffee across the street to find out more... but I will say that landing under sail earns extra points.

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6.27- Cruising ketch

Saw this Dutch-looking gaff-rigged ketch coming into the harbor this afternoon.

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6.23- "Buoy Maker"

"Buoy Maker" sails down Raccoon Creek into Oriental Harbor

"Buoy Maker" is a beaut of a boat I regularly spot sailing around local waters. Here she is on a run out of Raccoon Creek into the anchorage of Oriental harbor after buzzing the Town Dock.

Now, I would call Buoy Maker a "gaff-rigged catboat," but certain people I know insist that that is a redundancy...

One of those people is this really really really old dude (and for you folks who live outside of Oriental, add another two or three "really"s) who thinks he can sail, tells me that if it has any other sail rig, it is not, by definition, a catboat of any sort whatsoever.

This nameless person insists, for instance, that the boat I called a "catboat" in my May 5 2009 DP is not a catboat at all, but a "non-such."

Well, the nameless critic may be from one of our Yankee states wherefrom catboats originate (state remains nameless to protect identity), and he may have owned a catboat or two (gaff-rigged, of course), but I maintain that a catboat can have ANY sail rig at all provided it is only one sail, there is no standing rigging (the mast is free-standing), and the mast sets way forward near the bow.

In any case, my critic and I can certainly agree that "Buoy Maker" is 100% "Catboat."

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5.6- "Il Gatto"

"Il Gatto" walking up on us

Reuben (on right) and I set on a mission to find a sailboat and crew to go sailing this afternoon. We were successful.

While out sailing in 15-20 knot winds on the River Neuse, we ended up on the same tack as "Il Gatto" (a catboat, of course.)

As every sailor knows, a sailboat race is defined as any two boats sailing in the same direction.

"Il Gatto" soon began toying with us like we were "uno topo." We trimmed the sails, put almost 500 lbs. of human ballast on the windward rails, trying to put off for as long as possible the inevitability of "Il Gatto" passing us by:

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5.02- Sailboat Racing

... Just don't ask about the marker-piling splinters or the dislodged stanchion on the forward deck.

I was thrilled to accept an invitation to be a fill-in crew member on "Tom Tom Taxi," this very cool Thompson Yacht Design T8r, 8 meter racing sailboat. We sailed in two buoy-races today. (that's her captain in the photo, not me)

It was an exhilarating experience (scared the *#%& out of me at times, to be honest)...

The Capt. and 5 crew on a 26 foot long, open-transom, kevlar-sailed, carbon-fiber hull etc. etc. pure racing boat... Winds were in the 20+ knot range. Pretty hot.

This sailboat heeled over, pointed into the wind and boogied like none I've ever experienced, thats for dang sure (for whatever that is worth.)

I couldn't very well take a camera with me on this trip, as everything in this boat is subject to sudden drenching, and usually gets it.

Never mind that keeping this wind-rocket under control leaves little time for even the lowliest of crew/ballast to take snapshots... And it is full-contact blood and bruises action on deck during tacks and jibes.

You can see some pictures of this particular boat design in action at the Thompson Yacht Design page for the T8 ( but I haveta say, the TYD pictures make the whole thing look calm, relaxing and non-physical... I can assure you the experience of racing her is none of those things.)

When I saw the boat rules inscribed on a sticker pasted to the boom, I decided to do my best to comply...

I found out that once you obey the first rule, the other three follow naturally in accordance with instincts of self-preservation:





Well, would say more, but it has been a long long day of wind, sun, water and sailing (cue violins...)

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5.01- Windex installation

Captain Robbie descending after installing a Windex on top of the mast
(Click on image to enlarge)

Sailing season preparations continue... Today Capt. Robbie installed a Windex on his Catalina 25, "Coriolanus."

For my non-sailing readers, the Windex is the weather-vane looking contraption on top of the mast... I lets you know the direction of the wind (the apparent wind, anyway) and the two little tabs on either side of the arrow thingy let you know where the "no-sail zone" is at any given moment... See, you can't sail a sailboat directly towards where the wind is coming from, and can only sail so-many-degrees (varies by boat and other conditions) "close to the wind"... If you sail too directly into the wind, the sails will not be able to create the high/low pressure differential that is the basis of sail power... and you then find yourself within...the "No-Sail Zone"

If the "Coriolanus" were sailing and the Windex was as appears in the picture, she would be sailing on a "starboard tack, close reach," meaning sailing nearly as much towards the wind as she can, and with the wind coming over the right-hand side of the boat (as you face forward on the boat).

Capt. Robbie ascended the mast in a bosun's chair, drilled holes, mounted the hardware, and eventually was lowered down.

I dropped by to lend my assistance... luckily for Capt. Robbie there were four of us down on the boat and the pier, splicing main-braces in the beating sun, and giving Capt. Robbie as much helpful advice on how to install the thing as he could possibly wish for (and maybe even a little extra on top of that.)

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4.28- Land-Line

A bow line is at the ready, just in case she starts to drift away

As I have said several times lately, it is indeed sailing season.

Today's picture shows a smart vessel with fresh bottom-paint and other last-minute maintenance while "on the hard" at Clancey's Marina, on Camp Creek at the confluence of Camp, Smith's and Green's creeks.

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4.21- Sailing School

"Red Baron" sails the narrow confines of Raccoon Creek

Sailing season is definitely here!


Today I saw one of the trademark-red boats of the Oriental School of Sailing practicing some quick-jibes (above) and quick-tacks between the commercial trawlers lining Raccoon Creek.

We have been experiencing 15-20 mph winds out of the South/Southwest today, so it was a bit too rough for these guys to sail out on the River Neuse, but a perfect day for practicing quick maneuvers in Raccoon Creek and Oriental Harbor...

The wind was blowing straight up the creek towards Town Dock (you can see a trimaran tied up starboard-to the town's FREE public boat-dock [up to 48 hr.s per month, per boat ;);)] where the Hodges St. causeway blocks the head of Raccoon Creek off of Oriental Harbor)

The wind direction was perfect for practicing running and jibing up into the creek, then quick-tacking back upwind to get back into the relatively-open waters of the Oriental Harbor anchorage and Smith's creek (for OSC boats, but check charts, mast and bridge height before going up Smith's, Green's and Kershaw Creeks like they do).

The strong winds out on the River Neuse today were abated a bit in the harbor and Raccoon Creek, thanks to Windmill and Wiggins' Points to the southwest, but were brisk enough to test a sailor's salt jibing and tacking between the commercial trawlers lining the creek (see the banner photo at the top of the blog for a view straight up the creek, same direction the wind was blowing today - though there were no rafting trawlers today, they were tied up on both sides of the creek.)

The "Red Baron" captain and crew did an impressive job... though there was some moments of perhaps-over-heavy heeling, that is easily explained by the squirrely winds coming over Chadwick Point before crashing into and swirling around in Raccoon Creek.
.

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3.12- Skywatch Friday - Sunrise over Chadwick Point

The sun rising over Chadwick Point (home of Point Pride Seafood)

Today's picture is from a boating trip earlier this week... a neighbor and I joined mutual neighbor Capt. Miller on his May Craft 1900 for a trip across the River Neuse, into Turnagain Bay, and through the "Indian Ditch" connecting Turnagain with Long Bay. (see prior post, below)

We left from the Wildlife Ramp on Smiths Creek and were crossing the mouth of Smiths Creek / Oriental Harbor just as the sun peeked over the point. An itinerant catamaran was at anchor in the harbor.

The rising sun illuminated the web of contrails left in the dry atmosphere by the many high-altitude commercial airplanes moving up and down the East Coast flight corridors.

HAPPY SWF EVERYONE!

I look forward to seeing the other Skywatch pictures from around the world on the other SWF sites listed at:

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01.01- An auspicious beginning...

(Click on image or here for full size)

The annual "Better than Football" New Year's Regatta fleet heads downwind towards the Adams Creek Marker, as seen under the genoa sail of the "Hirondelle"

Happy New Year!

Sailing is the best way to start any year, of course... I took today's photos from the deck of the Hirondelle, a Pearson 390, during the annual Oriental "Better than Football" regatta.

You might not believe it from the photos showing so many boats in front of us, but the Hirondelle and crew took FIRST PLACE IN THE RACE!!! I will explain about our winning techniques below. Secrets all sailors should learn.

BUT FIRST, some more pics from the race:

(Click on image or here for full size)
Captain Dave (on left) and two thirds of the crew... First Mate Liz at the helm, well-covered against the fresh breeze, and Cabin Boy Fred (my brother) waiting for orders, while yours truly Boatswain Ben snaps the pic after dropping and securing the main

Here are a couple of shots of the fleet on the down-wind leg towards Adams Creek:

(Click on images for full size)

(Click on images for full size)

(Click on images for full size)

OK, ready for the secret of how to win when almost the entire fleet is ahead of you??

THE SECRET IS:
Pick a race where the winners are drawn by lots at the post-race meeting!

Best when its cold outside, and hot soup and drinks at M&M's Restaurant accompany the judging:

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12.19- SkyWatch Friday - Scow-Schooner "Nina"

Capt. Dayton Trubee of the "Nina," a gaff-rigged scow-shooner, climbs the mizzen-mast ratlines with First Mate Ingrid Code at the helm as they cruised Oriental Harbor looking for a good spot to drop the hook

This beauty ("Nina," homeport Baltimore MD) came into Oriental Harbor near sunset this evening.


I was going to do a bit of research and write something up discussing this type of boat here on ONCDP, but my first Google revealed that the story of this very boat herself (including an explanation of the Australian flag atop her mainmast) is already online:


I highly recommend reading the TownDock.Net "Shipping News" article about "Nina" when she was here in Oriental almost four years ago... very interesting story... Read the 2005 TownDock.Net story here

Since then, in 2007, Nina had some work done at the de Rouville Boat Shop in NJ.

Also in 2007, the Nina's First Mate, Ingrid Code, has also written this article in Wooden Boat about another schooneer, "Steadfast."

Also, SEE SOME MORE OF MY PICTURES OF "NINA" at my other blog, "The Dinghy Dock."

HAPPY SWF EVERYONE!
I look forward to seeing the other Skywatch pictures from around the world on the other SWF sites listed at:


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12.12- Spirit of Christmas Boat Parade

A sailboat decorated with lighted forestay and backstay follows a lighted power boat in the Spirit of Christmas nighttime Boat Parade

(Click on image or here for full size)

After sunset today, a fleet of lighted and decorated boats paraded from Whittaker Creek to Oriental Marker No. 3 and back, as spectators watched from Lou-Mac Park and the South Avenue waterfront.

It was a bit difficult to capture the boats on camera as they passed about a half-mile away out in the Neuse River, but I like how the above time exposure shot shows the motion of the boat in the squiggly trails left by each of its many lights hanging along the forestay and backstay(check out the full size version to see the squigglies) They remind me of a seismograph output, or the medical monitors on the hibernation pods in "2001 Space Odyssey."

I have for the past few days been indulging in not quite sticking to the "Photo" (singular) part of the "City Daily Photo" concept, and I was tempted to do so again today...

But I must really stop that: that is why I have another blogsite, after all.

So, you can see more photos of tonight's Boat Parade, decorated boats, caroling crowd, and lighting of the "Spirit of Christmas Star" at my other blog, "The Dinghy Dock.""

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11.30 - Belted Kingfisher

A male Belted Kingfisher perches on a mainmast spreader at Oriental Harbor Marina

"The only kingfisher in most of North America," according to the National Geographic Field Giude. "Common and conspicuous along rivers and brooks, ponds and lakes, estuaries..."

"Call is a loud, dry rattle"... The bird's call was what whaat brought my attention to its' presence, but I would describe it more as a repetitive chittering.

I have seen these birds hovering near the mouth of Whittaker Creek, but not gotten a picture before today.

Kingrishers "hover over water or watch from low perches, then plunge headfirst to catch a fish."

Very cool. Now added to my photographic life-list.

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11.18- Doin' the Ditch...

Vessels moving south on the Intracoastal Waterway near Swansboro, NC

I took this picture from the third floor balcony of a new home being built just south of Swansboro, NC.

The house fronts on "the Ditch"... the 1,090 mile long Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, a series of natural and man-made (or altered) protected waterways running from Portsmouth, VA ("Mile 0") to Key West, FL.

There was a continuous stream of sailboats and stinkpots running in front of the house all day, as the weather was nice, and has been kinda nasty the past few days. Folks who had to lay up for weather are now cruising to make up time.

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11.15- Tow time

A newly-anchored itinerant sailor with a motor-dinghy gives a tow to another itinerant in her two-armstrong powered "Dink"

I met this young woman at the Dinghy Dock today as I was riding by.

She had come ashore to go grocery shopping, leaving her "old man" on their sailboat at anchor out in the harbor (not in camera shot above).

She had rowed ashore in a "Dink" dinghy.

When she returned to the Dinghy Dock after a couple of hours, she found the winds had grown fairly stiff... about 15 to 20 knots... out of the Southwest.

(Notice two of the anchored sailboats in the picture are pointing straight into the fresh breeze... the third/middle sailboat, flying Netherlands flag, is not pointing into the wind only because she is aground)

Finding it impossible to row the light dinghy straight into the wind far enough to reach her boat, the woman had been embayed for at least an hour before I showed up.

As we were chatting, another sailboat came into the harbor and began trying to anchor.

We watched as her captain dropped anchor, hoping he would dinghy ashore soon and maybe be able to help the woman return to her boat. The anchor dragged, and the sailboat drifted towards another anchored boat. The guy weighed anchor, motored around, and tried again. Anchor dragged again. Guy weighed, moved and dropped the hook yet again.

By this time, another woman had walked up to the Dinghy Dock, introduced herself, and explained she was waiting for the guy out there trying to anchor to come pick her up.

By this time there were four of us watching this guy try to anchor... Watching someone struggle with anchoring, particularly in a Southerly or Southwesterly blow, is considered better-than-TV entertainment in Oriental.

After the guy dropped anchor again, we saw him finally lowering his dinghy from the stern davits into the water. Great, we all thought... one woman was waiting for the guy to come take her to his boat, the other woman was hoping the guy could tow her dinghy back to her boat, and myself and another guy were watching all the drama with great interest.

The guy got in his dinghy, hauled in the painter, and started motoring... away from the dinghy dock! Where is he going, the watching crowd wondered in chorus, while at the same time noticing that the guy's sailboat was swinging awfully near it's anchored neighbor.

The guy motored his dinghy about a hundred feet ahead of his sailboat on the starboard side, then stood up in the dinghy.

"He's dropping a second hook" we all said, again in chorus.

So the guy dropped his second anchor from the dinghy, motored back to his sailboat, went aboard and hauled in his hawsers to satisfaction, neatly pulling his sailboat away from the threatened neighbor.

He then came ashore, and happily gave the stranded rower a tow back to her "old man" just as the sun set.

Another exciting 90 minute drama at Oriental anchorage!

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11.09- It takes a village to build a boat

Bob Miller (reaching into boat) gets some help in an early stage of building his Core Sound 17 sailboat

The Oriental version of a barn-raising is of course a boat-building.

Bob Miller is building a "Core Sound 17" sailboat in his garage. The boat was designed by "B&B Yacht Designs," located in nearby Vandemere. See the B&B webpage for this boat here.

Bob had cut out the various parts of the hull using 1/4 inch plywood, and needed some extra hands to hold the pieces in place while he "stitched" them together with copper wire... See the picture below for a better view of the stitches (they look like knots every six inches or so) on the bow and hull:

In the future, the seams will be glued together and the stitches removed... this is typically referred to as "stitch and glue" boat building.

I will follow the progress of Bob's boatbuilding, and update here.

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11.08 - "Merry Mary" Tartan 34

George Duffie sails "Merry Mary," his 30-year old Tartan 34' Classic, on her port tack in a brisk southerly breeze on the Neuse River
(Click on picture or here for full size)

"Merry Mary" (above) is a common sight out on the Neuse... Owners George and Mary Duffie live here in Oriental. George often races her, and has a few wins.

Approaching the camera on her starboard tack is "Pirogue," a Cape Dory 33...

Here is a better view of "Pirogue" after she passed within about 30 yards of me in the Bauer 10 Dinghy during my sail today... (Notice there is no-one at the helm!) :

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11.03- "Lady Hawk" and "Emily Brooke"

The "Emily Brooke" heads out of Oriental Harbor towards Pamlico Sound, as the "Lady Hawk" sails upriver

Another shot taken from the Bauer 10 Classic as I was sailing out in the Neuse River.

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11.02- Anchored in the Roadstead

Six sailboats at anchor on the Neuse River near the entrance to Oriental Harbor.

While Oriental Harbor is a popular anchorage on the ICW, some boats prefer to anchor out in the Neuse River outside the harbor breakwater near the channel from the ICW into the harbor... an area I generally refer to as "Oriental Roads."

These six boats are from Maine (at least four of them are)... I found them anchored out in the river as I sailed out to Oriental Marker No. 1, then to Whittaker Creek No. 1 and back to the harbor.

I took this picture while I was sailing back into Oriental Harbor just as the sun set.

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