Windfall

SCHOONER WEATHER!

2012-01-29T10:13:00.000-05:00

As I write this on one of the last daysof January I'm down in the newly re-upholstered saloon of myschooner, sitting at the dinette table with the oil lamp swingingrhythmically overhead. The weather's fantastic! It's sixty-eightdegrees with blinding rain and a southwest breeze of thirty knotsgusting to forty. The little vessel is pitching and rolling in herdock slip with such spirit that it's easy to imagine myself at sea inany number of places she's taken me. Springsteen on the stereo. Life is good.

What a January it's been! Yesterdayafternoon it was even warmer than this without all the wind and rain. As soon as my son Emmet got out of school I took him and threefriends out for a sail. We went out to the end of Nine-foot ShoalChannel. As we beat back against the increasing breeze the sun beganto set and we broke out our fleeces. The boy took the helm and Iwent below to brew a pot of tea. Back at the dock, as we weresecuring the boat and putting on the sail covers, we were evengreeted by a few mosquitoes, kindly reminding us that summer is notreally so far away.

Many thanks to Lou Ann Homan for thephotos of Emmet.

Can it really be January 27th?

Rigging the "fisherman."

Chilly as the sun set.

OCRACOKE'S NEW CURRENT

2012-01-21T17:09:00.000-05:00

The big news this week is, well, the news!I'm referring to the brand new online news site, The Ocracoke Currentwhich went active yesterday. This is the brainchild of my wife Sundae Horn and her partner in crime, Jenny Scarborough.These two industrious young women have been talking about doing something like this ever since they gave up collaborating on the Ocracoke Observer nearly a decade ago. When they called in the assistance of internet expert Carol Pahl a couple of weeks ago it began to appear that the idea was more than just talk. And then, early yesterday morning, voila!

They've dragged me aboard to contribute a regular weekly column entitled "The Shipping News." Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "They think Rob's going to make 'regular weekly' posts? In their dreams!" So, as you can understand, I'll probably be pretty busy in the coming weeks and may not be able to keep up this blog with the dependable regularity you've come to expect. Just kidding!

Actually, I think the girls have done a terrific job so far (if I say so myself). But I hope that, rather than take my word for it, you'll check it out for yourselves: www.ocracokecurrent.com.

If you like it, please spread the word! Thanks.

Jenny and Sundae at work. (Mariah's with the band).

FALL SAILING

2011-12-22T21:07:00.004-05:00

Here we are at the winter solstice already! I celebrated it by taking the family out on a sail. Actually, Emmet took us out; I handled the dock lines and hoisted the sails. The wind was light, but since it was seventy degrees, we really couldn't pass it up. We had a better breeze two days ago when Emmet and I set out to explore Nine Foot Shoal Channel. I hadn't tried that in years since the last time I took the older, larger Windfall in there on a sunset cruise and touched bottom in a few spots. It was a piece of cake with the new schooner and we sailed clear out to the open sound and back without seeing less than six feet on the fathometer.

I can only hope that this mild weather continues into the winter. About a month ago, my friend Bill and I took a three day cruise to "little" Washington and back. We'd taken on a supply of fresh shrimp so when we got to the dock at Pamlico Plantation, we had our friends Frank and Patti aboard for Frogmore Stew (something I hadn't had since my Hilton Head days back in the 80's). I know that most of you (if not all THREE) who read this "blog" have probably been aboard for a day sail or two, but the little schooner is a pure joy to cruise in. Her only drawback is the ghastly faded pink upholstery which Sundae is currently in the process of replacing for my Christmas present. The new fabric is a nice Scotch plaid which almost cries out for a tired old salt to sit down 'neath the oil light for a wee dram o' single malt!

Merry Christmas!

OCRAFOLK SCHOOL BETTER THAN EVER

2011-11-01T10:31:00.004-04:00

Last week the Ocrafolk School convened for its fifth annual session. A combination of old friends from past sessions,interesting new students, a couple of new course offerings and ideal weather conditions made for what most students and staff agree was the best session ever. This year Debbie Block from Massachusetts joined the faculty with a course on English paper-piecing (a quilting technique) and Gary Mitchell taught a special Ocracoke music course. Both courses got great reviews from the participants.

And of course Debbie Wells's ever-popular cooking class was once again a big hit, not only with her students, but with the entire group who enjoyed their breakfast finale.
Ann Ehringhaus once again taught her photography class which treated us all to a splendid slide show on Friday ("show and tell day"). Ann took the picture of the faculty and student body seen here. Also Philip Howard, Dave Frum and I conducted our "Ocracoke Sampler" class which included a trip to Portsmouth, an all-day schooner cruise, kayaking and clamming as well as the creation and consumption of a traditional Ocracoke fig cake and some meal wine.

For anyone interested in a real learning vacation at Ocracoke, I highly recommend that you sign up early for next October's session. You can find out more on the website: www.ocrafolkschool.org.

The season is gradually winding down and the fall weather beckons. Since I won't be able to join my friend Tony on his annual boat delivery to the Bahamas this year due to other obligations, I think I'll cast off the dock lines early Sunday morning for a few days of cruising on Pamlico Sound. So far, the forecast is perfect!

INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY

2011-09-18T21:29:00.002-04:00

Avast me hearties! It’s Talk Like Pirate Day!

Ahoy there all ye stout lads and saucy lasses! This be Captain Larboard Slushbucket, ye trusty advisor in all matters piratical. As ye well know, September 19th be International Talk Like a Pirate Day and it’s my aim herein to put ye on course for some proper piratical discourse so drop ye anchor for a gam [chat] and I’ll fill you to the gunn’ls with some salty terminology.

First off we’ll get underway with getting’ yer bearin’s. Never say “left” or “right.” That’s lubberly talk and ye best clap a stopper on it and stow it below. It’s always “port” and “starboard” and ye’ve got me starboard flipper [right hand] on that. Avast [stop!] saying “front” and “back.” It should always be “fore” and “aft.” When a pirate goes upstairs he “lays aloft” and when he comes back down he “goes below.” The bathroom’s the “head” and the kitchen’s the “galley.” If you like a wench’s looks, ye could say ye like “the cut of her jib.”

On this special day, I’d advise making liberal use of ye Pyrate’s Alphabet. Having only two letters, it doesn’t take long to learn: “Aye!” and “Ahhrrr!” Whenever anyone says something ye like or agree with just bellow out, “AYE!” And when they say anything ye disagree with, don’t like or don’t understand, or to which ye can’t think of a fitting response, just yell, “AAAHHHRRRR!”

YOUR BOSS: “Great weather we’re having isn’t it?
YOU: “AYE, CAP’M!”

YOUR BOSS: “So I was thinking you wouldn’t mind taking out the trash and sweeping the parking lot.”
YOU: “AAHHHRRRR!”

Here are a few other expressions to throw around when you’re practicing piracy:

Fire a shot across his bow = give him a warning
He slipped his cable = he died
There’s rocks to yer lee = you’re heading for trouble
Sun’s over the yardarm = it’s cocktail hour and time to...
Splice the mainbrace = have a drink of...
Grog = booze (usually a mixture of rum, water & lime juice)
Spin me a yarn = tell me a story
There’s the devil to pay and no pitch hot = we’re in a tough situation
Scuttlebutt = rumor
By the wind = broke, penniless
Shipshape and Bristol fashion = tidy and neat
Making heavy weather = exaggerating the difficulty of a job
Round the buoy = take a second helping at meals
Sojering = shirking when work is to be done
Lash up = temporary or sloppy job
Half shot or half seas under = nearly drunk
Three sheets to the wind = totally drunk
Shot in the locker = money left over after an evening’s carouse.

Fair winds to ye now, and smooth sailing on September 19th!

5th ANNUAL OCRAFOLK SCHOOL SESSION

2011-09-05T22:11:00.003-04:00

This morning I attended a planning session for the 5th annual Ocrafolk School to be held October 23- 28, 2011. Turns out there's room for a few more lucky participants for next month's term. Once again this year, Dave Frum, Philip Howard and I will be teaching the "Sampler" class. But there are several other exciting offerings including Debbie Wells's ever-popular cooking class (yum!). Chances are if you read my blog you probably already know enough about Ocracoke to be familiar with the folk school, but on the outside chance that there may be a few readers who haven't gotten the word, please check it out at: www.ocrafolkschool.org.

P.S. I just checked out the website for the first time today and, while I think it's really great by and large, I was mortified by the photo of the Turk's head bracelet which displays an obvious flaw! Trust me: I won't let you go home with a bracelet like that.

OCRACOKE DODGES ANOTHER BULLET (well, sorta...)

2011-09-04T17:09:00.002-04:00

Like so many recent hurricanes, Irene seems to have caused far more damage to our neighbors up the beach and across the sound than to Ocracoke. Remarkably, there was no flooding on Ocracoke and, although there was a lot of wind for quite a while, there was very little damage. The worst result for us here on the island is the damage to N.C. 12 and to the power line (both on Hatteras Island) which has necessitated closing the island to visitors through the Labor Day weekend. Rumors abound and I'm not sure how much to trust much of the information I'm getting, but I've heard that the restoration of our electricity may permit reopening to tourists early next week. It appears that the damage to Highway 12 may not be repaired enough to allow traffic from the north for several weeks to come, however, so our only access will be via the Cedar Island and Swan Quarter ferries.

In an effort to make the best of an unfortunate situation, our family (complete with dog AND cat!) took a little "evacu-cation" to visit inlaws in Columbus, Ohio. It was fun and we drove through the night on our return in time to catch the 10 a.m. ferry at Swan Quarter on Tuesday. All three kids resumed school on Thursday but only for half days Thursday and Friday.

I took the older two kids on a little sailing cruise across the sound. We left Friday (I know, I know, but I'm not a superstitious sailor!) at 1 p.m. and sailed over to a beautiful anchorage in the lee of Judith Island. Saturday morning we sailed up the Pamlico River and when I gave the kids the choice between visiting Bath or Aurora, they chose the latter. We docked up, and walked up the street, not knowing what to expect in a town alleged to have recently experienced serious flooding. To our surprise, the place was fairly well cleaned up and the Fossil Museum was even open, as was the Piggly Wiggly and a surprisingly good local restaurant. We cast off at 5 p.m. and motored down stream to an anchorage off the village of South Creek.

There was no wind this morning, so we had to motor all the way back to Ocracoke, arriving at 2 p.m. It's nice to put up the sails now and again and just keep on sailing over the horizon!

While all of us here on the island wish we could still be in the peak of the season with cash registers buzzing away, it's nice to kick back a bit and take a breather. Philip Howard has put together a traditional Ocracoke square dance at the Community Center this evening. I've got to go shower and put on my dancing shoes!

Before signing off, I'd like to thank the many of you who phoned and e-mailed with expressions of concern and, in many cases, offers of refuge. One of the few really good things to come of these natural disasters is the reminder of how many really good friends we have scattered far and wide. Thanks!

BUSY SEASON

2011-08-01T11:00:00.003-04:00

The season is now in full swing! Hard to believe it's already August. For the past two weeks the Windfall II has been sailing four and sometimes five cruises a day. The sailing school has been as busy as I want it to be, considering the high temperatures and I've had some really great students. By now I've recovered my investment in the teaching sloop, but who needs more boats? (see "Plures Naves Quam Mentes")

The regular mate, 16-year-old son Emmet just got back from a couple of weeks in Florida and South Carolina trying to catch up on some summer fun. While he was off the island, 12-year-old daughter Caroline stepped up to the plate and did a terrific job as crew. A few nights ago one of our kind passengers e-mailed this photo of us returning to the dock. She's saving her tip money for a September trip to Austin, TX to visit her cousins. Not hot enough for her here in N.C., I suppose!

FACEBOOK

2011-05-11T22:25:00.000-04:00

Our facebook page (so I'm told) is: Schooner Windfall II Charters and Sailing School. Sundae's shop is: The Black Schooner. Check 'em out.

WE'RE ON FACEBOOK! (or so I'm told...)

2011-05-02T11:54:00.005-04:00

My wife, Sundae of the Black Schooner Nautical Shop, informs me that we are now on facebook so you can "like" us. Well, being an old gaff-rigged sailor, I'm not too sure what all that means. They tell me facebook is a great way to reconnect with folks from your distant past. I can think of some folks in my distant past I'd just as soon keep right there, but if that's what it takes to be "liked," I guess I'm fer it.

Philip Howard and I took my sailing school's newly-acquired Rainbow sloop out a couple of days ago and as luck would have it, Ruth Fordon and her husband Ken came cruising by in their outboard and Ruth took some photos. I'll post them here if I can figure out how to get them from her e-mail to this site. (There! I managed to "upload" some. Yeah, I know -- the jib halyard's too slack!)

The Rainbow is really fun to sail! I took my girls out yesterday in a light breeze and about a dozen dolphins met us right outside the harbor. Four-year-old Mariah Daisy was ecstatic when they came up almost within touching range.

"I saw one of them's face!" she exclaimed, "It smiled at me!"

Sailing School

2011-04-29T23:46:00.002-04:00

To address some recent comments: We're planning to start a basic beginner's course to be taught from 9 a.m. until noon on two consecutive mornings. The first hour of the first day will be in the classroom. The rest of the course will be aboard our 24' Rainbow sloop. There'll be a minimum of two and maximum of five students per class.
The introductory tuition is $150. I'm aware of the need for sailboat rentals here but at present am unfortunately not prepared to meet that need. My goal for the course is to take total beginners to the point where they can single hand a vessel of this size in reasonable conditions. For that reason, the schedule will be largely determined by weather.

BLACK SCHOONER NAUTICAL SHOP

2011-04-13T21:49:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, April 16th, my wife Sundae plans to launch her latest enterprise, the Black Schooner Nautical Shop in the old Williams House at the foot of our dock in the Community Square. As she summarized in our new rack card:

"This old island home houses a treasure trove of nautical gifts and décor right on the water in the heart of Ocracoke village. Artwork, ropework, scrimshaw, jewelry, reclaimed sail bags, and handcrafted items from the nautical tradition harken back to the days of wooden ships and iron men. Here you can find great gifts for sailors, master mariners, or anyone who hears the call of the sea."

For the past few weeks I've felt like a kid on Christmas morning, opening various shipments of the kind of stuff I love to browse through in places like Mystic Seaport. And, for awhile at least, it's MINE!

In addition to new gift items, the shop features a number of souvenir items made from salvaged parts of our old schooner such as the hand-crafted tote bags Amy Howard has made out of our old sails and beautiful half-models mounted on the original mahogany hatches made by our friend Jim Goodwin. Next time you're on the island, come check it out!

Plures Naves Quam Mentes

2011-02-12T06:49:00.002-05:00

Some time back, my wife bought me a T-shirt in Maine with that phrase on the back. if I correctly recall my Latin from 48 years ago, it means somehing like: "More boats than sense." (If I don't then, obviously, it means something else!) Anyway, the phrase came to mind a couple of days ago when I agreed to sell my 15' fiberglass canoe to a seasonal visitor who wants to get on the water to take some photos.

The canoe has been in my back yard for quite some time, neatly stacked on my 10' Whitehall sailing dinghy.

"How long have you owned the canoe?" the buyer asked me. After thinking for a minute I said, "I think about eight years."

"When did you use it last?" he then asked and after a bit of thought I said, "I guess about eight years ago."

We were at a potluck dinner and my wife chimed in, "That's when we bought the Honda Odyssey with the roof rack so you could carry the canoe down to Florida and back every year. After the first year we left the canoe at home and rented whenever we wanted to go canoeing. I always hated that car."

I am making headway, though. Last year, after replacing my 57' schooner Windfall with the 40' schooner Windfall II, I managed to sell the 8' Trinka that used to hang from the stern in davits.

And, although I don't feel quite ready to part with the 10' inflatable I bought the last year we were in Florida, the 18' Herreschoff America catboat on a trailer in my driveway is seriously for sale.

I need that space for the 24' Rainbow sloop I'm in the process of buying to teach sailing lessons.

21st Annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race

2010-10-24T22:01:00.011-04:00

Friends Philip, Frank and Steve joined my son Emmet and me once again this month for the GCBSR. This is the same terrific crew I had two years ago on my original Windfall. It was a great cruise to Baltimore and back with lots of fun and excitement even though gale force winds off the mouth of the Potomac caused us retire from the race and use the engine to reduce sail so as not to risk damage to sails and rigging. We still managed to continue to Portsmouth for the festivities there.

Frank brought the only camera so I'll post some of his photos.

OCRACOKE DODGES ANOTHER BULLET

2010-09-06T07:53:00.004-04:00

Well, Hurricane Earl has come and gone with no damage to Ocracoke other than to the first part of our Labor Day weekend business (which, of course, is nothing to sneeze at). It could have been much, much worse. The storm served as a drill opportunity for the inevitable "Big One." It gave us a chance to put our new schooner into hurricane prep mode (see photo). The family was originally planning to ride it out at home, but when school was cancelled until after the holiday, we began to see it as a chance to have a last bit of summer fun somewhere else.

We ended up driving to Raleigh, checking into a hotel for 3 nights and taking the kids to the museums. On Friday evening we went over to Chapel Hill where we had dinner with other Ocracoke refugee friends and my old UNC roommate and his wife. Then we all took in a great puppet show at the Forrest Theatre. It was called Islands Unknown by a talented group known as Paperhand Puppet Intervention. Four-year-old Mariah loved it even though the social commentary was a bit over her head.

We returned Saturday afternoon via Cedar Island and had a full sunset cruise Sunday evening.

It's great to be back under sail!

BAHAMAS ANYONE?

2010-08-30T21:37:00.001-04:00

It’s not easy sitting here in the Outer Banks when the autumn breeze starts to brisk up and all the birds start flying south. It’s even worse when everyone I know with a boat is talking about sailing to the Bahamas in November. I mentioned as much to my “admiral” the other day and to my surprise she said, “Go for it.”

“But I’ve got bills to pay and some things to catch up on,” I protested. “Maybe I should put it off until next year.”

“I don’t think you should put it off,” she said.

“Do you know something I don’t?” I asked suspiciously. “You been talking to my doctor?”

Well the upshot of it all is that I’m seriously contemplating an early November departure for the Abacos and it would assuage my conscience if I could take on a few paying passengers to justify the expense.

Over the years, many of my day passengers have commented that they would like to make such a voyage in whole or in part, so I’m putting this out there in case any such folks are reading this blog and might be serious about such a venture. I’d be leaving Ocracoke during the first week of November and heading down the coast to Ft. Pierce or West Palm (which can take between one and two weeks depending on weather and fitness of the crew for offshore passage-making). The next several days would be spent crossing the Gulf Stream and island-hopping to Green Turtle Cay, Great Guana Cay or Man-o-war Cay where we’d leave the boat and fly back in order to be home for Thanksgiving.

The schooner, while rather small, has most of the amenities generally found on cruising boats: hot shower, refrigerator/freezer, Bimini awning, cockpit table, autopilot, chart plotter, 10’ inflatable dinghy with outboard. While there are numerous larger charter boats available for such a cruise, only a very few have skippers with as much experience.

I’ve been cruising between N.C. and South Florida since 1974, made my first of many crossings to the Bahamas in 1979 and have held a U.S.C.G. captain’s license since 1978.

I’ve made well over fifty passages through the Intracoastal Waterway during that time and consider myself as knowledgeable a tour guide as any.

The ideal passenger for this trip would be someone who has long been contemplating a trip like this on their own vessel and wants to learn as much as possible about sailing and cruising beforehand.

If interested, send me an e-mail and we’ll explore the possibilities further.

INDEPENDENCE DAY 2010

2010-07-05T00:08:00.003-04:00

JULY 4, 2010

Independence Day, 2010 will be over now in forty minutes. My wife and daughters are in Ohio visiting family so Emmet, my 15-year-old son, and I have been roughing it for a couple of weeks. The girls should be back Tuesday.

It’s the first July 4 we’ve ever spent here without the whole family being here, but Sundae’s mom passed away suddenly on March 2 and there were some things she had to take care of. We did a lot of the things we always do on the fourth: went and looked at the antique cars on the Pony Island Motel lawn. Turned out we were too late to see the sky divers who’d already landed safely by the time we got there. Never made it out to the beach to see the sand sculptures. And, since 4-year-old Mariah Daisy wasn’t here, we didn’t even bother to go see the wild ponies.

I even broke a long-standing tradition and took a couple of sailing tours out on my new schooner. My policy, since about 13 years ago has been to take the 4th off. Seems like half the people who signed up to sail with us in those days didn’t show up and the half that did were so wasted that I wished they hadn’t! “If you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em” became my Independence Day motto.

Yesterday afternoon, Emmet and his buddy Andrew woke me up from my afternoon nap and said they had an idea for a float for the parade. “The deadline has already passed for registering,” I told them.

“Call Tom and see if we can still enter,” they pleaded.

I did and Tom said, “Heck with the deadline! The more the merrier. Make sure your float is at the Sweet Tooth by 2 p.m.”

I drove the boys to the dump in the Ford pickup truck I own a third of and we rounded up lots of cardboard then stopped by the hardware store for duct tape, paint, sharpie markers and candy. Back at the house we cut up an old sail from the original schooner Windfall.
By supper time the truck was sporting a gaff schooner rig complete with the helm, hatch cover and side lights of my old girl.

This morning, after finishing his bussing job at one of the restaurants, Emmet donned my pirate suit and rounded up a couple of saucy young pirate wenches to join him on the truck throwing candy, gold coins and Windfall tattoos to the crowds. I drove and my left leg is still killing me from riding the clutch!

The good news is that we won the prize for Best Business Float. The $50 check might possibly cover our expenses!

When Emmet strolled in at 11 p.m. as agreed, I showed him a passage from a book I’d picked up at the library used book sale yesterday. It was a brief contribution by Raymond Carver called, “My Boat.” He read it, handed it back to me and said, “Yeah.”

I told him there’s something about sailing that’s wildly addictive and that that passage sort of described it. I said it’s what keeps me doing what I do and that on tonight’s trip I felt like a little of it got communicated to the folks we had on board. Four of the six of them had sailed on the older schooner and confided upon leaving that they’d liked this one better. Emmet said, “I know what you’re talking about and I get it when we’re cruising more than I do on our short trips.”

I thought of Lord Nelson’s final words at Trafalgar: “Thank God, I have done my duty!”

Happy Independence Day!

GREAT PHOTOS FROM OUR FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS WITH THE NEW SCHOONER

2010-06-07T17:48:00.005-04:00

For the most part, the weather's been great, the dolphins cooperative, and our passengers terrific.
I mentioned a wedding in my last entry. Photographer Mary Haggerty of Ocrocoke Photo has kindly sent a couple of the better shots of that momentous event. As you can see, some dolphins dropped by to wish the couple a happy life together! One of the nice features of the new schooner is that passengers are close enough to the water nearly to reach out and touch the dolphins. A few nights ago, our friends Kati and John came out with us and took some great sunset shots, one of which appears before the wedding shots.

WINDFALL II BEGINS FIRST SEASON

2010-05-31T08:24:00.003-04:00

The Windfall II, our recently-purchased 32' schooner, is beginning her third week of cruising Pamlico Sound. She's already busy with nightly sunset sails (1.5 hrs. $40 per person) as well as 1-hour cruises departing at 5 p.m. ($25 per person). We've even had our first wedding aboard a couple of weeks ago. With our passenger capacity now limited to six, however, we don't expect to have nearly as many of those!

We've been seeing a lot of bottle-nosed dolphins out there which is a bit more exciting with the new schooner since the passengers are seated closer to the water and can practically reach out and touch them.

We donated some scraps of the original Windfall (gaff jaws, belaying pins, etc.) to the annual Firemen's Ball Auction this past weekend and they brought in big bucks. There's plenty more of that cluttering my tool shed, so if anybody's sentimental about it, drop me a line.

2010-05-08T17:21:00.000-04:00

BLOG ENTRY May 6, 2010\

On Easter Sunday my son Emmet, two friends and I sailed the schooner Windfall up to Scott’s Boat Yard in Buxton. The wind was fair for sailing all the way, but with deteriorating weather forecast for later in the afternoon, I kept the old Yanmar chugging along and didn’t hoist the jib as it would have restricted visibility a bit. The old schooner performed beautifully as she always had in my nearly 25 years of owning her and we arrived more than 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Had I but known this would be her last trip, I would have shut off the engine and let her take her own sweet time. Probably would have invited several more friends and opened some champagne.

But life is like that. Who ever knows how much time we’ve got left?

For the past several months leading up to this haul-out, I’d become aware of a few issues that would require some serious attention. With biannual Coast Guard inspection due, I knew it was decision time. As the boat yard crew and I began to delve into the deteriorated areas, it soon became apparent that bringing her back up to the required condition would not be economically feasible. Rather than patch her up and sell her cheap, I chose to strip her and have her broken up. The least I could do for a vessel that had served me so well for so long was to give her a proper burial. We’ll never have to bear the pain of seeing her masts protruding from the mud of some neglected backwater creek.

A few years ago, when I saw this day looming on the indefinite horizon, my dear wife reminded me of how much I enjoyed sailing that schooner. “Hell, Rob,” she said, “She doesn’t owe you anything. Sail her till she falls apart underneath you!” And that, in short, is pretty much what I did.

So that’s the bad news for those many friends from throughout the world who have had fond memories of the Windfall. Although I’m sure many of you will be disappointed in my decision, believe me – I feel your pain.

On the other hand, I’ve been considering for quite some time what I would do when and if this day arrived. I’ve always been impressed by the Lazy Jack 32’, a production fiberglass schooner designed by Ted Brewer and built in New York by Ted Hermann. When I made the decision to abandon ship last month, there were four Lazy Jacks for sale on the East Coast of the U.S. I looked at two of them then recently purchased one in New Jersey.

Of course she was white with white sails. Sundae (my admiral) insisted that I couldn’t dock her in Ocracoke until she was black. So a couple of weeks ago, I drove up to NJ, had her surveyed, bought her, hauled her out and painted her black. The photo shows her about to be launched by the boat yard in NJ just before two friends from Ocracoke helped me sail her home. We arrived the day before yesterday.

Yes, WINDFALL II is smaller than her namesake. Capt. Rudy saw her yesterday and asked me what kind of detergent I used to wash her decks. “Why?” I asked and he said, “She’s shrunk!” She’ll be limited to six passengers but will be taking longer sails in a more relaxed manner.

I’m looking forward to that. I hope you are too and if so, I look forward to sailing with you soon!

INTRODUCING SCHOONER WINDFALL II

2010-05-08T17:15:00.002-04:00

BLOG ENTRY May 6.doc

NOVA SCOTIA TRIP

2009-10-23T09:14:00.003-04:00

My 11-year-old daughter Caroline, who is home-schooling this year for 6th grade, accompanied me on a two-week trip to Nova Scotia. We just got back Saturday evening.
We did some tent camping (colder than we had expected!), stayed with friends in D.C. and upstate New York and stayed in a few Canadian B&Bs. The fall leaves were just reaching their peak in New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

So what does this have to do with schooners?

In Lunenburg, Nova Scotia we visited the Fisherman’s Museum of the Atlantic where we went aboard the Theresa E. Connor, which fished the Grand Banks right up until 1963. Aboard a more modern side-trawler, we chatted with a docent who had fished those waters (under power) for more than forty years. And, of course, we saw the famous Bluenose II, which we could not board since she was undergoing maintenance. I’ve never seen bright work so meticulously cared for. From our hotel across the harbor, we had a terrific view of the museum and the Bluenose. (see photo).

On the way home we stopped in at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. I was surprised to see the Amistad docked there since she had been at The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race with us last year and I’d assumed she’d be there again this month.

This was the perfect year for us to visit museums: at 11, Caroline still qualifies as a child for admission purposes, while I (now 65!) have joined the ranks of the “seniors.”

Passing through the Hampton Roads area on Saturday, we swung by the Portsmouth waterfront to see the schooners just finishing the 20th annual GCBSR. Considering the weather they had, I can’t really say I’m sorry to have missed the race this year. I am sort of thinking of joining the race next year, however.

This coming week, I’ll be joining Philip Howard and David Senseney at the Third Annual Ocrafolk School (Gary Mitchell’s brainchild) where we’ll teach a combined course in the natural history, human history and nautical traditions of Ocracoke.

A PIRATE’S CHRISTMAS

By popular demand, we’ve finally put a recording of my poem, “A Pirate’s Christmas” up on itunes, available for downloads. We’re working on cranking out a gift CD of it to be available for purchase on the website in time for Christmas. Stay tuned.

2009-09-19T13:37:00.004-04:00

“A PIRATE’S CHRISTMAS” TO COME OUT SOON

Aarrh!

As you’ve no doubt noticed, this blog isn’t one of those “must have a new entry everyday” types that keeps you up to date on every event of my life: “Washed the dog today and gave him his heartworm treatment!” On the contrary, this blog only reports events of earth-shaking importance and today’s occasion is, of course, International Talk-Like-A-Pirate” Day.

In honor of this special day, I’m announcing the release of my single-track Christmas gift special CD called “A Pirate’s Christmas.” This piratical parody of the famous Clement Moore Christmas poem has been performed onstage at Deepwater Theatre in Ocracoke as well as on the Pirate Cruises aboard the Windfall for the past three years but has heretofore been unavailable for purchase or download. Finally, in response to popular demand, I’ve made a studio recording of it complete with fiddle pieces by David Tweedie at either end. This will be available for purchase as a Christmas card CD through the “merchandise” page of the Schooner Windfall website. It should also be available for downloads from iTunes by Thanksgiving.

I also produced a recording of “A Pirate’s Easter” (another Capt. Rob original) at the same time but it probably won’t be available until after we get the Christmas CD up and running. To all of you dedicated fans I just want to say thanks for holding my feet to the fire on this and thanks for your patience, which I hope will soon be rewarded.

And here’s my contribution to “ITLAP” Day:

How long have I been sailing?

Why I’ve been sailing since Moby Dick was a wee minnow!
I cut me teeth on salt horse and ship’s biscuit,
First learned to walk on a heaving deck
An’ I’ve poured enough salt water out of me sea boots to float a ship-o-the-line

I knows the ways of a ship from keel to truck, from taffrail to cranse iron
I’m known to every seaport crimp and dockside doxy from Liverpool to Singapore

I can sail any vessel afloat
And hold a course in a hurricane
With palm and needle I can hand stitch a sail
And spit to windward in half a gale

And, cross my heart and hope to die
The only blessed thing I CAN’T do….. is LIE!

THIRD ANNUAL OCRAFOLK SCHOOL CONVENES OCTOBER 25 - 30

2009-07-25T15:36:00.003-04:00

The faculty and staff of the Ocrafolk School met yesterday morning for a planning session over a delicious breakfast at the Flying Melon. The folk school which started three years ago is the brainchild of Gary Mitchell who was inspired by the Campbell Folk School in the North Carolina Mountains.

The school draws on the talents of various local and regional artists and craftspeople, sharing their expertise with participants from all over the southeast. Although the "classroom" is basically all of Ocracoke, the Soundfront Inn is the focal point.

In the past two seasons, the school has offered courses in photography, pottery, basketry, jewelry making, water color, music and songwriting and cooking. Also, David Senseney, Philip Howard and I have collaborated on an "Ocracoke Sampler" course with David teaching the natural history and ecology of the area, Philip teaching the human history, and yours truly sharing what I know of the nautical lore and seafaring traditions of the Outer Banks.

It appears likely that our good friend Jim Goodwin will be joining us this year to teach his specialty, ships in bottles! Jim is one of only 150 ships-in-bottles modelers in the whole nation and some of his work will be featured in the motion picture "The Lovely Bones" which will be released this fall. He usually has several models for sale at The Village Craftsmen shop on Howard St., some of which feature the Schooner Windfall. Jim has given me the enviable task of assisting him in preparing the bottles to receive the ships (the have to be empty!). He's rather partial to the old-fashioned bottles used by Pyrat Rum of Anguila which works out nicely since he and I are both rather partial to the product itself.

For more information about the folk school, log onto www.ocrafolkschool.org.

2009-06-12T16:35:00.001-04:00

THE 2009 SUMMER SEASON BEGINS

Last weekend we held the 10^th annual Ocrafolk Festival. The weather Saturday morning looked as if we might be driven indoors by rain but it cleared off beautifully and we had sunny (but not hot) conditions for the rest of the weekend and I can’t remember a better festival.

With the festival behind us and school adjourned for the summer, the 2009 season has officially begun. This past week saw our first Ocrafolk Opry at Deepwater Theatre Wednesday night followed by the first “Rumgagger” performance by yours truly and Fiddler Dave. We had pretty good turnouts for both performances.

Last Tuesday we did a special pirate cruise for Donald Davis. Donald is a world famous storyteller who makes his home here on the island when he’s not out globetrotting with his yarns. Twice each summer he hosts a storytellers’ workshop on the island and he always brings his group out on the Windfall. This time he came with a camera crew who were making a documentary about him for PBS so perhaps we’ll all be on TV sometime this fall.

Right before the festival, I got in a new shipment of our “Rumgagger” CDs so if you’d like to order one, just click on our “merchandise” key on the website.

This season we’re offering morning pirate cruises at 10 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

We’re also offering pirate cruises at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Every day, weather permitting, we offer 1.25-hr. sunset cruises. As things get more lively during the summer, we may ad an additional 1-hr. sail. For up-to-date information, please call us at (252) 928-SAIL.

2009-04-21T09:23:00.001-04:00

ANOTHER SEASON BEGINS!

On April 17th we were finally able to accommodate some of the remaining spring break visitors with a pirate cruise and a sunset sail. People had been calling all week about going sailing but unfortunately most of the week was cold and windy. By Friday, however, it was ideal.

A lot of sailors would be hesitant to start a season on a Friday. Seafarers have always been a superstitious lot and one of their most time-honored traditions is never to begin a voyage, or launch a ship on a Friday. I believe it has something to do with the Crucifixion.

A few years back I was chatting with a friend who was a merchant marine captain. He told me he was flying to New York the next day to take charge of a container ship
Bound for Europe. He mentioned that the ship would be all loaded and ready to go by Friday morning but that they weren’t going to leave until just after midnight Saturday morning.

“Is the shipping company so superstitious that it’s willing to make such an expensive delay?” I asked him in amazement.

“The company isn’t,” he said, “but if we tried to leave on Friday half the crew would probably jump ship.”

According to an old British navy legend, the Lords of the Admiralty once became so disgusted with the sailors’ superstitions that they set out to debunk them. They commissioned a warship whose keel was laid on a Friday. They christened it “H.M.S. Friday,” launched it on a Friday and sent it to sea on a Friday under the command of a Captain Friday. It was never seen or heard from again!

Nobody much believes that. We had 24 passengers on our first pirate cruise of the season last Friday and it was a great time. Just the right amount of wind from just the right direction. It was great to see the old schooner stretch her legs again.

Until school lets out in mid-June, we'll only be sailing sunset trips. After the children return, we'll resume ye pyrat cruises. AAhhrr!

2009-04-14T15:09:00.001-04:00

2009 SEASON BEGINS FRIDAY, APRIL 17

The Windfall will formally begin the 2009 season on April 17 with a one-hour Pirate Cruise departing at 4 p.m. followed by a 1.25-hr. Sunset Sail departing at 6:30. The prices will remain at last year’s level: $20 for those 12 and over on the Pirate Cruise, $10 for kids under 12 and free for children under 4. The Sunset Sail is $25 for all ages. Next week, after the spring break is over, we’ll discontinue the Pirate Cruise and only offer the Sunset Sail until school lets out in June. For reservations, please call us at (252) 928-SAIL.

SOME THOUGHTS ON PIRATES

Like most folks, I kept a close eye on last week’s news from the Indian Ocean when the Maersk Alabama was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia and I was greatly relieved when the U.S. Navy finally managed to rescue the brave Capt. Richard Philips from his captors. All the piratical activities of that region over the past several months have done more to focus the world’s attention on pirates than anything since Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean.

Unlike Capt. Jack Sparrow, however, or Robert Louis Stevenson’s loveable Long John Silver, these modern day pirates evoke little sympathy. We owe much of the success of our Pirate Cruises on the Windfall to the recent popularity of pirates brought about by Disney. I can only keep my fingers crossed and hope that current events off Somalia don’t sour the public to the pirate theme so as to cost us business. No doubt there are pirate cruise operators up and down the coast hoping the same thing.

But our Pirate Cruise here at Ocracoke has always been a little different from most. Sure, we like to swashbuckle and tell corny pirate jokes like all the rest, but sailing as we do in the home waters of the infamous Edward Teach (a.k.a. Blackbeard), we feel not only an opportunity but an obligation to send our passengers home with a taste of the true history of the freebooters who (however briefly) made this island their home. As Blackbeard’s famous biographer, Prof. Robert Lee, points out we should judge these pirates not by the standards of our own time but of theirs which offered poor sailors far less justice and less opportunity to better their lives.

Interestingly, the situation of the Somali pirates is in many ways similar. Just as there was no strong colonial government in North Carolina in 1718, there is little if any government in Somalia. Many of the Somali pirates started out as simple fishermen who found it necessary to take up arms to defend their waters from foreign intruders. One thing led to another until the heady taste of easy money won out. Does this excuse piracy? Certainly not! But it does, to some extent, explain it. Our navy was justified in using deadly force against the Somali pirates just as Lt. Maynard was justified in helping Blackbeard’s head and shoulders part ways. But as I always point out, one of Maynard’s brave Royal Navy volunteers was himself captured and executed two years later as one of the pirate crewmen of Bartholomew Roberts. Folks with limited opportunities tend to do the best they can with the hand they’re dealt.

It calls to mind some lines from a song by the Rankin Family:

“Only the very safe can talk about wrong and right.
Of those who are forced to choose, some will choose to fight.”

I guess most of us should be appreciative that we don’t face that choice.

2009-03-20T06:57:00.000-04:00

2009-03-20T05:27:00.002-04:00

WINDFALL PLACES 3RD IN CLASS AT CHESAPEAKE BAY SCHOONER RACE

The schooner Windfall competed in the 19th annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race on October 16-18th, 2008. The race, which benefits the non-profit Save the Bay Foundation, runs a course of 127 nautical miles from Annapolis, Maryland to Portsmouth, Virginia for the larger schooners and an eighty-mile course from Annapolis to Windmill Point for the smaller vessels.

The GCBSR was created by a challenge from the Norfolk Rebel to the Pride of Baltimore, and has grown over the past nineteen years making it the largest all-schooner sailing race in the world. A record number of fifty-six schooners competed this year, and Windfall was the only one from North Carolina.

Windfall finished third in her class, with an elapsed time of 15 hours and 18 minutes

We were lucky to have good winds on the way up to Baltimore and during the race down the bay. Windfall sailed faster than ever – during the race I saw her hit speeds I’d never seen before. We even finished ahead of several of the larger boats. I was proud of my vessel and proud of my crew.

Windfall beat nine other boats in her class, and finished the race before the 2nd place winner. The race committee uses a complicated handicapping system to determine winners, which put the Windfall slightly behind the second place boat in corrected time.

For more on the race, visit www.schoonerrace.org.