Category Archives: Weather

Last Leg (Part 7 of 7)

Tropical climates were the norm, but Cabo was a defining departure from that. Days and nights were getting cooler heading north with sailing conditions  less than ideal. Winds were picking up, but generally head on. 

After 5 days in Cabo we started out in seemingly mild conditions until rounding Lands End, directly into a 35 knot breeze. Challenge was wet and rolling. Clear nights were spectacularly speckled with stars. Rounding Punta Tosca at night, spinner dolphins breached all around the boat. In darkness they were mostly heard rather than seen.

Motor-sailing into the weather continued.

Next night on a 0100 watch, I savored a shooting star streaking over the lighthouse at Cabo San Lázaro. It was a good sign. Kelp beds were appearing, as the environment became more temperate. We’d gone 120 miles since leaving Cabo San Lucas 2 days prior. I began thinking about home, my family and friends until retiring at 0200, dozing off.  

Later that day, I got up for an 1800 hour watch, climbed out the companionway to see Billy at the helm, smiling, no motor, reefed down, heeled over 45° and making 7 ½ knots to windward.

Spray flew over the bow in 6 foot seas. Sheets of water flooded the leeward deck. It was exhilarating and so far the best sailing of the trip. Challenge was made for this! By the time I took the helm it was blowing 25 knots and we were making nearly 8 knots.

Jack was loving it!

As long as a point of land gave us a lee, sailing was favorable.

Billy made adjustments to the main.

Trent relieved me at 2000 hrs as the moon rose, brightening the sky. 6 to 8 foot seas, heeled over and I was lying in the cockpit standing up. It was invigorating. 

Topside I shot with my waterproof Nikonos camera.

North of Isla Asunción, the Baja coastline began taking on a remote, primeval landscape. 

Captain Trent did a great job navigating the coast.

We stayed clear of Punta San Pablo.

Next stop was Bahía Tortugas and the abalone fishing village of San Bartelemé.

The isolated little town seemed nicely situated, nestled within Turtle Bay.

I couldn’t help but interact with some friendly young locals.

Before departing San Bartelemé, Escapade’s crew came aboard for a meal of lobster, steak and tuna. From the galley of Escapade, Lee brought homemade rolls and apple crisp. We continued on…

and spent two more days at sea.

June 13 we arrived in San Diego, along with Escapade to clear US Customs.

An America’s Cup boat was tied up at San Diego Yacht Club. Neil Young’s hundred foot schooner Ragland, was docked in front of it.

June 15, after 6 weeks and over 3,000 miles, Challenge was berthed at Newport, California.

We bid farewell to Lee and our friends on Escapade, still headed for Seattle. It had been an amazing trip with them.

John McVie greeted us and was grateful, reunited with Challenge. It was nice to meet him, and rewarding to take part in such a memorable trip.

left to right: Trent, John, Billy and Jacque

These last 7 blog posts were taken from photos and journal entries made in 1987.

 

 

 

 

Chalk Up Another

After a few days of northerly gales, I got up this morning to hear about another oceanfront building succumbing to the perils of the sea. It was not unexpected. I wanted to have a look, and the area south of the Rodanthe pier was ground zero.

There was already a contingent on hand to see the spectacle. With visitors here, I’m sure most of them had never seen such a sight. Walking in I saw photographer friends, Don Bowers and Dan Pullen. Sauntering around various vantage points, I settled in on a wind-protected elevated perch where Don and Dan joined me. They were shooting up a storm.

Over the years I’ve lost count how many buildings I’ve seen destroyed. I’d venture that it approaches 50. In 2008 I watched one on Sea Haven Street actually buckle and go down.

Today after a 2 hour wait I got to witness another one in the process. It was leaning eastward on piles high over the beach as waves plowed beneath it.

 After an hour we heard a little snap. Fifteen minutes later another cracking sound. It was then I knew it was going to sea. Five minutes later we heard another crunch. A minute passed and the creaking picked up into a crash. Suddenly before our eyes, the foundation gave way and lowered the structure on to the incoming waves. It reminded me of the Wicked Witch  getting splashed with water and melting away.

In a matter of seconds, it had collapsed…

At first it floated around, teetering in the surf.

As water poured in, it began breaking apart, expelling contents.

Dan got up-close and personal as a wall of debris washed toward him.

In less than 5 minutes, you’d never know it was a two story house.

As man builds so close to the sea, the messy spectacle continues!

Parting Shots

Some of my first memories living on Hatteras Island involved surfing next to the Salvo shipwreck. Locals referred to it as the Richmond. It was, and still is an iconic feature of the village. Over the years, even surrounded by tumultuous seas, it has held fast and never budged.

According to state records it is the remnants of the Pocahontus, a Civil War transport steamer that wrecked during a storm in 1862.

I go to it regularly, sometimes checking the waves, to meditate, relax or take some pictures. Last Saturday I did just that. It was a beautiful day, waves rolling in with four cormorants perched on it.

Early Sunday morning an approaching front brought gale force winds. Anxious to see the transforming ocean conditions, I drove out on the beach to see how it looked. Hunkered in my truck, I photographed the wreck through a windswept downpour. 

I shoot impulsively. So could these be my last photographs of 2021?

Maybe not!

Pier Pressure

Throughout the years staying on Hatteras, I’ve gotten to expect coastal storms. At times it feels as though I’ve been living on a ship at sea. It’s both thrilling and humbling at the same time. The latest event was no different.

On the morning of November 6th the seas were getting stormy yet still moderate. But by 3 o’clock that afternoon the ocean rose up dramatically. It was blowing a gale with rain pelting from the northeast. As I walked halfway up the Rodanthe pier, the wooded structure vibrated and swayed . The waves were almost as high as the pier. I took several quick shots then turned back. It would have been crazy not to.

Gales continued into the next day while shifting out of a more northerly direction. As the ocean washed over the highway in the expected locations, I wondered about the fragility of the pier with such heavy seas.

At high tide the morning of the 8th, waves still battered the pier and damage was evident.

About a quarter way from the end, the deck had collapsed. It’s been said that a boat is a hole in the water and you throw money into it. I suppose a wooded pier is much the same. As of this morning, highway 12 is still closed to traffic as NCDOT works to clear debris and rebuild dunes. The coastal storm of November 2021 was deja vu all over again.

 

 

Larry

There are 3 kinds of hurricanes, good, bad and somewhere in between. The good ones stay far offshore as did Hurricane Larry most recently. As a beachcomber, I have always loved watching the power and beauty of waves. That fascination has been a constant subject for my photography since beginning life on Hatteras nearly 50 years ago.

Traveling from several hundred miles away, Larry’s waves arrived as a south swell, with a hefty current sweeping northward. Most of the surfers left the island for points north where conditions were smaller and more approachable.

I hadn’t worked a beachscape in a few years, and felt I was in the company of an old friend. It was just me, my camera and Larry’s pulse.

The outside bars were breaking nicely.

The inside bars were hard and hollow.

I was entertained by an occasional wave rolling back into an oncoming one.

Larry put on a show and was good to stay well off the coast.