This morning I received a nice note from friend Harris. He forwarded a YouTube video and said that must be me in Elizabeth City. He was correct.
A few days before Christmas I took SPARTINA down to Elizabeth City for a test sail. I had replaced the main and jib halyards and wanted to sail with the new lines before the (now-canceled) winter sail down south. I really did not need to do a test sail but it was a good excuse for a sail on a favorite river. The crew of ARRABELLA must have been tied up at the free slips on the waterfront docks and included SPARTINA in a video about their passage down the Dismal Swamp Canal.
I do not know much ARABELLA. She appears to have been recently built by four friends and now they are taking her south. They have a YouTube channel that documents the build and their journey. I will bookmark their page and follow along. ARABELLA is a beautiful boat. And the journey is a mixture of old and new. The "old" being a traditionally built double-ended ketch, the "new" being a journey supported by YouTube videos and online donations. Interesting.
As for the canceled sail down in South Carolina, I am glad I did cancel it. Surprising cold weather has persisted for over a week, and will continue for almost another week. I can sleep comfortably on SPARTINA at 40 degrees, and have done one night at 34 degrees. But 10 or 12 days in a row at just above and below 30 degrees. It doesn't sound like fun, and it doesn't sound safe.
Next cruise: the sounds of North Carolina in May
5 comments:
I subscribe to Acorn to Arabella and I just watched the video and recognized Spartina immediately. Beautiful. (John Braisted, Pathfinder builder in Maryland. We met a couple times at the St. Michaels Small Craft Festival a couple times. Too cold for epoxy here. 😀 )
John, I remember talking with you. Hope your Pathfinder is coming along well. steve
My Pathfinder is coming along. I flipped it over last month and will be fairing and painting as soon as the weather breaks. I still have to prepare the keel and skeg. It’s motivating to see your travels. Thanks for posting here. -John
Steve, this morning the same, I bumped into and watched the Arabela video and became confused - there you were. I came onto your site to tell you.... and there you are, telling us. Wild way to start the day. I hope your halyard tests satisfied - Happy New Year and looking forward to your journeys this year!!
It is interesting to me that while sailing I have had so many chances meetings with people along the way. This line from a sailing story I read strikes me as very true: "The world felt larger than it was, and smaller too, at the same time."
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