Cruisers Net has long advised navigation of Oregon Inlet only by shallow draft vessels with current local knowledge.
Oregon Inlet unnavigable by most vessels: Army Corps
CoastalReview.org
Our sincerest thanks to Greg and Barbara Allard for once again sharing their thoughts and beautiful photography from their Bahamas cruises. These photos and descriptions will have you aching to follow in Meander‘s wake! For more this excellent photography, type Allard in our Homepage search window for letters from previous cruises.
Hello Everyone – Here is our second Letter from the Bahamas for 2022.
Several of you did not receive the photos with the last Letter. It may have to do with the capacity of local internet service; if you do not receive the photos, please let us know.
This from a recent news report from the Bahamas:
“He said as he approached Grand Bahama, he realized his fuel was almost empty and immediately knew he was in “problems.”
-Andrew Rolle, a Bahamian, upon being rescued after several days at sea, when he ran out of fuel.”
It is a rare cruiser to the Bahamas who doesn’t at some point realize that he is “in problems”, an appropriate Bahamian expression if there ever was one. Stuff on boats always seems to fail no matter how much rigorous preventative maintenance has been done. The worst situation is breaking down while in the open ocean.
This young Bahamian, Stephen, found himself “in problems”. Fortunately he was not far from help. While in our dinghy, we came upon him in his disabled boat – the outboard motor would not run. We took his boat in tow, and learned that he was from a fishing boat named My Rebecca from Nassau, and they were going for conch. They hoped to take 7,000 conch to market.
A couple of days later, at the mouth of the entrance cut into the harbor, we saw the fishing boat Stephen was working on, anchored with the stern placed in very shallow water near some rocks – a strange place to anchor. We went over, and Stephen explained to us that the propellor shaft on the boat, which connects the engine and goes through the bottom of the boat to the propeller, had broken. They had ordered and received a new shaft, and they installed it, which explains why the aft end of the boat was in shallow water – to allow them to pull the shaft out of the boat while the crew was standing on the shallow sandy bottom. When they installed the new shaft, they found it was too short, so they were waiting for a shaft extender piece to arrive. Incredibly resourceful.
Five fishermen live on this boat. They had their laundry out to dry.
Yet again, a few days later, we found My Rebecca tied up at the government dock. The man in the red shirt is the diver – he is the one who retrieves the conch from the bottom, breathing compressed air from a pump on the surface. Stephen Sands, whom we towed in, is in the rear of the small boat.
Stephen wasn’t so anxious to have his picture taken but eventually agreed. On his arms were tattoos with the names of his three children: Stephenelle, Stephenique and Stephanos. In the rear pocket of his jeans was a flask of something, likely needed to survive on the cramped quarters of the old fishing boat.
In our last letter, you met Alvin, who found a perfect hose for a repair on our boat. This is Alvin’s son Quincy – Alvin’s second youngest of his nine children. Quincy has a full row of beautiful gold teeth on top. He is a smart, affable young man with a good sense of humor. He has solid experience around the water, which shows as he assists boats entering the marina, and helps them to safely and securely dock their boats – which is quite an art. A bad dock-hand can cause damage to a boat in an instant. Quincy just had a new daughter in Nassau, and he flew there this week to see her for the first time. This highlights one of the realities of the Bahamian economy – many families are split when (usually) the father has to travel to a distant island for work. Moving between islands is expensive – usually by local small aircraft.
We explored the sand flats off the west side of Great Harbour Cay. The water is shallow, especially at low tide, and there is much wildlife: sting rays, fish, conch and juvenile black-tip sharks about 2-3’ long. Barbara is in the dinghy behind me. Our friends who were with us said that they wondered if she was paddling away…
This year there was an abundance of these beautiful Cushion Sea Stars, which can grow up to 20” across. It has a thick body and knobby spines which form geometric designs. Some are tan; this one is orange-brown. We don’t keep them and it was returned to the water.
One of our favorite adventures while at Great Harbour is to do a “dinghy expedition” a number of miles south to an island called Money Cay. Legend has it that a hermit found a trove of money there, years ago. The entire area has to be one of the most spectacular places on earth. Pristine beaches, sparkling water and total solitude. One day we saw a local fishing boat there, but the majority of time we are totally alone.
It’s a bit of a challenge to reach Money Cay – you can go there only on the top half of the tides over the sand flats. Otherwise there is barely enough water to float the dinghies, let alone run them at any speed.
In this photo, our friends Jim and Ellen have just explored a secluded bay. The water under their dinghy is about 12’ deep. Both of our dinghies are equipped with bimini tops to provide shade from the Bahamian sun.
Here is a Queen Conch, with the most exceptional range of colors we have seen. This one is live – you can see the little critter poking out. We took its picture and returned it to the water.
This is the same Queen Conch as shown in the prior photo, and how it looks in its normal place on the bottom. The sea growth on the top of the outer shell serves as camouflage, making it difficult for most predators to find them. They use a big single claw to drag themselves across the bottom looking for food.
One day while exploring some remote islands, we spotted this bonefishing boat in the distance. The man standing on the platform at the rear of the boat is Percy Darville, one of the most famous bonefish guides in the Bahamas. He is 69 years old, and has served as guide to Jack Nicklaus, who has been a regular at Great Harbour.
Percy is using a long pole to push the boat through the flats while his client, standing in the bow, scans the water for the elusive fish. Bonefish are between 1′ to 2 1/2’ long and live in the shallows; they are considered a premier gamefish, and give the angler an extraordinary fight. It has been said that if a bonefish were as big as a battleship, it would take a battleship to land it. All bonefish are returned to the water, both out of sportsmanship and since they are difficult to eat because of……
Barbara anchors the dinghy, ready to explore a new cay we just landed upon.
Since our first letter, we have received several questions about how the Bahamas may have changed, post pandemic. Masks are to be worn any time you are inside (except while eating), and it is enforced. We met one cruiser who was asked to leave a food store because he had no mask. All of the dockhands, even outside, are masked.
Diesel fuel at our marina is now around $7.50 a gallon, about average for the Bahamas.
There is a good deal of construction going on here, mostly higher-end vacation homes for foreigners. But the economic downturn and possible recession have appeared to put many of those plans on hold.
There aren’t really food shortages, just gaps in time as to when the food is available. The mail boat came in again yesterday (on-time two weeks in a row) so the stores should be re-stocked by now. Few are going hungry but people often run short of things they would need.
While cruising on a boat, approaching storms may soon get you “in problems.” But it’s all worth it to be in such a beautiful country.
_____________________________________________________________________
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson
Best regards to you all.
Greg and Barbara
Copyright Greg Allard, 2022
Final 5/20/22
Charleston County Parks, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is proud to announce the return of Summer Entertainment Series beginning in June. Fun for kids and grandkids at James Island and Wannamaker County Parks.
Charleston County Parks’ Summer Entertainment Series is back in June
|
A longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, historic Edenton always has an exciting calendar of events! Edenton is at the mouth of the Chowan River on the northwest shore of Albemarle Sound.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Edenton Harbor City Docks
A longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, Dowry Creek Marina is owned by the Zeltner family who want to roll out the red carpet to transients, doing whatever you might need during your visit. This highly praised and transient friendly marina lies off the AICW/Pungo River north of Belhaven, NC. This review of Dowry Creek Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is reprinted from Bob Sherer’s review on Bob423.
Click Here To View the Cruisers Net North Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Dowry Creek Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Dowry Creek Marina
The Gulfport Historical Society offers educational activities for kids of all ages and the City of Gulfport, home to Gulfport Municipal Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, located on the northern shores of Boca Ciega Bay and easily accessible from the Western Florida ICW, just north of Tampa Bay.
| ||||||||||||||||
|
Gulfport Municipal Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, and the City of Gulfport always have a full calendar of events for all ages. Located in the heart of downtown, the marina and harbor, found on the northern shores of Boca Ciega Bay, are easily accessible from the Western Florida ICW, just north of Tampa Bay.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Gulfport Municipal Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Gulfport Anchorage/Mooring Field
Our sincerest thanks to Greg and Barbara Allard for once again sharing their thoughts and beautiful photography from their Bahamas cruises. These photos and descriptions will have you aching to follow in Meander‘s wake! For more this excellent photography, type Allard in our Homepage search window for letters from previous cruises.
One of the newest items available this Fall from Sun Powered Yachts, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is the Maxeon Air 330W flex panel. Click the link below for more information.
News & Updates from Sun Powered Yachts
Katie displaying a Maxeon Air 330W flex panel at the Miami International Boat Show
Outer Banks Forever is working with our national park staff to coordinate a beach cleanup effort on Hatteras Island in the coming days once road and weather conditions improve.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore Needs Your Help!
For more updates from the National Park Service, please visit Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s News Releases page. |
Thank you in advance for your help, |
 |
Jessica Barnes, Director |
When all else fails, try journalism.
ANSEL ADAMS SCANS THE HORIZON on a 1940 trip down the Intracoastal Waterway. The great photographer took about 50 pictures that we cannot see, though we may see some photos of him taking the photos we cannot see. Traumatic events mark the beginning and end of every American epoch. Their names begin with words like “pre-war, “post-war,” “pre-911,” “post-911” and, most recently, “pre-covid.” (Here’s hoping for “post-covid.”) The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway is a national treasure. Once the purview of barges and other commercial traffic, the ICW extends 1,100 miles from Virginia to Key West, Florida, man-made canals linking a collection of inlets, rivers, bays and sounds. Quite accidentally, the great American landscape photographer Ansel Adams documented the ICW one year before the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor launched American involvement in World War II, a national trauma that changed everything. Adams photos depict an ICW at a moment before the deluge. Thereafter, as the generation that won the war ventured out in small craft, the character of the ICW transitioned from commercial to recreational. By autumn 1940 Adams was well established as landscape photographer, though another year would pass before he would shoot his most famous photo of all, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. As with many of us, Adams was drawn to his first boating adventure by the contagious enthusiasm of a good friend. The California native was convinced to go on a spur-of-the-moment cruise of the ICW aboard the schooner Billy Bones II. Naturally, he took pictures, which inadvertently documented the end of an era, but, because of draconian copyright enforcement, the collection won’t be available for viewing until 2054, 70 years after Adams’ death. Adams was friends with painter Georgia O’Keeffe, another artist reknown for Western imagery. In 1936, she introduced him to her friend David McAlpin, a photography enthusiast and trustee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
McAlpin was an investment banker credited with a key role in establishing photography as fine art, a goal he encouraged with donations from his personal fortune. He was also to become a patron and lifelong friend to Adams. In 1937 and ’38, the two went on camping trips to the western sierras, decidedly Adams’ home turf. You could look at their Intracoastal Waterway jaunt as a reciprocal gesture, roughing it in the style of the East Coast elite. Biographers say Adams was near the peak of his game by 1940 when McAlpin involved the 38-year-old pianist-turned-photographer in his campaign to establish a new photo department at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. “In November, having finished the first phase in setting MOMA’s new department, McAlpin suggested to Adams that they take a break to take a Thanksgiving holiday cruise,” Stephen Jareckie wrote 66 years later. Jareckie was curator of the exhibit of photos from the trip, displayed at the Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Museum of Art in 2007 and later at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, N.C., where Billy Bones II had stopped for fuel after the Dismal Swamp. “Ansel Adams in the East” featured 50 prints made from proofs found in the estate of McAlpin’s second wife.
The Billy Bones II was a 43-foot schooner built in 1929 in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, a copy of a John Alden design. The captain of Billy Bones II was the late John DePeyster Stagg, a larger-than-life character on the Long Island waterfront. Stagg, 26 at the time, was a charter boat captain with all the right stuff; he was a storyteller, a fine drinking partner and with a reputation for wizardry in the galley. Billy Bones was a reference to the enigmatic, hard-drinking old salt introduced at the beginning of “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson—and a clue to young Stagg’s outlook on life. Stagg was always threatening to write a book: “Staggering with Stagg from Maine to Florida, a Guide to the Better Bars.” The Bones, 42-feet LOA, had been built in 1929 by the Casey Boatbuilding Company of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, which basically capied of John Alden’s Malabar V right down to her Scripps gasoline engine. Stagg bought her second-hand, renamed her Billy Bones II and put her to work in the charter trade, taking guests on trips along the East Coast and in the Bahamas. Unusually for her time and type, she had two heads. David Hunter McAlpin had inhaled the briny air while serving as an ensign on a Navy subchaser during World War I. By the 1930s, he had become a partner at Clark Dodge & Co. investment bankers. McAlpin and Stagg knew each other because Stagg had some money invested with the firm, and both were from established New York families. Stagg was a descendant of George Washington’s aide at Valley Forge, and McAlpin’s family status had allowed him to marry into the Rockefellers. Adams had a reputation for working hard, playing hard and enjoying strong drink. McAlpin’s pitch must have had tremendous appeal—the idea of Huck Finning it down the waterway on a schooner! Adams and McAlpin caught up with the Billy Bones II in Norfolk, Va., joining Stagg and his crew, a professional sailor named Winfield Scott, known to everyone as Scottie.
Ansel Adams and the crew wait alongside after passing through a swing bridge. Thanksgiving, Nov. 21, 1940, found Billy Bones II in the Dismal Swamp and John Stagg in the galley cooking turkey. Curator Jareckie wrote, “Adams and McAlpin took pictures of the tree-bordered canal. Adams discovered unexpected beauty in the Great Dismal Swamp.” (One wonders whether Stagg, like other schooner chefs before him, had to break the turkey’s backbone, squashing it to fit it in the ship’s oven.) Schooner and crew continued motoring on the ICW to Thunderbolt, near Savannah, where Adams and McAlpin bid goodbye after 10 days and 580 miles together. A tripod is useless aboard a boat, so taking his usual glass-plate camera would have been silly. Adams and McAlpin shared a new Zeiss Super Ikonta BX camera, a bellows-camera that folded and closed into compact package when not in use. Images were recorded on a big 2¼-inch-square negative. The museum exhibit images were made from 5-by-5-inch proofs, unimproved by darkroom printmaking techniques that were also part of Adams’ artistry. Today’s story is free to all subscribers. For access to everything by Loose Cannon, move up to a paid subscription. It ain’t a lot of money. Today’s photographers process their finished works with Photoshop, but during the era of film and glass plates, the great shooters achieved some of the same effects using “dodge and burn” techniques to manipulate the light as it was projected through a negative onto photo-sensitive paper. As I recall, the pictures Adams and McAlpin took on their 1940 voyage contain no stunners, nothing as dramatic as Adam’s western landscapes; no “Moonrise” or “The Tetons, Snake River.” To a journalist, however, the Adams photos have a familiar feel. With only basic equipment and moving aboard a boat on a delivery schedule through unfamiliar territory, Adams adjusted his approach. The fine-art photographer became a documentarian.
Skipper John Stagg, a larger-than-life character, takes Billy Bones II through the locks at the southern end of the Dismal Swamp Canal. The photos indeed show the crew together and individually as any vacation collection would. They show the Dismal Swamp, canal locks, a swing bridge, docks and fishing boats. Commentators who saw the museum prints described the body of work as “vacation snapshots.” To be fair, however, it should be noted that Adams was working it pretty hard, scooching low for some compositions, going high for others. In fact, Adams at one point climbed the mainmast to fill his frame vertically in the face of a flat Carolina landscape. The docks Adams snapped are the rough-hewn province of fishing boats, not the pleasure craft that would arrive in 1950s. The barrier islands of the Carolinas would have been largely free of beach houses. Hilton Head hadn’t happened either. Instead, a boatman was captured rowing by the light of dawn at Thunderbolt, an image that could just as well have been painted in oils. We see the Annie D. Bell, a Chesapeake Bay lumber schooner under sail. Describing an image labeled “Fort Sumter, Carolina, on horizon,” one critic wrote, “The fortifications…emerge as the merest bump off in the distance. Dominating the picture are long tendrils of cirrus that seem to converge on the far-off island, like arrows—or accusations.” In another shot, Adams experimented looking for abstract imagery in the shape of the boat’s wake.
At left, Ansel Adams spies a mark in the fog. He mugs for the camera at right. Historical significance and craftsmanship notwithstanding, the trustees of the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust in Mill Valley, California, criticized the Fitchburg exhibit and claimed that Adams himself would have objected to such a display of his work. The ICW shots, trustees argued, are mere proofs. All the famous Adams photographs had been refined by the photographer’s masterful darkroom techniques. Adams, the trustees said, would never have approved an exhibition of raw proofs. “I think it’s unethical in terms of museum ethics and behavior. It’s something that never would be done at MOMA or the Art Institute of Chicago,” William Turnage, one of three Adams’ trustees, told the Associated Press. “But you know, what the heck? Some people are going to take advantage and try to profiteer, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” After the outbreak of war, McAlpin rejoined the navy as a commander and used his business expertise on behalf of the government to monitor shipbuilding contracts. Adams greatest wartime contribution was journalistic in nature as he documented life at Japanese-American internment camp at Manzanar, California. Once exhibited, this collection was subtitled “Suffering under a great injustice.” The artist and the enthusiast remained friends for life; Adams died in 1984, McAlpin in ’85. Stagg crossed the bar that same year. Stagg sold Billy Bones II in 1942. The U-boat menace had sunk his charter business. The buyer was a Charles Foster (most likely the same Marblehead yachtsman and hotelier known for owning more than 60 pleasure boats during his lifetime). During the war, Stagg went to work for the Thomas Knutson boatyard, helping to build 110-foot submarine chasers for the Navy. The Adams trust justified its censorship by asking whether anyone would really be interested in the exhibit had someone other than Adams shot the photos. I would rephrase the question: Why should Americans be prevented from seeing these images just because Adams was the photographer? These photos show us a slice of waterway history. And they are proof of how a boating lifestyle connects us with nature and nurtures lifelong bonds of friendship and memory.
Like an old tar, Ansel Adams goes aloft for a panoramic view of the North Carolina countryside. Stories You Might Have Missed Without a Paid SubscriptionHighway to Hell: Autopilot Assisted Disaster; Two Examples of What Happens When Available Tools Go Unused Bad-Faith Enforcement of Derelict-Boat Law, Two Examples: (Click to sign up and read.)
This post is only for paid subscribers of LOOSE CANNON. © 2022 Rio Charters Unsubscribe |
The lighthouse at Harbour Town Yacht Basin and Resort, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR!, is only one of the many attractions at this wonderful facility. Come anytime of year for great dockage, food and entertainment.
Harbour Town Lighthouse Adds New Historical Chapter with Installation of Fresnel Lens
‘Invention that saved a million ships’ now on display for visitors to The Sea Pines Resort
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (May 9, 2022) – The iconic Harbour Town Lighthouse at The Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island has added an exciting chapter to its storied history with the installation of a genuine Fresnel lens to further the power of the light that blossoms from the top. Just over five decades old, the red-and-white striped Lighthouse — featured prominently in CBS’ coverage last month of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage golf tournament — serves not only as a beacon to the many ships that reside in the Yacht Basin but also as a landmark that symbolizes the region and the resort.
Developed in the 1820s for use in lighthouses, Fresnel (pronounced “fray-NEL”) lenses are not only stunning pieces of artwork, but their functionality has led them to be called “the invention that saved a million ships.” For visitors to the Lighthouse, the 114-step trip to the observation deck now offers an additional payoff.
“The Fresnel lens is as beautiful in the day as when it’s illuminated at night,” said Rob Bender, director of recreation and marine operations for The Sea Pines Resort. “There is a great deal of history associated with this Lighthouse and this represented a great opportunity to add to it.”
Bender added the Fresnel lens’ installation is a crowning achievement for The Sea Pines Resort and keepers of the Lighthouse, property manager Mark King and keeper Nadia Wagner. “It’s a great partnership; it took a lot of patience but was well worth it,” Bender said.
Talk of bringing in a Fresnel lens was initiated nearly a decade ago but Hurricane Matthew and other factors played roles in the delay. Final approval was even needed from the United States Coast Guard, a process that took four months alone.
The new Lighthouse lens is a replica of the original Fourth Order Fresnel lens as created and designed by Dan Spinella, a Florida-based artist and engineer who began his research and restoration work on the lenses 30 years ago. To date, Spinella said 46 reproduction Fresnel lenses have been manufactured and installed in U.S. lighthouses as both aids to navigation and as exhibits in lighthouse museums, such as Harbour Town.
At the time of its design by French physicist Augustin Fresnel, the lens was hailed as a scientific wonder and revolutionized the way lighthouses illuminated the waterways of the world. With their intricate design of hundreds of prisms arranged in a beehive shape, Fresnel lenses are not only engineering marvels but also incredible works of art with a futuristic look despite dating back more than 200 years ago.
Harbour Town Lighthouse, which is open 10 a.m. to sundown for daily tours, features numerous historical exhibits as well as a gift shop. Admission is $5.75 per person; children 5 and under are free.
###
About The Sea Pines Resort
Situated on the southernmost tip of Hilton Head Island, the legendary Lowcountry destination features five miles of unspoiled beaches, 20 clay tennis courts, 14 miles of bike and walking trails, horseback riding, Eco-Adventures, water sports, and the 605-acre Sea Pines Forest Preserve filled with wildflowers, wetlands, and more than 130 species of birds. As the first Eco-planned destination in the U.S., The Sea Pines Resort has become the blueprint for numerous beach developments around the country. Guests can choose from an array of accommodations, including 300 villas, 100 rental homes, and the luxurious 60-room Inn & Club at Harbour Town, a Forbes Four-Star boutique hotel and Preferred Hotel Group member. The resort’s best-in-class collection of golf courses, amenities, meeting facilities, and accommodations makes Sea Pines one of the most sought-after leisure and group destinations in America.
Media Contact
Karen Moraghan
Hunter Public Relations
908/963-6013
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Harbour Town Yacht Basin
Be the first to comment!