But it's really not so much about competition as collaboration. There's nothing else like a brisk reach down Chesapeake Bay in the company of other schooners -- forty to fifty of them!-- stretching as far as the eye can see. It's like going back in time about a century and a half.
I wasn't going to go this year. After all, since I no longer work a winter charter season in Florida, my whole livelihood depends on the brief summer season here in Ocracoke. And while October is nowhere as busy as July, there are still plenty of folks here eager to sail in the cooler shoulder season.
But my son Emmet is hellbent on going. For moths now he's been bugging me about it. He's attempting to defeat my lost income argument by suggesting we open the trip to paying guests. It just might work. So I'm writing this post in case any of you faithful few who have been reading these sporadic entries over the years (or someone you know) might be interested in joining us for part or all of the adventure.
We need to be in Baltimore by noon on Wednesday, October 16 which probably means departing from Ocracoke on October 10. Depending on weather and whether we decide to sail nonstop overnight from Norfolk to Baltimore, it should take about five days to get there via the Chesapeake and Albemarle canal (a.k.a Virginia Cut).
After various pre-race festivities, the race begins at noon on Thursday, commences through the night and ends up sometime Friday morning in Norfolk. The pig and oyster roast and awards ceremony takes place on Saturday and we begin the return trip after the all-hands breakfast on Sunday morning.
If possible we'll plan to return via the more scenic Dismal Swamp Canal with a stop in Elizabeth City. We should be back in Ocracoke by the 24th. You can learn more about the race by clicking here.
This aint exactly our first rodeo. Emmet and I did the race along with three close friends in 2010 on our present schooner and in 2008 with the same crew on the old Windfall (we were 3rd in our class!).
A few years before that I crewed in the race aboard the 70' Schooner Leopard.
We can accommodate two passengers for a total of four of us on board. There's a private stateroom forward with V berths (for a couple) and two quarter berths in the main cabin aft. We haven't worked out the details as far as costs but as charters generally go it won't be very expensive. Anyone interested should send me an email: robtemple@embarqmail.com.
