August 28, 2007 Tuesday
Here we are, anchored in the North River above the Albemarle Sound. There's a full moon and the wind is calm. There are no waves at all. It is perfectly still. For ocean cruisers, no waves at all is exceptional. When anchored in a snug harbor on the ocean, there is always some motion, ranging from serious rolling to gentle swells. But always something. For the last several days we have been anchored on NC's rivers, in little coves where there is no human presence visible in any direction. Just loblolly pines and marsh grass. (Well, maybe there were a few crab pots and floats around, but that was it). Tonight we can see some lighted buoys out on the ICW and some cell phone towers. Yesterday, we were in the most pristine place I've ever been.
After we left Oriental, we spent a night in Belhaven, NC. It was full of ante-bellum homes. The marina let us use a golf cart to go exploring and we went so far that we were afraid the batteries would be dead before we got back. Then we anchored in the most amazingly quiet creek below the Wilkenson Bridge. Today we made a 12 hour run along the Alligator River crossing the Pamlico River and the Albemarle Sound. We are only 60 miles below Norfolk, so with an early start,we should be able to make it tomorrow. There we will take on fuel and water for the offshore trip to NYC. It will be good to be sailing again. On the ICW, we mostly motor, but unroll the jib if the wind is favorable and the channel isn't too narrow.
We have some nice pictures that we will put up when we get an internet connection. Look at some of our older posts because new pictures are already there.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Finally leaving....
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Yup, we're really doing it. It's amazing how much equipment stops working right with just 2 months in port. Sailboats like to be used. When gear sits idle, it corrodes or just gets balky. So we've been getting things working again and are just about ready.
While I was sitting around here, I put a video from one of our previous concerts up on YouTube and will give you the URL in case you want to play it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U9hWl3OKZE
Cut and paste that line into your browser. If you have a slow internet connection, as soon as the video starts playing, hit the pause button and wait a whole minute so that the buffer can get ahead of the playback. Then hit play again.
Hope you enjoy it.
Tonight we will anchor in South Creek, right across the Neuse River from here. That way we can get an early start tomorrow.
Yup, we're really doing it. It's amazing how much equipment stops working right with just 2 months in port. Sailboats like to be used. When gear sits idle, it corrodes or just gets balky. So we've been getting things working again and are just about ready.
While I was sitting around here, I put a video from one of our previous concerts up on YouTube and will give you the URL in case you want to play it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U9hWl3OKZE
Cut and paste that line into your browser. If you have a slow internet connection, as soon as the video starts playing, hit the pause button and wait a whole minute so that the buffer can get ahead of the playback. Then hit play again.
Hope you enjoy it.
Tonight we will anchor in South Creek, right across the Neuse River from here. That way we can get an early start tomorrow.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Still, still in Oriental
August 23, 2007 Thursday
Yup, we haven't left yet. But we will, real soon now. In a very laid-back way we have been improving things in the mechanical realm - like we upgraded our air conditioner. In this heat, the A/C unit is indispensable. Inside the cabin with the heat and humidity, you can't sleep, cook, and its even too hot to read. So we put a new salt water pump on the A/C so that it would stop its nasty habit of blowing the circuit breaker every few hours. Then we added a new 30 amp circuit just for the air conditioner so that we didn't have to turn it off to use the microwave.
And yesterday, we overhauled our inflatable dinghy which got a bit tired under the strong Mexican sun. We'll be needing it when anchored off NYC. With those and a few more projects out of the way, we feel that we are at the 100% level of readiness, so I guess no more excuses. Stay tuned.
Yup, we haven't left yet. But we will, real soon now. In a very laid-back way we have been improving things in the mechanical realm - like we upgraded our air conditioner. In this heat, the A/C unit is indispensable. Inside the cabin with the heat and humidity, you can't sleep, cook, and its even too hot to read. So we put a new salt water pump on the A/C so that it would stop its nasty habit of blowing the circuit breaker every few hours. Then we added a new 30 amp circuit just for the air conditioner so that we didn't have to turn it off to use the microwave.
And yesterday, we overhauled our inflatable dinghy which got a bit tired under the strong Mexican sun. We'll be needing it when anchored off NYC. With those and a few more projects out of the way, we feel that we are at the 100% level of readiness, so I guess no more excuses. Stay tuned.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Still in Oriental
August 19, 2007 Sunday
Yes, we are still here. Oriental is a hard place to leave. On the surface, it's a sleepy little town, but underneath it's bubbling with social life. A lot of very hip folks have made this their home after they were done with the other adventures in their lives. So folks here have usually accomplished quite a bit and have the interesting stories to go with it. Many are sailors. We have discovered that it takes about 2 weeks to penetrate a social scene and our previous cruising was too fast paced for us to really get to know the locals. But having been here for a while, our social circle has been expanding geometrically. We could party every night of the week.
We have gotten a super-warm reception for our flamenco and are booked for a theater gig in February. But just playing at parties - we've never gotten such a response! I must admit, it's pleasant after the flamenco politics of the bay area.
I know we've said it before, but we really are planning to leave next week - taking the ICW up to Norfolk and then out into the Atlantic for a 2-3 day trip to NYC. We're going to take a mooring off the 79th St. Boat Basin. A quick dinghy trip ashore and we will be in mid-town Manhattan with buses and subways to everywhere. I'm looking forward to it and then later to sail on up to Cape Cod.
Feel free to write or call.
Here are the local dock residents at one of the BBQ/Potluck dinners that we have every few days. It's tough!!!
Here is the creek that runs by the marina. We rowed our dinghy down to where the rich folks have their waterside homes with docks. When I first heard about Oriental, these homes were going for $149,000. Not anymore!
Yes, we are still here. Oriental is a hard place to leave. On the surface, it's a sleepy little town, but underneath it's bubbling with social life. A lot of very hip folks have made this their home after they were done with the other adventures in their lives. So folks here have usually accomplished quite a bit and have the interesting stories to go with it. Many are sailors. We have discovered that it takes about 2 weeks to penetrate a social scene and our previous cruising was too fast paced for us to really get to know the locals. But having been here for a while, our social circle has been expanding geometrically. We could party every night of the week.
We have gotten a super-warm reception for our flamenco and are booked for a theater gig in February. But just playing at parties - we've never gotten such a response! I must admit, it's pleasant after the flamenco politics of the bay area.
I know we've said it before, but we really are planning to leave next week - taking the ICW up to Norfolk and then out into the Atlantic for a 2-3 day trip to NYC. We're going to take a mooring off the 79th St. Boat Basin. A quick dinghy trip ashore and we will be in mid-town Manhattan with buses and subways to everywhere. I'm looking forward to it and then later to sail on up to Cape Cod.
Feel free to write or call.
Here are the local dock residents at one of the BBQ/Potluck dinners that we have every few days. It's tough!!!
Here is the creek that runs by the marina. We rowed our dinghy down to where the rich folks have their waterside homes with docks. When I first heard about Oriental, these homes were going for $149,000. Not anymore!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Fleetwood Mac attack
8-11-07 Saturday,
Sailing gives you the opportunity to meet folks from all walks of life. The other day we were introduced to John McVie, bass player for Fleetwood Mac. I didn't realize that Fleetwood Mac had been a terrific blues band before they moved into mainstream rock. I've been listening to their early works now.
We had a great time talking to John about the old days of rock and roll.
John is the proud owner of a new (to him) Hinkley 53 sailboat. Hinkley is widely considered one of the best built boats in America.
Here we are on our bikes again in Jeff and Ellen's driveway. Who are they, you might ask? If you were here, you would certainly know them.
Sailing gives you the opportunity to meet folks from all walks of life. The other day we were introduced to John McVie, bass player for Fleetwood Mac. I didn't realize that Fleetwood Mac had been a terrific blues band before they moved into mainstream rock. I've been listening to their early works now.
We had a great time talking to John about the old days of rock and roll.
John is the proud owner of a new (to him) Hinkley 53 sailboat. Hinkley is widely considered one of the best built boats in America.
Here we are on our bikes again in Jeff and Ellen's driveway. Who are they, you might ask? If you were here, you would certainly know them.
Still enjoying Oriental, NC
8-11-07 Saturday
We've made ourselves at home here in Oriental. There is an active social life here on the docks. We've been riding our bikes all over town. It is level, so a biker's dream.
Here is the road leading into the marina. Lots of trees and very little traffic. Folks drive very slowly here and always wave to you.
Here is a log cabin that we really liked.
And here is a very typical NC house right across the street from the cabin.
And here is a very elegant house along the street that fronts the Neuse River. Big lawns are very typical. I guess riding mowers are necessary.
We have become very comfortable here. It was very hot this week, but we finally got our air conditioner working with a new water pump. Now the cabin is cool throughout, not just our bedroom. The bug level dropped last week and I haven't been bitten in a while now. Yay!
We've made ourselves at home here in Oriental. There is an active social life here on the docks. We've been riding our bikes all over town. It is level, so a biker's dream.
Here is the road leading into the marina. Lots of trees and very little traffic. Folks drive very slowly here and always wave to you.
Here is a log cabin that we really liked.
And here is a very typical NC house right across the street from the cabin.
And here is a very elegant house along the street that fronts the Neuse River. Big lawns are very typical. I guess riding mowers are necessary.We have become very comfortable here. It was very hot this week, but we finally got our air conditioner working with a new water pump. Now the cabin is cool throughout, not just our bedroom. The bug level dropped last week and I haven't been bitten in a while now. Yay!
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