NYC -2- ATL

Today we awoke early as planned and quickly made the twelve mile journey to the waiting Hatteras - Ocracoke Island Ferry. This was a seemingly smaller ship than the last one, with maybe 20 or so cars on-board. The passage took about an hour and took an unusual route, close to sandbars and other underwater hazards to deliver us to the island.

Once we disembarked, we waited for all of the cars to unload and pass. This being the north end of the only road on the island, we were completely free of southbound traffic as we rolled through the isolated dunes. It was very pretty, and we had a gentle tailwind the entire way. We stopped at an access point to look at the Atlantic Ocean, and I stalked a few crabs scuttling around their burrow.

We had three hours to move down the deserted 12 mile island to get to the only town and the next ferry dock where we planned to depart at 1:30. We stopped and had a picnic with the last of our smoked fish and other snacks at table under some nice shady trees by the lone park in the middle of the island. We rolled into the town and looked around. We decided to stop for a quick bite at a restaurant, but seeing how busy they were, decided to leave and find a sandwich to eat on the pending three hour ferry ride.

As we left the restaurant, I looked down at my rear-right pannier and saw my flip flop sticking out of the side. I realized the entire side seam had given way and although nothing had fallen out yet, this was a pretty serious problem. We threw a few bungie cords around the saddle bag to keep it together and the contents secured and decided this would require an overnight stay to fix.

We quickly checked in to the Anchorage Inn & Marina where we found a nice first floor room. We rode a mile to the local hardware store where I purchased a tent repair kit and a roll of Gorilla Tape. After consulting with one of our Platinum-level sponsors who happens to be an expert at sewing (thanks Mom!), I used the tent cord and a heavy needle to stitch the busted seam back together.

The repair took me over an hour, but there were nice chairs right in front of the room with an awning to give me shade and a good place to work. As I stitched, I thought of my cousin Pam, who recently passed away. She was a master of sewing and especially crochet and lacework. I don’t know what kind of advice she would have given me about the mend I was making, but I know she would have been proud of me for sewing a solution.

Once I was done with the stitching, I used a wood screw and screwdriver to bore four holes through the plastic backing near the bottom of the break. I used two zip-ties pulled tightly through the holes to sandwich that portion of the seam back together. Then, once everything else looked strong, I coated the entire mend, carefully with a single flat layer of Gorilla Tape. I think the fix is strong, and I’m hoping it gets me back to Atlanta.

The plan for tomorrow is to rise very early as we’re told we need to be at the ferry at 7:00 for a 7:30 departure. That should put us in Cedar Island around 10:30, but where exactly we end up from there is still up in the air.