THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 17, 1996 TAG: 9606170039
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ABOARD THE GALATEA LENGTH: 131 lines
At night, stars over the Atlantic Ocean are cut diamonds falling savagely into the sea. The phosphorus sparkle in the waves seems to mirror the heavens.
It is a beautiful Saturday evening that will soon turn agonizing, but for now the adventure of a thousand-mile sail seems worth whatever nature may dish out.
We are in the Gulf Stream, the fast-moving conveyor belt, flying in the company of a unique species of human that imitate migrating birds, whales and butterflies: the boaters who cruise each year by the thousands through Hampton Roads.
These ``snowbirds'' migrate south to north in the spring and reverse the flow each fall. They put smiles on the faces of marina owners, shop keepers and restaurateurs throughout the area.
Just like their feathered counterparts, snowbirds move their boats to escape the cold winters of the North and the summers of the South.
There are several ways to make the trip, but most run through the choke point of the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth.
They call it Mile Marker Zero, the beginning of what most boaters regard as the Intracoastal Waterway as it begins its thousand-mile run south to Miami.
Other parts stretch north to Boston and west to Brownsville, Texas. But to most ships the waterway's Norfolk-to-Miami run is the real Intracoastal. And we're on it.
Or at least, for now, on the outside ``route'' that barrels through the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina all the way to Beaufort-Morehead City, N.C., and then lapses into the slow, beautiful and mysterious route inside.
Over a 10-day span we'll follow the conveyor belt - five days at sea and five in ``the Ditch,'' as often the Intracoastal is fondly - sometimes not so fondly - called.
We leave Marathon Key, Fla., Saturday morning on Galatea, a 42-foot sailboat owned by John Hussey, a public relations consultant from Solomons, Md. I'm part of a five-man crew that also includes James Trum, a State Department management analyst; and Robert Nicholson, a retired pilot; and Trum's 18-year-old son, Adam. As we shove off, our LORAN, a radio beacon position finder, indicates that Thimble Shoals channel marker at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is 882 statute miles.
Glowing weather reports seem borne out, and just two hours after leaving the dock, Hussey throttles back the engine and lets 1,000 square feet of sail take over. ``Let's say a prayer to the weather gods: Give us five days of this and it will be one of the great sails of all time,'' he says.
But as we move from turquoise waters into the cobalt blue band created by the Gulf Stream, east winds against the stream create unpleasant wave patterns. As John and Leslie Kettlewell say in their Intracoastal Waterway book, wind against the Gulf Stream can create short, steep, square waves that lead boaters ``to understand the origins of the Bermuda Triangle legend.''
For more than 12 hours now, Galatea has rocked and rolled, pitched and yawed. Our two-hour watches at times seem like riding a trampoline. No one gets more than a few minutes' sleep. Things not securely tied down crash in the night. A couple of stomachs rebel.
And yet, as the sun rises behind a distant rainfall, we quickly forget the night before. The lights of Miami are gaudy and bright.
``You remember the good parts,'' Hussey says as Day Two dawns.
ABOARD THE GALATEA - At night, stars over the Atlantic Ocean are cut diamonds falling savagely into the sea. The phosphorus sparkle in the waves seems to mirror the heavens.
It is a beautiful Saturday evening that will soon turn agonizing, but for now the adventure of a thousand-mile sail seems worth whatever nature may dish out.
We are in the Gulf Stream, the fast-moving conveyor belt, flying in the company of a unique species of human that imitate migrating birds, whales and butterflies: the boaters who cruise each year by the thousands through Hampton Roads.
These ``snowbirds'' migrate south to north in the spring and reverse the flow each fall. They put smiles on the faces of marina owners, shop keepers and restaurateurs throughout the area.
Just like their feathered counterparts, snowbirds move their boats to escape the cold winters of the North and the summers of the South.
There are several ways to make the trip, but most run through the choke point of the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth.
They call it Mile Marker Zero, the beginning of what most boaters regard as the Intracoastal Waterway as it begins its thousand-mile run south to Miami.
Other parts stretch north to Boston and west to Brownsville, Texas. But to most ships the waterway's Norfolk-to-Miami run is the real Intracoastal. And we're on it. Or at least, for now, on the outside ``route'' that barrels through the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina all the way to Beaufort-Morehead City, N.C., and then lapses into the slow, beautiful and mysterious route inside.
Over a 10-day span we'll follow the conveyor belt - five days at sea and five in ``the Ditch,'' as often the Intracoastal is fondly - sometimes not so fondly - called.
We leave Marathon Key, Fla., Saturday morning on Galatea, a 42-foot sailboat owned by John Hussey, a public relations consultant from Solomons, Md. I'm part of a five-man crew that also includes James Trum, a State Department management analyst; and Robert Nicholson, a retired pilot; and Trum's 18-year-old son, Adam. As we shove off, our LORAN, a radio beacon position finder, indicates that Thimble Shoals channel marker at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is 882 statute miles.
Glowing weather reports seem borne out, and just two hours after leaving the dock, Hussey throttles back the engine and lets 1,000 square feet of sail take over. ``Let's say a prayer to the weather gods: Give us five days of this and it will be one of the great sails of all time,'' he says.
But as we move from turquoise waters into the cobalt blue band created by the Gulf Stream, east winds against the stream create unpleasant wave patterns. As John and Leslie Kettlewell say in their Intracoastal Waterway book, wind against the Gulf Stream can create short, steep, square waves that lead boaters ``to understand the origins of the Bermuda Triangle legend.''
For more than 12 hours now, Galatea has rocked and rolled, pitched and yawed. Our two-hour watches at times seem like riding a trampoline. No one gets more than a few minutes' sleep. Things not securely tied down crash in the night. A couple of stomachs rebel.
And yet, as the sun rises behind a distant rainfall, we quickly forget the night before. The lights of Miami are gaudy and bright.
``You remember the good parts,'' Hussey says as Day Two dawns. MEMO: Sidebar to story on page A8. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by PAUL CLANCY
The Galatea, owned by John Hussey, is taking the Gulf Stream and the
Intracoastal Waterway from Marathon Key, Fla., to Hampton Roads.
Color graphic with map
Destination Hampton Roads
Impact - Thousands of boaters each way every year spending between
$200 and $500 per boat every night. Marinas, restaurants and repair
facilities compete for and rely on transients for a substantial part
of their income.
Alternate Routes - Riding the Gulf Stream ``conveyor belt'' 800
miles from Miami to Morehead City, N.C. This is the preferred route
for many boaters who don't have time to take the Intracoastal all
the way.
KEYWORDS: INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY SERIES by CNB