Finish up Ocracoke trip

We had a fabulous sail back from Ocracoke - all the way with the main and spinnaker!

We spent an extra day at the boat back in Oriental doing some chores.  Duane wanted to replace all of the lines that hold the sailbag up....in order to do this, he had to climb 1/2 way up the mast.   He's not a big fan of me snapping photos of him working....so I had to sneak this one while he wasn't looking.  Here he is, about 20 feet up on the bosun's chair.

And that's it folks! Another wonderful mini-vacation!

Another mini-vacation

Last week, I had wanted to head to Ocracoke.....so this week, I got my way!

There was a small boat "regatta" in progress when we left Oriental.

About halfway to Ocracoke, we crossed paths with this small trimaran.  Neat looking boat - and fast!

It was a pretty long slog to Ocracoke - the wind was exactly on the nose, so we chose not to sail.  Plus there was a good amount of "swell" that slowed us down.  But, it was beautiful weather and comparatively cool.

We arrived a little after sunset.  I snapped this lovely photo of one of the "sunset cruises" that they run out of Ocracoke.   I think the patrons got their money's worth!

Approaching Ocracoke as the sun sets.

The next morning - all tucked in at the National Park Service docks!

More sun protection

This sun is brutal!! 

We have windows all around the salon area - and these let in a LOT of heat, particularly early morning and late afternoon when the sun is at an angle.

The windows already have a nice see-through covering material that snaps on to the boat.  This filters some of the sun's rays, but not nearly enough!

The sun shines through that material.

So, I got the idea from new friends Willard and QP - use store-bought automotive sunshades and cut them to fit!  (The window bends around the front of the boat, so I have to put a "bend" into the finished product!)

I used some left-over Sunbrella material from the dinghy chaps to sew reinforcements  at the seams.

And I used the same material to bind all the cut edges.

All I have to do is partially take off the existing shade - and slip the new solid panel in place.

Here's the inside view - already cooler!

All buttoned up - we'll just remove it each time we go sailing.  Takes just a minute! 

More Spinnaker Fun

We went for a sail in light winds - and played with the spinnaker again.  Pat and Diane were on their boat sailing around and shot these wonderful photos!  Fun to have a different perspective!


Coming out of the channel in the marina.

Just getting everything set-up.

Moving along nicely now.

The wind has picked up and we actually let the sail get a little too high.  But we're learning!

Fun sailing!

And here's Pat, Diane and A.D.....on the "photo ship".

Sun shade made of white tarp for boat

The sun is brutal!!  The air conditioner has trouble keeping up with the 95'ish outside temperatures.

So, we decided to make a sunshade from a 10'X20' white tarp....a little measuring and a little sewing.  Here is the result.  Kindof hard to see next to the white boat, but it's tied up over the cabin area of the boat. 

Keeps the boat 5-8 degrees cooler.  Worth the effort!

Making a cover for the dinghy motor

The next little project that I needed to do was to make a cover to protect the dinghy motor from the sun.

Duane obliged by lifting the 100 pound motor and mounting it on the railing.  This made it much easier to fit the cover (as opposed to doing it while the dinghy was in the water.)

This really wasn't that complicated since it doesn't need to fit snuggly.   It will be removed for each use.

So, I just used some more plastic to make a very vague outline and left plenty of room for error.

After several back-and-forth's into the nice, air-conditioned boat for fitting, this is the general shape of the bag.

Then I trimmed the bottom and sewed a casing all the way around the bottom for the drawstring.  I also made two button-holes for the drawstrings to "exit" the casing.  I thought this might protect the fabric as we tie/untie this bag over the years.

And there we have it - this should keep the motor cover clean and scuff-free for a while!

Another busy day!

We went for a nice sail with Pat in his new boat.

Pat is having a whole lot of fun so far!  

Nice sail from Oriental down Adam's Creek.  We found a nice spot to anchor for lunch.

We used his alcohol stove for the first time to boil up some hot dogs.  Interesting and simple stove!

Ummm, he doesn't have any utensils on the boat!  We improvised - washed some pliers - they worked great for getting the hot dogs out of the boiling water!

First  "cooked" meal on the boat!

 

After the hot dogs, we headed back to Oriental.  Pat and Duane experimented with his beautiful, colorful asymmetrical  spinnaker.  I was at the helm for this experiment - it ended up being too windy....so no pretty photos yet!


We had been invited over to Pat's new friend Willard and his wife Q.P.'s boat for dinner.  They are starting a live-aboard adventure on their sailboat Freya. 

 Q.P. is from China (her full name is Qingping)  - Willard taught English there several years ago.   She cooked a fabulous meal for us!

 The guys were on deck looking at the boat while I talked to Q.P. while she was cooking.

Look at that wonderful food!  Q.P. was careful of my mammal-meat allergy.  So nice!

Q.P. and Willard - wonderful hosts!

And then we wandered as a group around the marina - a wonderful end to a wonderful day! 

Pat's new boat is at home in Oriental now!

Pat was taking delivery of a "new-to-him" sailboat over July 4th weekend in Oriental....so we were happy to be around to help out!  Sharon and Buddy were joining us for the weekend, so they got snookered into helping to!  (Just kidding, of course - we all had a great time!)


Here she is  at Sailcraft in Oriental.  Pat has been doing some chores - bottom paint, etc. prior to the "launch".

He is sweaty, messy and happy when we arrive!   You can see his boat "Cara al Sol" in the background.  The name means "Face the Sun".

One item he needed to do before the boat is in the water is apply the NC registration numbers.  I got volunteered for this - then they all proceeded to tell me how to do it!

Turned out good!

Pat cleaning the mast before the boatyard lifts it in place with a crane.

We went to lunch - when we came back they had already carried his boat and "splashed" it awaiting putting the mast in place.

Mast going up!

Mast in place, it's time to rig it all to the Hunter specifications.

 The gang's all here!

Hard at work -  Pat's new friend Willard helping out.

Then they moved the boat out of the main slip and continue the rigging.  Duane, Pat and the Sailcraft rigger.

 More rigging.  Everything has to be "tuned"!

Did I mention it was raining?   Warm rain.

Duane and Buddy - soaking wet - rigging the foresail.

Time to shove off for the 15 minute trip to Pecan Grove Marina - the maiden voyage!

I love this photo!  The boys are all soaking wet!

Sharon and I drove  back to Pecan Grove to be there when the ship arrived.  Here they are coming in the channel.

Still happy and it's still raining!

Pat got all settled in at his new slip.  Here's the next day - rigging the mainsail.  Much work was accomplished, but not a lot of photos!

And Pat had his first visitors!  Carolyn and Cecil have a house nearby - so they stopped in for a visit.

And Robert drove down - here we're heading out into the sound for some sailing!

We took both boats - Pat needed to do some final rigging on his sails.  Pat and Buddy approaching our boat.

We rafted up - all the boys got on Pat's boat.  The girls stayed on the catamaran.

And off they went!

Following are just some photos of their fun sail.

Then we rafted up again for a snack.

And Robert took a few photos from Pat's boat  of the girls on the catamaran!

Sharon and I "working".

A great time!