First sailing weekend coincided with my release from school and boy did I need a celebratory release this year! As with all things during the summer respite, I choose to take my time and consciously awaken to the blessings of the day! Having packed three bags: clothes, food and gear....we were on our way up to the northern Outer Banks. Hobie kitty and I pulled into Nor'Banks Sailing Center pretty late, but excited to see other folks already camping and a yard full of catamarans there on the waterfront~
Saturday morning, the sailors were up and busy about gearing up for the days challenge...a leMans start from Duck up to the Currituck Lighthouse near Whalebone and Corolla...supposedly a (approx) 30 mile distance through the seabed grass and marsh islands. The wind was coming from the south, running north with a 'wing n' wing' most of the way, the other boats chose to downwind tack the distance. But being quite familiar with sailing between marsh islands on tidal creeks, I was able to make some ground against the much bigger, hotter, faster cats...I was clearly staying ahead of all the Getaway cats and the two-handed Hobie 16's, which put me in the middle of the pack. One Hobie 16 actually seeing my advantage, came and sailed neck n' neck for a while. It was a LONG downwind run, but I kept thinking how even longer it would be upon rounding the mark and having to sail back upwind into a headwind and rolling sound. Waving at the lighthouse, we rounded the mark and started needling our way back, I did not realize how long we had sailed and how tired I was....the school year and night drive was catching up with me and the exhaustion set in as the wind started to pick up over 20-25 and the wave action was getting bigger. I noticed Hobie kitty was taking it hard and burying her hull in the 4 foot crests and thinking she may be taking on water. So I sailed into a small beach along shore to check and thankfully heard no water inside her hulls, since I was already there, I decided to take a short power-nap....yeah, crazy...in the middle of a race....but I needed something to get me through the rest of the battle windward.
By the time I awoke, the last two boats were sailing by my position, so I had a quick drink and an apple and headed out. The rest of the race was literally a battle between tacks in high wind and high waves with short frequency causing Hobie Kitty to fly off the top of one wave and bury like a submarine into the next.....and that was the scenario for miles, with an occasional rudder kick-up due to either sea grass beds or sandbars...not to mention the beautiful blue sky & sun blazing down on my already burnt face. What kept me going was the challenge of keeping up with the other two boats. As I kept my eye on the big BLUE water tower I noticed upon leaving the beach, it became apparent that I had not gotten a better look at the Sailing Center beach before I left, it was very difficult to identify in these conditions. I spied a blue building, and trusting my intuition, that must be it, I took my last tack towards the outer bank and after riding the bucking bronco wild ride, for several hours, I had chosen correctly. Upon crossing the line, quite a few sailors had gathered on the pier and cheered as I was acknowledged with the sound of the gun~
All the veterans were surprised Hobie Kitty and I had gone the full distance, had even taken a nap, kept hard-on in the building conditions and ALAS, I didn't finish last. It was nice to hear the fellow sailor behind me in amazement as to our pointing ability and recap of the tacking battle upwind.
My only disappointment was that I decided to not sail the second day, it was a sleigh ride, beam reach, down to the bridge and back (6 miles) with winds in the 25-30 range...all the single-handers regrouped and doubled up on each others boats. I was satisfied with Hobie Kitty's performance, with the making of new/old friends and reconnecting with a spirit of competition, endurance and the LOVE OF SAILING~

small boat adventures

Comments [4] | | More

I knew this day would come, and that didn't make it any easier. Upon my weekly conversation with my elderly father, whom is saddled with caretaker of my mom's alzheimers, we spoke of inevitable plans of passing down the Wallace family treasure~ their beloved Bayfield 32C "Aries".
My father and mother's love of the water started a family legacy of spending the summers as camp counselor's and water safety instructors...so all of us 5 kids were ducklings. With a growing family, they knew a canoe would just not be big enough for their 'water dreams' and 5 swabs weighing the boat down. So they decided to utilize their own natural resources and bought their first small sailboat. Over the years, as most sailors do, the boats got bigger and the knowledge gained grew until Dad was using his skills for profit on other people's boats and reaping the financial benefit in support of a sailing addiction. As the wooden sailing vessels got bigger, the voyages got longer and the kids began moving on. Being the youngest of the 5, I witnessed a lifetime of sailing adventures before I was 18, so it only logical that I follow in my father's footsteps and began a professional sailing instructor career as well. As my own life began taking off, my parents knew their retirement from 37 years in the public school/university system as a teacher/professor/coach and 10 years as an LPN at Kaiser Hospital was eminent. They sold their John Alden, Malabar Jr. 32' marconi rig sloop built of oak, teak and mahogany, the 'VIKING' and had their first and only fiberglas boat built in Canada.

small boat adventures

Comments [0] | | More

Sunday Sanctuaries has officially become an expeditionary field guide. New paddlers joined us this weekend to explore the White Oak River and it's peace. A friend of mine had some friends visiting whom are dealing with the hardship of terminal disease and wanted a relaxing, peaceful, therapeutic experience for everyone. 'Peace like a River' was the prescription for the day. We paddled up river investigating small tributaries, farm field landings, old-growth cedars, columns of cypress and hydroponic gardens. The coolness of the river and the heating of the afternoon sun provided the perfect environment for laughs, stories, song and river whistling. Upon arriving at the end of a tributary filled with whirling butterflies and whiz-by insects we paused for a treat of our trademark 'fruit of our labor' zip-lock tradition. Each paddler was gifted with a bag filled with 7 fresh fruits: raspberries, blackberries, green grapes, globe grapes, raisins and nuts.
I noticed the difference in the mood of the river from morning to afternoon and commented that the wildlife were much more active and vocal in the mornings but must have been napping in the lazy, hot afternoon.
It was great practice to guide new-comers to the paddling world and gift them with a calm-soothing experience.

Sunday Sanctuaries

Comments [4] | | More

My love affair with Multihulls began so long ago when I was invited to a collegiate race in Toledo, Ohio sponsored by the local sailboat dealership that was attempting to market beach catamarans to rising college graduates. It worked. Although I had been raised on traditional wooden hulls, designed by some of the best names in yacht design and was transitioning to small dinghy racing, I had no idea something quite so glorious as flying & skipping across the water was possible...until the day I flew a hull~
Nothing in my mono-hull, one dimensional upbringing compared to this....this was beyond exhilarating.
The winds were light the morning I grabbed my crew and set out for a wonderful day on these new fast-cats. It took us some time to figure out how to make her go in light air, but it became apparent that our weight and agility had everything to do with finding her 'sweet spot' of power. In our exuberance, we took her to the edge and promptly fell over, which was the greatest learning curve as a skipper....'one must learn the delicate balance of unleashed thrust and then reining her in for maximum velocity'.
When everyone had given up for the day and headed for the showers and libations in the clubhouse, I remained on the beach, watching and waiting. Scanning the horizon for a breath of air and gazing upon the line-up fleet of potential energy sitting at rest on the beach. Ah-ha, it finally rose, a warm-evening off-shore breeze caused a clatter of halyards on the steady group of masts. One rocket-boat was still rigged and was rocking in the new breeze, awaiting someone to reach her in time for lift-off. Another sort had been waiting for the breeze at the other end of the beach, our eyes met and we knew we had to set off to feel the sensation of catamaran flight. I will never forget that first evening flying a hull in a trapeze over the cool Lake Erie waters as the sun set and the off-shore breeze connected two strangers and took them aloft~
It is with that same feeling of pure aesthetic adrenaline that I watched the 33rd Americas Cup and remembered that first time. Multihulls are pure potential energy and I was honored to see the spectacle for my first witness to an Americas Cup match. And beyond the international venue, the multihulls of the world trembled in their amas as the attention was focused on their magnificent power, beauty & grace. The Americas Cup has been won back to American shores by a multihull~

Cabin Fever Musing

Comments [2] | | More

The cup of water I had left outside was frozen half-full. (a sign) My thoughts exactly. I see this new year as a chance to reach out and attain some of those dreams floating around in the back of my head for years and even decades, waiting for their turn. I've spent a lifetime, seemingly, waiting on others to come, go or grow. And after some time alone here, reflecting over winter break, I've come to realize, the waiting is over. I recalled one particular memory from this past summer that still stands out in my mind, like a beacon, an intuition, a talisman.
I had just come in from the outer bank island, across the sound, on a beautiful northern broad reach on a balmy mid-summer morning. She had handled herself like a thousand other sprits'l skiffs who had sailed the sound before her...solid, steady and frisky. She behaved quite companion-like, as I lowered her rig and rolled her up on her trailer and hauled her up the ramp in front of the Morris Marina Grill. While readying the sprits'l for road travel, I noticed quite a few ladies walking into the Grill and thought, must be some kind of women's group meeting this mornin'. So when I stepped into the Grill to pay my respects and pay for the token ramp fee, I was pleasantly surprised by a lively group of women sitting at the bar there. Of course they took interest in my being there and were quite aware I had just sailed in...and one of them spoke up to confirm my place among them and a silence fell, "so, ya sailed all the way from the island by yourself did ya?" And all the faces turned my way to hear the response. I shook my head in agreement, pointing out the door at my humble wooden steed and responded, "well, me & the Heather Jane". And they all took a liking to me, their approval marked by a nod, a smile on their faces and a return to their lively conversations. I had won their approval, the Heather Jane & I were amongst Water Women and felt at home.
The freedom to do as you please is a delicate dance...especially for a woman. Knowing when to dance and when to sit out and wait for the next good song that inspires you is critical to a life of happiness and a steady diet of soulfood.
Sailing does that for me. I don't sail everyday, but I think about it. And the anticipation keeps my senses keen on the wind and my focus on the next adventure destination or better yet, the next vessel that can handle the circumstances. This constant vigil I play out day in and day out is the rythm of my days....and I'm hoping to fill even more of them in new waters over the next half-century~

Cabin Fever Musing

Comments [4] | | More

..and so we finished the year on the same river we began the year, paddling up the White Oak River excited about finding what was around the next bend.
And all I ask is a dog and a boat to carry her by~
goodnite 2009

Sunday Sanctuaries

Comments [0] | | More