2019 - September 13 - Day 3

Had a long day of paddling today. Not sure of the exact mileage yet but somewhere in the 20 mile neighborhood. At some point yesterday I crossed from the Albemarle Sound into the Pamlico sound. Big water, nothing but water as far as I could see on the right all day.

Wind was out of the SW generally 7 to 12 knots, so not favorable at all. Safe to paddle, but a lot of work! Wind in that range and a 20 mile day meant not much time for fishing, but I did manage to land two more nice speckled trout.

I met up with Dad in Avon and we’ll stay in an Air BnB for the night. Wind tomorrow is forecast to be 13 in the morning going up into the 20+ range by the end of the day, so I think today’s leg was it for the 2019 tour. besides, who wants to paddle a long way on Friday the 13th?

Weather was the big story this year. From Dorian to lightning storms to high winds. I only had three days of paddling. I made the most of them, covering about 60 miles, but the Fishhugger is officially behind schedule.

Shout out of the day goes to the beautiful speckled trout of the Outer Banks. Catching those beauties made some long hard days seem so much better.

Plastic fact of the day: Nearly all plastic – 99% – is made from fossil fuels. Plastic is among the most significant and rapidly growing sources of industrial greenhouse gas emissions. Refining the material is the most greenhouse gas intensive part of the plastic lifecycle, and major expansions in the US and elsewhere will accelerate climate change. Good plan.

Thanks for following!

“The act of fishing – for fish, dreams or whatever magic is available – is enough. It transports us to a special world, and a state of mind, where we are free.“
Fennel Hudson

Three days of paddling in 2019.  From Kill Devil Hills to the town of Avon on Hatteras Island.

Plastic trash.  It's everywhere.

My biggest trout of the trip. He hit a Z-Man DieZel Minnow lure.

There a lot of beautiful isolated beaches on the sound side of the Outer Banks.

Found myself without tent poles but Dad came to the rescue.

This is Avon, where the 2019 Tour came to an end.

The final take-out in Avon.

2019 - September 11 - Day 2

This is Chris, posting for Tim, as he had limited service where he was today.  He had a good day of paddling!  It was a shorter paddle compared to yesterday (~15-17 miles vs ~25 yesterday), but he said it seemed harder in some ways.... there were funky currents that made him feel like he was working hard and getting nowhere, as well as shallow depths that required he switch from pedaling to paddling for quite awhile.  Tim did take time to fish and caught a lot of beautiful spotted sea trout.  He also saw a bunch of rays, and a sea turtle.

He found a campground that was open near Rodanthe, (the one where he was planning to stay was not open...had no water yet).  They liked what he was doing with the Fishhugger trip, so they let him stay for half price. :)

He got to see a beautiful sunset, which he was able to send pictures of, and you can see below.

I'm guessing Tim's shout out for today would go to his Dad again, as Tim accidentally left his tent poles in the car and his Dad, who is staying ~ 15 minutes away, happily brought them to him (Thanks Mike!).

2019 - September 10 - Day 1 - Paddling Begins!

A long-delayed 2019 Day-1 of the 2019 Journey of the Fishhugger is in the books.  Great, but long and windier-than-expected day.  Caught and released some beautiful trout, cleaned up some nasty plastic trash, paddled some lovely stretches of water, and got my groove back.

24 miles from Kill Devil Hills to Oregon Inlet.  Originally planned as two leisurely days of paddling, I doubled up to make up for some lost time.

Plan for tomorrow is to paddle from Oregon Inlet to a campground in Rodanthe.

Want to think of something clever or inspirational to finish with, but I'm whooped and ready for bed!

Shoving off from Kill Devil Hills.

Thanks for coming all the way from Louisiana to help out with the 2019 Tour Dad!

These fish are beautiful!

Speckled Sea Trout

 

Nice place to take a break

Finally, at the boat ramp at Oregon Inlet.

Thunderstorms...playing it safe

Have I mentioned that flexibility is important?  There were thunderstorms, heavy rain & wind this morning through early afternoon, so it didn't make sense to push off from Elizabeth City today.  Had a nice day with Dad, but man I'm ready to paddle.

Water at Elizabeth City was right at minor flood stage as well.  If you look at the graph below, the rapid drop in the water level is when the back side of Dorian was pushing all of the water South, away from Elizabeth City.  That must have been something to see.

As much as I wanted to get going, I also wanted to be smart.  Paddling 24 miles in flood stage water with rain and lightning ain't smart!

The forecast looks good tomorrow so I'm counting on going.  However, there's no way I can cover the whole route at this point.  New plan (Plan D?) is to skip two days worth of paddling - from Elizabeth City to Kill Devil Hills and make up that stretch in the future.

So I'll start paddling South from Kill Devil Hills tomorrow and hopefully make it to Frisco or Hatteras Village by Saturday.

Thanks for following!

The weather today.

 

Killing time when I can’t paddle.



I can think of lots of worse places to be stuck. Thanks Richard McMillan!

 

The Fishhugger has landed in the Outer Banks!

 

The Fishhugger has landed in the Outer Banks! After a long drive and some waiting, the Outer Banks were opened to non-residents at 4:00.

We checked on the home of relatives and came on down to check on and stay at Richard McMillan’s place for the night. For being such a great, consistent and generous supporter of the Journey of the Fishhugger, he gets the shout-out of the day. Thanks!!! You rock!!!

Will check weather forecast and if things look OK, I hope to drive to Elizabeth City tomorrow and shove off right where I took out last year.

It was great having a send-off from Chris and Julian this morning but we were all bummed that Dorian spoiled their plans to come down for the weekend.

#5gyres

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Headed to Outer Banks on Sunday, September 8

Just a quick update to let folks know that non-residents are not allowed onto the Outer banks as of Saturday, September 7. Seems likely that they will allow visitors tomorrow. I called several businesses down in Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills and many are open, many are not. Some have power, some do not. Grocery stores are open and everyone seems to have water.

My Dad and I will head down tomorrow. If they are still not letting folks on the OBX, we will stay in Elizabeth City (power is on there). If they will let us on the Outer Banks, priority number one will be checking on the houses of friends and family and doing what we can to help with any damage or other issues.

Once all that is done, we will assess whether doing some Journey of the Fishhugger seems safe and appropriate. I am cautiously optimistic.

Thanks for following!

All geared up and nowhere to go?

Dorian continues to make the 2019 Journey of the Fishhugger an exercise in contingency planning. The storm is predicted to go right over much of my planned route starting Thursday and peaking Friday morning around 11:00 AM.



The forecast is for winds to drop to virtually nothing by noon Saturday and stay that way for the rest of the week with highs in the upper 70's -- perfect paddling conditions.  But if the power and/or roads are out on the Outer Banks, doing the whole route would not be possible. So much uncertainty.

From the National Hurricaine Center: "A Storm Surge Warning is in effect from Edisto Beach, SC to Poquoson, VA including Pamlico and Albermarle Sounds, the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers, and Hampton Roads. Please follow all instructions from local officials. #Dorian http://hurricanes.gov"

For now, the best-case scenario plan is to watch closely and prepare to head in the general direction of Elizabeth City on Friday, hoping I might be able to shove of Saturday.  We are going to remain flexible and see what happens.

More to come.

TT

Let's talk about Dorian...

I think I jinxed the trip with my last post.  Dang.

Flexibility is key in all things about the Journey of the Fishhugger.  Due to the totally uncool track that hurricane Dorian has taken, it seems almost certain that I will change my start date a wee bit.

Oh, Dorian...She is headed for the Outer Banks and will likely arrive on September 5, my previously-planned start date

We will keep watching the weather, but right now, there is a nice calm predicted AFTER the storm.  Current thinking is to pencil in a new start date of Saturday, September 8. I can't add on any time to the back end of the trip though, so I may not finish the planned route.  We shall see.

Plastic Facts of the Day:  17.6 billion pounds -- that's how much plastic we dump into our oceans each year.  It is the equivalent of nearly 57,000 blue whales -- every single year. If plastic production isn’t curbed, plastic pollution will outweigh fish pound for pound by 2050.

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"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right."
-- Henry Ford

Luxury Cruise?

I don’t want to jinx things, but as plans are starting to firm up for the 2019 tour, it is looking like a luxury cruise compared to last year.

One of the expected features of the 2019 Journey of the Fishhugger.

First, due to a lot of factors (mostly logistics of the pick-up), the route this year is short at 100 miles or so. But I have 10 days to cover it. So, I will have the luxury of taking days off -- just to rest and have fun, or in case of bad weather. Having extra days built into the plan takes away a nagging anxiety about making it somewhere by a certain date and time.

Second, I am familiar with the water I will paddle this year. I have not paddled a lot of the route, but I know the OBX and have paddled the sounds a fair bit. Last year that was not the case. From the Chesapeake Bay to the Elizabeth River to the Dismal Swamp Canal, it was all new and unknown.

Third, tide and current are not really factors. The sounds are protected from the Atlantic by those long, improbably thin pieces of land known as the Outer Banks. The Albemarle sound is the largest mostly brackish or freshwater sound in North America. It was a mostly saltwater sound until 1830, when a storm closed the Currituck inlet and limited the flow of ocean water into the sound. The tidal range for most of the Albemarle Sound is just several inches between high and low. Only near the inlets do tide and current become something to factor in and plan for – if you get too close to an inlet in a kayak on a falling tide, you could end up in the Atlantic.

This historic map of the Carolina coast from 1731 shows where the Currituck Inlet used to be.

Fourth, I will have an amazing support team along the way this year. My dad is not only going with me to the put-in in Elizabeth City, but he plans to follow along the Outer Banks (OBX) as I make my way to the take-out in Hatteras, so we should have several opportunities to meet up for a meal or drinks, or even share a place for the night. My wife Chris and son Julian are also planning to come down for several nights and I hope to take a day(s?) off and hang with them. Hannah won’t make it – she will be a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University (go Rams!).

Fifth, good folks are already being helpful. I have been offered several possible places to stay for a night along the way, and the owners of an Air BnB have shared some thoughtful local paddling knowledge.

So, while there are still many wild cards that can throw a wrench into things (wind being the most likely), I am feeling more relaxed about the tour this year.

Plastic facts of the day: Recycling is fine, but it is NOT the answer. In 2015, the U.S. recycled about 9 percent of its plastic waste, and since then the number has dropped even lower. The vast majority of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic ever produced — 79 percent — has ended up in landfills or scattered all around the world. And as for those plastic shopping bags: Less than 1 percent of the tens of billions of plastic bags used in the U.S. each year are recycled. Barrels of oil required for US annual plastic bag consumption: 12,000,000.  Good plan.  Recycling will never ever solve this problem. Using less single-use plastic is the only sustainable answer.

Thanks for following!

TT

The cure for anything is salt water -- sweat, tears, or the sea. -Isak Dinesen (pen name of Karen Blixen)

Of course, sometimes even a luxury cruise hits a rough patch...

A More Active Hurricane Season Could Lie Ahead, Scientists Warn
John Schwartz, The New York Times
NOAA issued an updated El Niño report on Thursday stating that conditions had returned to a neutral status, which will eventually allow hurricane formation to ramp up. The forecasters at NOAA's climate prediction center thus raised the likelihood of an above-normal season in the Atlantic to 45 percent, up from 30 percent in the May forecast.

Getting Ready for the 2019 Tour!

Friends of the Fishhugger,


Apologies for the long silence! It has been a great but busy year. Hannah graduated from high school and Chris, Hannah, Julian and I took a wonderful trip to England and Scotland during the time I normally do a leg of the journey. But now dates are set for the 2019 Journey of the Fishhugger and I am deep in planning mode. On September 5, I will shove off from the same spot in Elizabeth City, NC where I ended the 2018 leg.


A quick recap of the journey to jog your memories and bring any newbies up to speed…My goal is to paddle the intracoastal waterway from Alexandria, VA to Key West, doing a leg each year as my schedule and job allow. Ideally, I will coast into Key West on my 60th birthday, April 7, 2027. Everyone is invited to that party!


I started the Journey of the Fishhugger in Alexandria in 2016 and last year made it to Elizabeth City, NC where I will put in this year. Along the way, I fish and camp and clean up trash on the waterways – mostly plastic. I am doing this trip for a lot of reasons – to show myself and others that you can have a day job and a mortgage AND a truly epic adventure (even after you turn 50); to test myself and challenge my comfort zones in several ways; to be immersed in and truly appreciate the beauty of nature; to find the kind of solitude that forces you to live in the moment and have deeper introspection; and, importantly, to raise awareness about how awful and genuinely stupid plastic pollution is.


My goal for this year is to make it about 100 miles from Elizabeth City to Hatteras, NC. I will mostly paddle on the sound side of the Outer Banks, first in the Albemarle Sound, then the Pamlico Sound. I’m really looking forward to this leg of the trip. I have loved and visited the Outer Banks regularly since the 1980's. The sounds are known for strong winds and I will be surprised if I am not forced to sit out a day or more due to weather. It is also hurricane season, so that could be a factor.

The route this year will be a mix of wilderness camping and campgrounds, perhaps with an Air BnB along the way. I have high hopes for the fishing too, with striped bass, speckled trout, redfish, and flounder all possible. It will be great to have fresh fish on the menu for a meal or two.


Plastic facts of the day: Oil demand for transportation is expected to slow by 2050 due to the rise of electric vehicles and more-efficient combustion engines, but that is forecast to be offset by rising demand for petrochemicals for plastic production. Petrochemicals, mostly for plastic production, are expected to account for more than a third of global oil demand growth by 2030 and nearly half of demand growth by 2050. Big Oil is counting on you to keep using plastic. Would you rather help Big Oil make big profits or make the world a better place?


Thanks for following, and more to come!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain