NC Challenge

The website for the WaterTribe NC Challenge is now up, well worth a look for the adventurous, competitive sailor, kayaker and rower.  This is a very well done website with a lot of information, photos, description of the route, waypoints, and even some history of the area (nice job SandyBottom and Kiwibird!).

Bruce and I sailed a similar route on our first trip together in 2007.  We started at Harkers Island, went up Core Sound and across the bottom of Pamlico Sound to the Neuse River.  We followed the Neuse (with an great overnight stop at Oriental) to the Adams Creek Canal and followed that to Beaufort and back to Harkers Island.  The main difference for the NC Challenge is that they will take the Harlowe Canal( instead of the Adams Creek Canal) an older, shallower and more challenging passage to Beaufort.  

The route is slightly different, but really the biggest difference is that we took a leisurely six days to make our trip with stops along the way for fishing, swimming, photography and fun.  THEY will do the trip in slightly over TWO days in an expedition style race.  That is a HUGE difference.  So it is much more than the route, it is the mind set of these WaterTribe Challenges that makes them so interesting.

But I will tell you from our journey that this is fantastic water for adventures, it will be a great trip.  You can read about our trip here (my version), here (Bruce's version) and see some of our photos here.  All of that thanks to Chuck at Duckworks.

We won't be making the NC Challenge this year, that is right in the time frame when Bruce and I will be heading up Chesapeake Bay on our trip.  But I wish them all well and will be looking forward to reading about it as soon as we get back from St. Michaels.  

Steve