End to an Awesome Week

Sarah and Dad

     This week spent in Cape Hatteras has been amazing. We had great wind and weather, managed to kiteboard almost every single day and got a ton of well-needed exercise. Sarah, who just learned to kite last fall, was up and going upwind with ease. It's pretty awesome when you can claim to have kiteboarded with your Dad and Sister at the same time. Being here and getting out on the water makes me look forward to Christmas in the BVIs where we can kiteboard with our brothers as well. Mom put her game face on and got out there to try flying a kite, so everyone was getting in on the fun!

Sarah in front, Nicole in back

     I am so grateful to be able to come back to this beautiful island again and again, especially after the havoc wreaked here by Hurricane Irene this fall. The damage to so many people's property is still apparent in the community of Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo where ocean-side houses are in constant danger of toppling off the sand dunes and into the ocean. Seeing the destruction caused by deadly storms reminds me of the precariousness of life here and highlights the resilience of the island’s residents as they work to repair their homes, businesses and their lives. It is such an exposed and fragile island, but that is also part of what makes it so intriguing and beautiful.

Geared-up

     Highlights of the week included: ripping through waves and feeling the salty spray on my face while kiteboarding, visiting with friends old and new, demolishing delicious dinners cooked by fellow kiters, walking on the beach, sleeping in a solid bed, and being lazy while watching tv. I'm not gonna lie, it will be hard to say goodbye this weekend; partly because it's been such a relaxing and fun week here and partly because I have so many emotional ties with this beautiful place. There's something about Cape Hatteras that just pulls you in and tries to hold you here. When I lived on the island we called it the "vortex." It's a place of such immediacy that you always live fully in the present while here. All that exists is Hatteras—the sun, the sand, the salt water. Needless to say the week has gone by with lightning speed as we begin the task of considering how to re-pack the car.

     But as we make the short drive to the boat this weekend I imagine our minds will shift back to the amazing journey begun just over two months ago and the challenges ahead of us in the coming weeks. It’s time to cast off into the Chesapeake once again and begin to prepare for our greatest task yet—sailing offshore for the British Virgin Islands and our first taste of the Caribbean.

All the best,

Nicole.

A Vacation from our Adventure

     This week we are taking a break from cruising for a kiteboarding vacation in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. On Saturday we loaded a rental car with kites, boards, and some giant bags of laundry to drive to the familiar sandy dunes of the Outer Banks. This has been a vacation spot for our family for over ten years and I had an amazing summer 2010 living in Waves and working at REAL Watersports. Seeing the long stretches of sand and scrubby bushes of the island felt like coming home.

     On Saturday we promptly pulled into the parking lot of the ranger station outside Rodanthe and Dad met up with friends for an ocean session. One of the amazing things about this island is that to one side you find the ocean, frequented by surfers and beach-goers alike during the summer months, and to the other side you find a kiteboarder's (and windsurfer's) paradise in the form of the Pamlico Sound. The shallow waters and strong winds of this area make it one of the best kiteboarding locations in the world.

     Here we will remain until next weekend basking in the luxury of sleeping in real beds and enjoying good company (including Granny H. who traveled all this way for a visit) in between kiting sessions and long beach walks.

Until next time,
Nicole.

Days in Annapolis

Bridge on Spa Creek

     On Sunday we moved to a private dock outside the condo of a friend Dad met kiteboarding in Cape Hatteras. They are such generous people letting us stay here for as long as we like and giving us use of the condo, which is up for sale. It’s a lovely spot towards the end of Spa Creek. Early Sunday morning we passed under the small lift bridge in downtown Annapolis and wove between the multitude of boats anchored and on moorings along the creek. We squeezed into another dock with pilings to settle in for a few days. It just so happened that we came in at high tide. This was lucky because at low tide the boat ends up sitting on the bottom! So it looks like we’ll have to time our departure with the tides yet again. 

      The last few days Dad has been in and out of West Marine while working hard to install our new wind generator. On Sunday Mom and I went on a long walk through downtown Annapolis exploring the numerous artisan shops scattered between clothing stores. It’s a smaller city and the downtown is beautiful with red stone streets and well-maintained buildings dating back to the War of Independence. We almost forgot it was Thanksgiving back home that day! We had a great Skype session with our awesome family who had gathered in Kingston and then had sausages for a very low key Thanksgiving dinner.  

Spa Creek

      Sarah and I have kept busy going on dinghy rides, baking, reading and catching up on some tv shows. On Tuesday Raftan moved onto a mooring right beside our dock on Spa Creek. The plan as of today is to leave Annapolis on Thursday to traverse Chesapeake Bay towards Norfolk, Virginia. We are hoping to find a secure marina in the Norfolk area to leave the boat for a few days to meet up with friends in Cape Hatteras for some kiteboarding. It looks like the road into Rodanthe reopened this Monday after the damage caused by Hurricane Irene. 
 

The oven doesn't brown things so our baked goods look white!

      I’m currently trying to convince Mom to write a post since she’s the only one who has not contributed. So if you want to hear from her about life onboard please bug her with lots of emails and comments!

Until next time,

Nicole.

When Things Go Wrong

Is there some sort of unwritten cosmic rule stating that everything has to start going down the tubes in the last week or two before a trip like this? The arrival of Hurricane Irene on the eastern coast over the weekend had us all on edge at home. All over Facebook I found pictures of the road to Cape Hatteras in pieces and news of people cut off from the island, unsure of when they'd be able to get back home. The nerves set in as we all thought about how soon we would be passing through this region on our sailboat. Hurricane season is a definite threat on a trip like this and something we need to pay close attention to.

Add to these concerns feelings of guilt and nervousness over leaving home and family, the rush of winterizing boats, cars and the house over the past week, packing everything we will need for ten months of travel, and the overall nervous anticipation of a looming departure date, and you end up with a pack of seriously stressed people. Yet regardless of all the worry there has been an underlying current of excitement because the trip is finally about to begin!

So with this combo of nerves and exhilaration brewing in my stomach on Wednesday Mom, Dad and I arrived at the boat to bring a final large car load of stuff and to spend the weekend sailing in the islands with Brooke. We loaded canned goods and other food stores, kiteboarding gear, scuba gear, clothes etc. and brought the refurbished spinnaker pole. Unfortunately the spin pole end fitting is not compatible with the mast fitting, so that adds more work for Dad.

Other than some other minor issues we had no problems until just before bed last night when our plans for leaving next Wednesday came to a screaming halt. We read online about the Erie Canal being closed...possibly for the season. Hurricane Irene caused flash flooding and damage in many places along the Erie canal and the Hudson River and it seemed as if every place we read about in the news was somewhere we were planning to be in just a few weeks.  After Dad watched a video of a bridge being washed away on the Catskill Creek in New York (the exact place we are planning to have our mast put up after the canals) it became apparent that our trip may not be possible anymore.

As you can probably guess we went through some serious emotional upheaval in just a few short minutes. Would this all be over before it even started? What other options do we have for getting down south? Is the world trying to tell us something by hurling these barriers in our way? Dad quickly looked in to taking the Champlain Canal to the Hudson River. Although it seemed to be a clear path, this plan disappeared into the night with the realization that our keel is slightly too deep for some of the locks.

After some rapid Internet searches and emotionally charged thought about our options we determined three viable choices:
1. Pay to truck the boat down to the New York coast (expensive).
2. Give up and delay the trip for a year (this one sucks to say the least).
3. Sail the St. Lawrence to the east coast and then head south (my favorite option, but the most fraught with complications. i.e. Lack of information, navigation charts, knowledge of the route and timing required).

Today we began to research the third option in hopes that we can pull it off. Dad purchased some charts  and cruising guides, has been chatting with people on sailing forums to get info about this route, and remains in close contact with our friends from Raftan about what their plans are. It is looking like it may be possible, although it is a longer route and will take more time. One of the first concerns to arise was whether it is too late in the season to go this way. But it is becoming clear that anyone hoping to get to the Caribbean from our region of the world right now will either be hitting up the Champlain Canal or the St. Lawrence to Nova Scotia route. We even had a fellow sailor on the sailing forum tell us that from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia to Bermuda to Tortola in the BVIs is just over 1550 nautical miles...only slightly longer than the Caribbean 1500 route from Norfolk, Virginia. So there is hope yet!

The past few days have been quite the emotional roller coaster, but I am determined to believe that dealing with these issues now will simply make the trip all the more worthwhile in the end. This morning Dad recognized an important possibility...that the world is trying to test us. It may just be asking, "How bad do you want it?" Well for me the answer is...pretty damn bad. Given that nothing good ever seems to come easily in this life, it is likely that this is just one more challenge sent to test our resolve. That being said, safety will always be our biggest concern and factors in to every decision now and in the future.

So despite this pretty major setback we are doing our best to strengthen our resolve, adapt our plans and continue planning a safe trip to the Caribbean. We will keep everyone posted on our plans and decisions over the next week. Wish us luck!

Kiteboarding

One of the objectives of our trip is to seek out the idyllic Caribbean kiteboarding locations that we have seen in so many videos. In order to support our quest we will be carrying kiteboarding equipment for 4 people as we have 5 active kiteboarders in the family.

We will start with 8 kites 7m, 8m, 9m, 10m, 11m, 12m , 13m, 13m, 4 kiteboards, harnesses and control bars.

Here is a video of Jon, Jamie and Brooke from earlier in the year at our house. We hope to add a Caribbean video soon!

Here is a video of Jamie snowkiting behind our home on the Ottawa River, we definitely want to replace this with a video of Caribbean colours.

Here is some kitecam action from Cape Hatteras NC