Dark and Wet

Pamlico 2016    May 5     
Day 2

 

Up at sunrise, I turned Annie south. Once we cleared Jones Bay and entered Pamlico Sound the wind picked up from the NE and the waves steadily grew. The clouds were low and dark and I got a bit apprehensive. Tacking downwind oriented better with the chop than running. The waves were 2 -3 ft in close intervals. Mid morning the wind clocked around to the east and carried us to Oriental on the Neuse River.

 

 

The Oriental harbor was protected and I rounded up on the city dock in front of the Bean Coffee House. The weather report was knarly, and even though it was early, I decided to lay up for the night. Put up the cockpit tent, worked on composition sketches and sat out a 3 hour downpour. Dinner at the local dockside grill with a Canadian sailor and a nice, quiet, chopless sleep.

30.6 k miles, 7.3 kt max speed over bottom, 4.9 average, 6.5 hr moving time.

 

 

 

 

  

Watch Out Above

Pamlico 2016    May 4     
Day 1 

I arrived at Ben's house on Put-in Creek where it flows into the East River. It had been raining hard for two days but the forecast claimed a respite for the next few. It was 0700 when I arrived, all quiet. My plan was to grab Annie and be on my way without a bother. As I started backing in the truck sank. It was like quicksand. It was a problem.

Ben's tenant came out first from his apartment above the wood shop. We tried boards and bricks and pushing and nothing helped. And the truck was 10 feet from Annie.

Ben appeared and said he would fetch his tractor next door. Rain fell without any regard. The truck was bridled with chain and drug out. Then Annie... tongue chained high. Finally we got rehitched and washed off a bit and were saying goodbye as I drove out an hour later than expected. The rain kept falling.

There are no images of this task, I was just too consumed. Thanks to Ben and Troy for all the muddy work. Good friends.



Heading south was uneventful and 3+ hours later I turned onto the Hobucken road deep in eastern North Carolina. Turning in to Pate Boatyard I found the self-proclaimed 'HoBuccaneers' congregated in the old boathouse enjoying a brew and immediately ready to help me in any way. Shawn, the owner, gave me a coveted Goose Creek Island sticker and after chatting a bit, I went to ready Annie for launch. The ramp was only inches wider than my 8 foot rig and the pine limbs just dipped down shy of the raised mast. Then it dumped.

Ferocious winds, pelting rain and hail. The boathouse started flooding. I bummed a beer. In 15 minutes it was over. The hail had ripped at the pine above Annie. Her decks were covered with needles and bark. The cockpit had a layer Sno-Cone size ice.

We launched and headed out the cut to Jones Bay. Heading SE I turned into Ditch Creek, anchored in the quiet evening and figured this would be an interesting trip, all things considered.

Pamlico 2016 Preface

April 30 (one week before departure)

Annie has been at Morningstar Marina across from Gwynn's Island over the winter. I had received a notice that their rates were going up substantially and seeing that it only included a parking spot in a field, I started looking elsewhere. I did however, before leaving flush the engine, having been winterized. Problem: no water pumping through. I had not replaced the impeller since commissioning in 2007 for it had always worked perfectly. Guess that's no excuse for preventative scheduled maintenance. To further complicate I had not brought sufficient tools.

I was able to locate a kit. The yard had a guy that worked on motors but proved to be a bit challenged. He struggled with reattaching the shift linkage and I was charged less hours due to his shortcomings. Four hours (!) later she was pumping like a champ.

My gallery owner Ben invited me to move over to his house on East River below Mathews. We backed in beside a shed and I went home to wait out the rain prior to heading south.

Back in Richmond

I returned home Thursday night after a week of sailing in around the Pamlico Sound. It started off tumultuous and ending hot and still with a bit of everything in between. I really glad that I still have what it demands... and very appreciative of all that it gives back. More later.

On the Pamlico River

Jury rig... new shop project on return

36 mi, 11 hrs. Hard Fought. Happy Hour.

Lunch Core Sound Style

Drying Out... East of Beaufort

Holed Up in Oriental

Heading Down the Rain Road

Break in Weather

It appears that the rain that we have been having will subside somewhat in NC after May 4... my drive day. That would be nice.

Oriental, NC  The light blue is chance of rain and the black line shows a rising barometer

Becky Thatcher For Sale.... again

I just found out that the man I sold my Drascombe Scaffie to 5 years ago has it for sale $3700. The boat is pretty much the same as when I had her, with Honda 2 hp, trailer, full factory tent, etc. If you are interested comment or send email. Sweet.

 

Wait a Little More

Today I decided to postpone my Outer Banks departure of May 1 for another week. There is a good bit of rain in the forecast and I'm hoping that waiting will give it time to clear. But who knows, weather is unpredictable in this changing season and with global warming (of which I believe)... we'll just see. Grabbed more food and batteries and continue going through provision lists. There are many that are collecting in the paperwork, some going back for just shy of forty years. One listed some 'vices' I gave up long ago. Oh well.

Just remembered: the Costa Rica coffee maker friend Terry made me. Still a vice...

Deadrise Rising

Dialing back a month or so....

In late February I drove east to see how Annie had faired during our absence and check in at the maritime museum in Deltaville. While I was away John England and crew had made great progress on a 20 foot deadrise skiff. He and Johnnie were setting frames and readying to lay in the final planks. The work was superb, like they had been turning them out for years. Here is a look from then. I'm sure they are closing in on the finish by now. Got to get back down!

 

A Memorable Winter

Spring is here and I am not ready. My cruising itch has returned but my head and body has been everywhere. That's not to say that it has been static, just different. Eleanor and I spent a chunk of the winter as artists-in-residence in a small mountain town in Costa Rica. We taught kids and adults, worked on our personal projects and immersed ourselves in the community. My Spanish improved  living with a Tico family, but I am losing it just as fast. I got an app.... now to practice for our return next year.

Annie's spars are newly varnished and I am sorting through gear and stashing food stuffs for a May sail in the sounds and rivers of eastern North Carolina. Just ordered a portable charger for my phone. I don't know that I will need it, as I don't use the phone much on the boat, but one can never have enough back up.

The beginning of May looks to be a good time to set out. First to Mathews County to load up and then south through eastern Virginia and on to Hobucken, a small town that my friend Steve speaks highly of. He may be in the area at that time and we always enjoy an unplanned get-together.

In honor of this plan (and to keep me focused) ... here are some pics from past spring trips...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ready for Planking?

I saw these sugar cane trailers yesterday in the Costa Rican mountains. The 'ribs' reminded me of old boats.

Early January

After a long absence here's to catchin' up...

The Urbanna art show this past fall went well. I exhibited 34 pieces and got a good reception, sold several, and felt like the past year-and-a half's work was worth the effort. I learned a lot and will continue. Thank you to all of my friends and family for your encouragement.


A new extension on the studio is complete. A covered pavilion doubles the work space and gives me ample room to work on maintenance projects for Annie as well as sculpture.


I finished winterizing Annie last week. All the spars are being revarnished in the studio and the gear is being organized in the basement. I want to modify our alley fence to be able to drive Annie into the back yard. Will be in Costa Rica this winter and would be nice to have her here for her spring commission when I get back.


Just back from Urbanna working on the F. D. Crockett buyboat exhibit at the Deltaville Maritime Museum. John and Vera England have spent untold hours telling the boat's story and my job will be to help designing graphic panels and getting them produced. After 35 years in museum design, it is nice to work on this very worthwhile maritime project.

Out of My Hands

We delivered the paintings to Urbanna Harbor Gallery today. I am relieved that there is now space in the studio but a bit off by the loss. It always seems to be a mixed bag. Hoping to see friends this weekend at the opening. Thanks to all of you for the encouragement.

George Butler, Reedville Marine Railway

 

 

 

acrylic on canvas 24" x 24"

© Curtis Bowman 2015

Long Live Belle Starr

Final Step

Work

© Curtis Bowman

 

Preliminary Step

Blocking in a painting of transferring oysters from retrieved traps...

An Early Morning Retake

Modern shrimping as we know it was 'born' in Fernandina, Florida in the first decade of the 20th century. Immigrant fishermen, notably Italian, first adapted a small otter trawl to internal combustion-powered wooden boats. This enabled them to build an industry that spread, in the early years along the southeast US coast, to Key West, and the Gulf of Mexico. It is now one of the world's most popular seafood, harvested by factory ships. The old wood shrimpers are mostly gone.

I researched, wrote monographs, presented findings and developed exhibits about it. But that was years ago. It again comes to mind when we visit family in the low country of Georgia.

Earlier this year:
Eleanor and I had gotten up early in her brother's old Victorian veiled with Spanish moss hanging from old live oaks. We were in the old town area of Brunswick, Georgia and were off to sketch and paint a quick watercolor before the heat set in. I noticed an old packing house sign at the entrance to a tree-covered sand road. We ducked in and found a shrimp boat dock stuck back in an earlier time. Crew had shuffled off the boats, where I expect they may have lived, to sit on a variety of worn-out lawn chairs and drink coffee. They were cordial but pretty much ignored us.

Eleanor recorded the view. We drew but mostly I smelled the salt and muck and thought about the past.