The Boatbuilding Adventure

Here's the back story: In early 2004 I came up with an idea for a boat design while living on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. I started building my design on the porch of my apartment. In 2005 when I moved to California to be with Noëlle I had the boat shipped out there. I continued to work on it while it was in Noëlle's Dad's yard. Then, in 2007 when Noëlle and I moved to Durham, NC, I had the boat shipped out here. Now, after four years of work, the boat is nearly complete! Here are some pictures showing it's current status.

Sailing Videos

Now, for something a little bit different, I thought I would post some links to cool and exciting sailing videos.

This first one was taken by my Dad and my friend Dylan sailing on a borrowed International 14 off the South Coast of Grenada.
International 14 Sailing

This next video is of my Dad and some of his friends from Bequia messing around with wakeboards and water toys.
Bequia Wakeboarding

These next few videos show a side of sailing that most people never see. Remember when sailing was defined as "the fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense"? No longer... Take a deep breath and hold on tight!
Yacht Racing
This is Yacht Racing
More Yacht Racing
Extreme Sailing - make sure to watch past the first minute
ABN AMRO
Extreme 40
Sailing in the Surf
Pirates of the Caribbean - not the movie!

Now I'd like to share some of the more humorous moments captured on film on the water:
Water Fun
Funny Boat Crashes

That's all for now. I have hundreds more that I may post over time. I hope everyone enjoys these!

-Cory

Settling In

Noëlle and I have been rapidly and comfortably settling in here in Durham, NC. Noëlle has been attending classes for a couple weeks and I have taken a position as the 3rd keyholder (shift manager) at Overton's, which is a store that specializes in selling boating gear and watersports equipment, so those of you that know me know that this is right up my alley. The job is great and the work is not too hard. I like the people that I am working with so I really have no complaints. We have been settling in, trying to establish the routines that make life run smoothly, and we have been having a lot of fun in the process, although we seem to be continuously tired.

Noëlle's Mom and Sister came out and visited for a few days last week and we all had a blast. We went out to eat and we all talked and laughed quite a bit. In a couple of weeks my Mom will be visiting for a few days, and we are really looking forward to that. We'll keep updating as new adventures happen!

-Cory

Starting up in North Carolina

Well, I never thought I would end up in North Carolina, but here I am. Cory and I moved here so that I could start start my PhD in coastal & ocean policy at Duke University. We've really been having fun exploring Durham, which is where the main Duke campus is and where I'll spend my first year. It is so green here! We just had a fantastic thunder & lightning storm this morning, which we never got back in California! Also- rent is super cheap here, which is very exciting! I could do without the mosquitos, though. They've been eating me alive.
Right now we're in the lull before the storm, with school starting in just over a week and Cory interviewing for jobs out here. I was a little worried about moving to the south (bible belt and all, eeek!) but luckily this town is pretty liberal (you actually see more anti-war bumper stickers here than pro-war ones). So that's been a relief! I've attached a few photos below of our move and new place.
-N
Above is the little house we're renting here, which actually costs just a little over half of what we were paying for a STUDIO in Los Angeles! I can actually plant vegetables here! yay! :)

We stopped in Colorado on our way across country, and this Columbine flower was growing up at about 11.000 feet elevation in the rockies.

Here I am getting settled on our new (used) super-comfy couch!

Back from Caribbean, off to North Carolina

Hi all!
We're now back from the Caribbean, after six weeks of adventure. We're super busy packing for our cross-country move (the truck arrived today!). Just wanted to share some pictures from the islands we visited. Enjoy!

This picture is of 11-Mile Beach on the island of Barbuda. When you get up close, the beach sand looks pink because of the many crushed pink shells. We explored all along this beach and even found some turtle tracks where a turtle had come to lay her eggs. Very exciting!!

This is a photo I took at a botanical garden on the French island of Guadeloupe. The flower petals are all very hard and waxy!

Here's an example of the crazy tree roots we saw on a paddle upriver on the island of Dominica.

Falmouth Harbor, Antigua

Well, it's been about a month since our last post, and a lot has happened! We left our jobs in California and set out to visit family in the caribbean for a couple months. Right now we're in Antigua, where a classic yacht regatta is currently taking place- there are some gorgeous sailboats here!! Anyhow, I'm writing this from a little bar which also serves as an internet cafe- so I can't attach any pictures now. But we'll get some pics up as soon as possible!! I've got to go for now because folks are about to start a hike up one of the mountains here. More later!
-Noëlle

Back from East Coast

Just a quick update- after looking at 5 different graduate programs in 6 days (in 5 different states!) we're back in CA and planning our next moves. At this point it looks like I'll be choosing to study for my Environment PhD at Duke University- I'm very excited!!! It is a great program- I'll be studying at the main campus for one year and at then I'll finish the last four years at their marine lab studying coastal and ocean policy. You can check out Duke's school of the environment here and the marine lab here.
-Noëlle