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Part One
Recapping - After the excitement of the capsize, we still had the short hop out to Cape Lookout to negotiate. Given that the Small Craft Advisory was still in effect, this was not an inconsequential trip.
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Bill was so jealous of Sean that he made him
crew with Andrew and Mike for the run over to Lookout Point.
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Who are those guys, anyway? That Laguna
was smoking when it passed us in spite of double reefs in
both sails. |
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This series is really taken from a short video....
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.... they passed us so quickly that.... |
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... I would not have had time to hit the shutter
button more than once before they were gone. |
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There is a cool lighthouse on Lookout Point.
LP is one cape down from Cape Hatteras. |
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Mac was waiting when we arrived. He had gone
straight to LP rather than stopping at Harkers. He was not
even in the running for the rigging knife. |
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We set our tents up in a nice, grassy area behind
the dunes, but the moon was about full and the 5 foot tide
soon began to flood... |
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Everyone pitched in to move the tents to higher
ground. First they moved Bill's tent... |
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... Then they moved mine. Good think I didn't
win that rigging knife - otherwise they might have left me
to soak. |
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See those clouds? It was threatening to rain.
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We walked back to the beach to batten the hatches
and make sure all our gear was properly stowed. |
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Paul did not seem to mind the rain or the tidal
creek that now separated us from the beach. New fathers tend
to be cockeyed optimists. |
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Mike and Andrew gave up sleeping on the boat
in favor of our grassy camp. The next morning they decamped
for the visitor center. |
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Sometime about mid-afternoon, it began to rain
in earnest. I ducked into my tent and watched the rest of
the guys being macho and ignoring the rain. |
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The rain did not stop until about 10 the next
morning. I ate a granola bar for breakfast and stared out
at the grey, soggy world. |
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After the rain began to let up a bit I wandered
down to the visitor center to find Andrew and Mike with their
sleeping bags hanging from the rafters, drying out. |
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Andrew was busy unraveling some rope he found
so Mike and I decided to walk around a bit. |
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This building used to be next to the lighthouse
but was later moved out near the point. |
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All the sand you see here would be under that
5 foot tide in a few hours so we began walking back to camp.
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At low tide, the boats were high and dry...
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... and there was no tidal creek between the
beach and our camp. |
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There was, however a strangely tatooed and dreadlocked
Englishman. |
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And a cactus blossom hiding in the tall grass.
Note the sunshine - at least that is what we thought it was,
not having seen it in so long. |
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That evening George Broadlick sailed his tiny
Bolger Sweetpea over from Harker's Island. |
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He had meant to join us from the start but was
late getting off so made the best of it. |
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George blew up his sleeping pad....
... Sean took a picture... |
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... Mike called a report in to Jackie.... |
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... Paul and Steward stuffed their pie holes... |
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... bill took a picture... |
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... the sun set...
... the moon rose... |
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... and we all enjoyed a campfire, giddy with
relative dryness. |
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The next day we had to head back up to Cedar
Island. Unfortunately, the wind was still out of the north.
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We were especially concerned that George might
not be able to make enough progress to windward in time. |
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His little shell of a boat has a small, fixed
keel, not the best for pointing ability. Also he stands up
a lot. |
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But George is a very good sailor and not only
made it to the gun club but all the way to Cedar Island. |
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The wind began out of the North but clocked
around to the East, making our beat into a reach. This turned
out to be our best day of sailing. |
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We were the first to arrive at the Gun Club
docks. You may be able to see the Laguna in the distance.
Now it was our turn to crow. |
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Here you can see Mike and Andrew finally pulling
in. |
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Stewart sailed with Mac for this leg. They had
to walk the boat the last bit. |
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No oars or wading for George. He sailed right
up to the beach... |
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Right past Mac and Tony. |
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It was such a nice, sunny day that Mike and
Bill broke out umbrellas for some shade. |
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Bill really got into it too. |
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Finally the sun set... |
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... and our happy band of sailors sat around
camp, satisfied in the knowledge that it had been a great
day and the forecast was for more of the same. |
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But as they often do, the forecasters lied.
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There was tooo much wind when we got up to be
able to make any progress to windward. So we waited. |
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Sure enough, by 9:30 or so, the wind died down
enough for us to give it a try. Everyone started with double
reefs, but soon shook them out. |
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Paul, Bill and I in Mikesboat were able to keep
up with the Laguna up to the point where they shook their
reefs out... |
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... then, in spite of a slight lead and Paul's
determination .... |
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... they gained on us... |
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... overtook us... |
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... and waved us goodby. This was our toughest
day of sailing. |
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George made it all the way in spite of the adverse
winds and waves. Here you can see his tiny keel. This picture
is a testament to his sailing skill. |
More articles about the OBX130:
I
can’t believe I ate half that bag of … !
By Sean Moffitt
The
OBX By Paul Moffitt
Article
in Reports by Paul
The OBX 130 Website
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