A day at the park

Often when the wind isn't blowing we look for other adventures locally to enjoy our time together and get some exercise. Last Sunday was one of those days, no wind (...forecasted, anyway...) and a bright sunshiny day. We went on a biking adventure to Back Bay Wildlife Preserve and False Cape State Park. This is a park located at the very southeastern corner of Virginia and is only accessible by bicycle or foot. It's quite a hike to get there. So we loaded up the bikes and headed out for an epic bike adventure, our first one of the year.

We parked at Little Island City Park about 1/2 mile from the Back Bay Wildlife Preserve. I unloaded and strapped the camera on to the rack and we were off on our adventure.

We only made about 100ft from parking lot when we found a launch for kayaks and canoes- here is the First Mate at the launch spot.

 The launch puts into Back Bay, a shallow bay full of wildlife and beautiful scenery. We wanted to check it out, as we had obtained a gently used canoe over the winter and need a good spot to try it out. I always enjoyed canoeing as a youngster and look forward to a future epic canoe adventure from this site. 

As always...someone found the water! She couldn't resist. If there's an ocean she'll jump in, dressed appropriately or not.

We were fortunate that it was low tide and we were able to ride our bikes on the beach along the shore, which extends all the way to the state line into NC.  If we had fatter bike tires we would have been able to explore the beach much further. As is was the tide was on its way in so after an hour or so on the beach we headed back into the park.

                                     

Beautiful beaches here, we had it almost completely to ourselves. There were a handful of other walkers and another couple on bikes but that was about it. Because cars are unable to come anywhere close to this beach and sunbathing and swimming aren't allowed, it has remained very pristine.

After returning to the park from the beach we traveled down the gravel trails and finally made it to False Cape State Park. 

After riding for a while we decided to take a break and take some pictures. Here is  the First Mate cheesing for the camera.

Trying upload her pics to Facebook.....no success....the place has no cell phone reception. Too bad! It does however, have several marsh pools that are full of wildlife. We saw turtles and snakes swimming, and an egret stalking prey.

Another shot of pristine beaches looking south toward North Carolina, which is only a few miles from this point on the beach.

As you can see from this photo it was a near perfect day for an adventure in the park. It turns out that there was quite a nice breeze blowing off the Atlantic all day. It would have made for a nice sail on Salacia but we had an equally fun time here in the park. 

Looking out over Back Bay

This was one of the nicest days we have spent outside in a long time. After the winter we've endured, it was even more magnificent. The weather was perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed the beach, park and each other's company.

Alberg 30 trailer nearing completion, Alberg 30 Salacia first sail of 2014

In the last post we were in the middle of a great weekend. Saturday night we went to an amazing concert, Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band. It was a spectacular display of pure musicianship, the band had so many talented musicians. They rocked for 3 hours straight! The following day we went sailing. 80 degrees, sunny and a good breeze out of the south made for a great first sail of 2014. We tacked back and forth just outside the inlet for 3 hours, it was much fun and more importantly...very relaxing.

First Mate enjoying the sail. 

We took it easy and just flew the large genoa. It was enough to push Sal along at 3-4 knots all afternoon. I am hoping to make 1 or 2 more sails before taking her out of the water. I'd like to sail out to the Chesapeake Light, about 12 miles offshore. We'll see if time allows....it should, aren't we the ones setting the schedule? In the meantime I am working on a video of our sail. I am practicing with some video editing software so it is taking me a while.

Progress on the trailer continues slowly but surely. All that is left is the wiring. 

A shot from the back just before installing the rear lights. 

I will be adding 4 additional supports to hold Sal in place, but this will be done at the boat yard with Sal still in the slings resting lightly on the trailer.

All the front clearance lights and DOT reflective tape installed. Really breaks up that black paint nicely.

Another side shot showing the tongue of the trailer all painted and ready to go.

This trailer is long, nearly 30 ft long. First Mate's classy 'Stang at the end there : )

Here is the wiring...yeah... it's a mess. I am  just beginning to tackle it. In the picture you can see I installed the new brake controller (top left); this unit will apply the brakes should the trailer break away from the tow vehicle. It is a safety requirement, and so there it is. 

Another shot of wiring spaghetti that I will have to sort out over the next few days. Once the wiring is completed the trailer will be ready.

All in all we are progressing along nicely and working to get Sal home so we can start her refit. I am beginning to give thought to all the areas and items that need to be addressed. It's nice to be able to turn my attention to something else. Stay tuned: there will be a boat on the trailer soon!

Beautiful weekend-In progress

The last few days the weather here has been great, nearly perfect! I finished all of the welding on the trailer and finally applied some paint to most of it. I was only able to paint the front half but its getting there. This Alberg 30 trailer will soon have an Alberg 30 sailboat on it.

Here is what our Alberg 30 trailer project looks like this am, starting to come together

We went to an absolutely great Bruce Springsteen concert last night, one of the best performances I've ever seen. The E Street band was amazing. They played for 3 hrs straight. It was well worth the money. Today WE ARE GOING SAILING!!!! It is going to be close to 80 degrees and there will be a nice southerly breeze. Check back for pictures and a sailing report

Alberg 30 Trailer Coming Along- Almost Finished Construction

The weather here in Virginia has finally broken. We are now seeing the type of weather one would expect to see for spring, now that the temperature is up and it is not raining. I have been able to get quite a bit done on the trailer. 

Finally got some new tires for trailer. One more thing I can scratch off the to-do list. These 8x14.5 tires are not easy to find - I had to travel a few towns over. I repainted the rims and they look pretty good mounted to the reconditioned hubs. She's starting to look like something!

Back on the street! Yard is still quite wet...definitely too wet to lay on so I moved the operation to the street.

She's a long one. This Alberg 30 trailer is just a tad too long for my driveway.

All welding equipment ready to go. This day I completed a lot of the finish welding. Most of the added beam and keel supports were just tacked using the small MIG welder. I arc welded all the main supports and trailer tongue.

I also added some nice D rings. I have added 4 so far. I will add two more once I have the boat on the trailer. This way I can place them exactly where they will be needed. These small details take time, but in the end it will make for a very nice trailer.

I should be able to make more progress over the next few days. The weather is supposed to hold out through the weekend. If it does, I might have the trailer nearly finished. 

Still to do:

• Wiring
• Sand trailer
• Paint....
• Go get Salacia!

Changes

Just got back from a workout in the park with Crystal, temperature was a beautiful 70 degrees today. 

Now it looks like we're in for some gale force winds and rapidly dropping temperatures overnight. The temps will be in the 30's within 24hrs....

So goes the weather in southeast Virginia.