Spartina

On Monday afternoon I biked down to the Community Square. There I met Steve Earley, captain and owner of a beautiful 17' sailboat, Spartina. Steve built this wooden yawl-rigged boat himself...and it was a delight to behold. Steve told me he has sailed his vessel extensively in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina (in the Chesapeake Bay, Pamlico Sound, and even off shore).

Steve's sailboat is named after an eastern coastal cord grass, and a book of the same name by John Casey, a "classic tale of a man, a boat, and a storm." You can read about Steve's adventures, and see superb photos (Steve is staff photographer for the Virginian-Pilot), on his blog: http://logofspartina.blogspot.com/. You can also read an excellent article by Capt. Rob Temple in the Ocracoke Current: http://www.ocracokecurrent.com/88371.

Life on Ocracoke so often brings us in contact with interesting, talented, and creative folks who enrich our lives with their presence, at times enduring, at other times fleeting. Steve was on his way early the next morning.

Happy sailing, Steve!

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the curious story of Vera/Charlie Williams. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052114.htm.