THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 16, 1995 TAG: 9507180447
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MONKEY ISLAND LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
WITH ITS MOTOR shut off and the jib barely cupping a warm evening breeze, the Starship Voyager sails silently around a heron rookery without ruffling a feather.
Captain and crew grin in wide-eyed amazement as hundreds of white-winged waterfowl preen against an orange sherbet sunset.
This is a sight few get to see, a bird's-eye view of a century-old hunt club, long abandoned by man, overtaken by nature.
With engines and noise and gasoline fumes, visitors may have disturbed this historic habitat and altered its inhabitants.
But in the lavender-sailed craft - and the plastic sea kayaks stored below deck - anyone is able to approach and admire the wild wonders of Monkey Island.
``It's about four miles straight from shore to Monkey Island. But by sailboat, it's a 12-mile round trip,'' Capt. David Borman explains, dropping anchor in the shallow Currituck Sound. ``Some places here don't have enough water to float us, so we have to work around reeds and grasses and take the long route some nights.''
The eight passengers aboard the 40-foot fiberglass boat don't seem to mind spending extra time on the water. With great blue herons floating over gnarled cypress trees, snowy egrets perched in nearby cabbage palms and the fading silhouette of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse shimmering in the east, sights and silence are enough to keep everyone mesmerized.
Memories of this sailboat sunset cruise are worth savoring.
``We've been on small sailing trips from Maine to the Caribbean, and every one is different and enjoyable,'' says Roberta Hough, a Falls Church, Va., resident vacationing in Corolla with Bob Brandenburg. ``We'd definitely recommend this trip. It's a longer cruise than most.''
Based at the Inn at Corolla Light on the northern Outer Banks, the Starship Voyager is a private yacht with curved seating on a wide, open deck, a 50-foot mast and trademark winding water slide on the stern.
Borman designed and built the sailboat himself, running charter cruises out of the Florida Keys for two years. This spring, he and a friend came to visit his sister in Aydlett. They fell in love with the barrier islands.
You don't have to know how to sail to cruise with this captain. He will let experienced or interested passengers take the helm. But most people seem to prefer to just lie back and enjoy the ride.
``I grew up in Virginia Beach when the paved road didn't extend past Duck,'' Borman says, steering the ship with one hand and shading his eyes with the other. ``I've been coming to the Outer Banks all my life. But when I came back this time, and I realized there weren't any other sail charters in this area, I decided to stay and see what happens for the summer.''
Borman runs four trips a day from the wooden docks near the Whalehead Club. From 9 to 11 a.m., passengers enjoy gourmet coffee, juices and doughnuts as they cruise around Currituck. Lunch sails with boxed meals run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. - perfect suntanning hours.
An afternoon swim and sail from 2 to 5 p.m. affords children a chance to splash down the slide into the 3-foot-deep sound water. The 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. sunset trip includes red and white wine, four types of cheese and crackers.
Sailing trips cost $35 per person. Passengers are encouraged to bring children and cameras. For an additional $24 each, any cruise can be augmented with a kayak trip. Borman's boat can carry a half-dozen paddle craft inside. A total of 24 passengers can ride on the sailboat. But most cruises only carry up to 10.
``Kayaking is one of the most simple sports to learn. Almost anyone can do it. And you can travel everywhere,'' instructor Scott Trabue explains as four sailboat passengers disembark for the 45-minute paddle trip around Monkey Island.
Two of the paddlers have kayaked before. But even the novices are slipping around the wind-swept island after a few short sentences of instruction.
Although the sailboat cruise is sensational itself - especially in warm sunset winds - the kayak portion of the journey adds so much to the overall experience that it is well worth the additional fee.
The yellow and blue craft ride low in the water and enable passengers to get within a few inches of shore. Up close, the island refuge resembles an aviary with hundreds of black-beaked birds fluttering and feeding. It's not much work running the light kayaks through meandering inlets and creek-like tributaries.
But back on board the sailboat, the water slide and an ensuing dip into the bath-temperature sound create an enjoyable ending to a relaxing, tranquil, delightful evening. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Kill Devil Hills residents Tabitha Romano and Jeff Donohue paddle
away from the Starship Voyager.
Graphic
HOW TO BOOK A CRUISE
Based at the Inn at Corolla Light on Currituck County's northern
barrier island beaches, the 40-foot Starship Voyager sailboat offers
four cruises daily, for $35 per person.
Kayak trips around Monkey Island are included for an additional
$24. No experience is necessary.
For more information, or to make reservations, call Corolla
Outback Adventures at 453-0877 or 453-3436.
In Duck, Barrier Island Sailing Center rents 19-foot Flying
Scotts with a captain for $54 an hour.
The 16-foot Hobie Cats with captains rent for $44 an hour.
For more information, call 261-7000.
Nor'Banks Sailing Center in Duck primarily offers sailing
instruction. Introductory lessons are $49 for a three-hour class and
sail.
If you aren't interested in learning to sail, the instructor will
take cruising parties aboard, too.
For more information, call 261-2900.
On Hatteras Island, Papillon Sailing Charters offer weekly, two-
and three-day cruises around the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds.
Papillon and a 41-foot Dickerson ketch are available for private
parties.
For more information, call 986-2979.
A gaff-rigged schooner with pirate ship appearance, the Windfall
on Ocracoke Island offers hourly and sunset cruises for $10 per
person.
No sailing experience is necessary.
For more information, call 928-7245.
by CNB