As we were leaving Manteo, a small town just inside the Outer Banks of NC, I got stupid for a few minutes. I was rushing to get out of the harbor before a large thunderstorm blew in. While sailing out the narrow channel with the mainsail up, the wind picked up to 30+ knots in an instant, resulting in a jibe. An unintended or accidental jibe results in the boom swinging from one side of the boat to the other, quickly and violently. The stupid part is that I have equipment to help prevent this, but in my rush I didn't set it up. All that to say that something was bound to break, and the main sheet block was the weak point.
The part has been shipped to the manufacturer for repair, hopefully. Replacement will really hurt the wallet.
Elizabeth City was the next port. This is a boater friendly city. They offer free dockage at the waterfront park. Grocery shopping, laundry, propane, and restaurants are nearby.
The arrival of this Seawind was a pleasant surprise. Our good friends, AJ and Lisa Jackson, were the previous owners. You might remember from last years posts that we sailed for a few months with them on Chesapeake Bay and along the Outer Banks.
You guys are missed.
The new owner, Josh, is enjoying the boat and is on his way to NY City. Guess where he calls home?
There was a cultural event in the park with food and music. I was pleasantly surprised that the music was good and thankful when it started to rain at about 7 PM. The park emptied quickly and we were back to peace and quiet.
Next, we traveled up the Dismal Swamp Canal, which is anything but dismal. There's a lot of interesting history about the construction and purpose of the canal. Google it.
The canal has two locks to control the amount of water leaving the area. Bill is the lock tender at the north end, Deep Creek, who takes pleasure discussing the history of the area and sharing ideas of what to do and see in the Norfolk area.
After "locking through", we returned to motoring towards Norfolk. We came across this boat and thought of our dear friends on Kaleo.
Ok, we miss you guys also.
3 comments:
Hey Ted, great start.
He cracks himself up.
Hey guys,
Fun post from the witty guest blogger. We're following in your tracks but wish we were alongside you. Or at least pulling into the same anchorage a few hours behind you. We sure do miss you guys.
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