shifting shoals and a lost shrimp burger

Thinking about the upcoming spring sail in North Carolina, I reached out to friend Chris Farr today for some information.  Last year I struggled with shoals on my sail north from Cape Lookout Bight to Core Sound.  Early in the sail, I misread the temporary buoys around a dredging project just north of Barden Inlet and found myself stuck on a shoal.  That was my fault.  Later in the sail, about midday, I was surrounded by shoals just below the town of Atlantic.  You can see those shoals in the satellite image above.  This was not my fault.  Those shoals seem to be constantly on the move, and the few navigation markers are useless.

Looking for better options, I reached out to Chris and had a text discussion about the shoaling and different canals.  Chris does a lot of sailing in the area with his family on board the Menger Cat TIGGY and knows the area well.  He confirmed that Salters Creek Canal, which begins below Atlantic, is navigable and leads north to Long Bay.  From Long Bay, I can head north, east or west.  Perfect.  Thanks for the information, Chris.  

Looking at the charts and satellite images of the area reminded me of shrimp burgers I had years ago when sailing Core Sound (back when there was less shoaling and the nav markers actually meant something).    I could not remember the name or location of this great little waterfront restaurant, so I had to dig back into the logs for some information.  The place was called The Grill and it was perched on the shore of Core Sound at Morris Marina.  

It was easy access from the sound, located just about where "Morris Marina Ferry" is marked at the bottom right of the satellite image below.  There was plenty of space for tying up SPARTINA, and it made for a nice lunch stop on the way up or down Core Sound.  

The image above shows that the marina is being (or was - there is no date on the image) developed and the The Grill, which only served a handful of locals and a wayward sailor or two, no longer exists.  I am glad for the memories or those early cruises, and the great shrimp burgers enjoyed along the way.

 

1200 miles…

I’ve got SPARTINA on the river and have been doing a lot of day sailing, spectacular day sailing.  Blue skies and some very good wind.  I was out a few days ago and saw this little trimaran come around the bend from the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River.  I was glad to see the boat, I had been the only sailboat on the river all day and was pleased to have the company of some local folks out for a nice day sail….or so I thought.

As the boat got closer, I could see lots of gear neatly secured on the boat.  They were cruisers!  “Where are you headed?” I asked.  The man on board pointed past me and said “That red buoy right there, that’s our finish line!”  It was Brian and Janet on board.  They had launched out of Key Largo on January 1 and spent 82 days working their way up the ICW.  How great is that?  “1200 miles, the long miles,” Brian said.  The destination was red channel marker “36”, which also doubles as Mile Marker “0” on the ICW.  We spoke just briefly, long enough to get the impression that they camped ashore along the way.  I knew they wanted to celebrate, so I said goodbye and sailed off.  What a great journey they must have had.

*quick update - Brian just sent me this link to the online journal about their trip

I’ve rec’d a few questions about the Pathfinder capsize test video in my last post.  Am I concerned about SPARTINA capsizing and going turtle?  Not in the least.   

I messaged ANTARES and was told that the only ballast on the boat for the test was the designed weight put into the centerboard.  My set of plans shows that to be 44 pounds of lead (my plans are about 20 years old so that might have changed).  SPARTINA carries about 200 pounds of ballast in the form of the steel plate centerboard (100 pounds), lead on either side of the cb trunk (60 pounds) and water stored below the bunk flat (somewhere around 40 pounds).  

Three guys in the video of the test had a difficult time of capsizing the boat.  Pathfinders are solid boats (the first comment for many people getting on SPARTINA for the first time is about how stable the boat feels).  As for turning turtle, with wooden spars above (ANTARES speculates about metal vs. wooden masts in the video) and all that ballast below, I have a difficult time imagining SPARTINA turning turtle.  I hope never to find out.

Add to the above, 18 years of sailing the Pathfinder in all sorts of conditions where I never even felt close to capsizing.  (I’ll point out the obvious: matching sail configuration to wind and wave conditions is critical to safe, comfortable sailing.). Yes, I’ve inadvertently put the rail under and taken water on board, one time putting a lot of water on the bunk flat and aft cockpit. (I knew it was a lot of water when I saw my brand new mini-IPad floating by in a cheap plastic case!)  No big deal, round up, bail out and keep on going. 

I do think there is value for any small boat sailor in seeing the capsize video and much appreciate it being posted.

 I’ll have SPARTINA on the river for maybe another week, then haul out for some maintenance prior to the spring cruise in North Carolina.

capsize test and a cabin Pathfinder

Matt, who sails the Pathfinder TRIM, sent the link to the video above, a capsize test of the Pathfinder ANTARES.  Years ago I saw a video of a Navigator capsize test.  That boat went on its side and, if memory serves, was easily righted by the sailor climbing up on the centerboard.  With the Pathfinder above, the boat turned turtle making for a much more complicated recovery.  

I have sent a comment on the video asking how much ballast ANATARES carries.  I believe SPARTINA, which has a 100 pound steel plate centerboard, carries more ballast than most Pathfinders.  Total for SPARTINA, including centerboard, lead on either side of the centerboard trunk and water ballast, comes to about 200 pounds total ballast.  I hope to never capsize SPARTINA, but this video shares some good information.  

 I received an anonymous comment about this video on the Small Craft Tasmania YouTube channel.  It is about FAIR WIND, a very Pathfinder with a cabin.  It is a beautiful boat and the video is well worth watching.  While at the Small Craft Tasmania channel, you might take a look at Episodes 30-40 which feature John Welsford.  

I agree that this boat is one of the best Pathfinder builds out there.  A lot of skill went into that boat.  I am not sure that I would want a cabin on the boat.  For now, I prefer the open cockpit on my "rough around the edges" SPARTINA.

oh, and about that trip to New Zealand...

Sharks at the boat ramp, mussels with green lips, 

boats with wheels, horses running on the beach 

and eels slithering out of the creek.

  It was a great trip.

 

we finally meet

After twenty years now, I finally met John Welsford, the man who quite literally changed my life.  And I was able to tell him that, shake his hand and thank him.

My wife and I are back from four weeks in New Zealand.  On our second to last day in New Zealand, the Pilgrim and I were hiking on Rangitoto, a volcanic island just outside Auckland's harbor.  

As we stood at the peak, I looked around and could see some wonderful protected harbors below.  I thought back twenty years to when I came across a blog (no longer existent) that was called something like openboatnz.  It was published by a man named David.  He sailed a boat called a Navigator, designed by his fellow-Kiwi John Welsford.  I can remember distinctly David writing about doing two and three-day cruises out of Auckland to Rangitoto, anchoring in those nice little coves, knocking a few oysters off the rocks and making oyster omelettes for breakfast.   And I thought it was oh-so-wonderful.  Maybe I could do something like that someday....

Reading that blog about a Navigator led me to John Welsford.  John Welsford's site led me to his just-off-the-boards Pathfinder design.  Because of John's approach to boatbuilding, I was able to build SPARTINA.  First it was day-sailing, then four-day trips, week-long trips, two weeks and now four or five week trips.  Maine, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.  Almost most too many miles to remember.  And along the way I met new friends, the truest and best friends I have known.

So standing there on Rangitoto, I felt like life had somehow come full circle.  Twenty years ago David was sailing a Welsford boat, now I am sailing a Welsford boat.  And I got to spend time with John Welsford to talk about it all.  How nice!

What is John like?  He was friendly, modest, and incredibly welcoming to us.  He insisted on picking us up at the airport in Rotorua, then insisted on bringing us out to his home for a tour of his workshop, followed by dinner.  

John is very proud of his designs (deservedly so) and enjoyed telling us about local sailing clubs where out of a dozen boats in the club, most of them were his designs.  He delights in tales of journeys people have made with his boats, his great memories of boat building camps where he would coach a dozen or so people in building one of his designs and the satisfaction he finds when people sail his boats.

The stories came tumbling out of John.  Stories of people and places, his many years of sailing his boats in New Zealand.  He talked about what is important in his designs, emphasizing his basic theory that comfort on a boat equals safety.  So comfort is a factor in every one of his drawings.  I was interested to see a new design on his drawing board, he is still at it.

We spent a long evening chatting in his dining room, then met again a couple of days later for dinner at a nice restaurant in town.  I wish we had booked a few more days in Rotorua, but time came for us to leave.  Over ice cream cones down by the lake front we said our goodbyes, and I thanked him one more time for what he had done for me.

this is a test....

 I have been gone for a while.  Both physically, and online.  Spent four excellent weeks in New Zealand.  I hope to write about this soon.  And I've been offline because of computer problems.  I think I have the new (to me) computer up and running now.  This is a test to see if that is the case.

Photo is from maybe 10 or 15 years ago, made with a GoPro strapped to the peak of the gaff.

New Zealand on the half-shell

and a few other meals…

 

Paihia to Opua

I misread the map on my phone.   I thought it said the trail from Paihia to Opua was 2.4 miles.   It in fact read 2.4 to the head of the sail.  And then 2.6+ to Opua itself.  No worries.  It was a great hike with the Pilgrim.  Hills and valleys, tiny little beaches, thick canopies of trees and then a walk over a bridge through what looked like a mangrove swamp.  The reward: a visit to a beautiful little waterfront surrounded by boats.  And then a second reward: a fantastic lunch in a little cafe.