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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Nautical Belts for Men & Women at Skipjack

Looking for the right nautical belt?  Well here's a selection of some of our new and all time favorite seriously sea-worthy nautical inspired belts that will certainly satisfy even the saltiest of tastes!

Skipjack's sailor macrame nautical belts are available in a variety of colors
 The Skipjack collection of  nautical belts is perfect look to wear with your favorite  jeans, khakis, or corduroys. This timeless classic cotton web ribbon belt for all seasons has full grain drum-dyed leather billet and buckle ends accentuated by the solid brass buckle.  Also available with solid brass or nickel-plated solid brass “D” Rings. Check out our full line of  Skipjack's nautical wears and boating apparel at: Skipjack Nautical Wears

Skipjack's sailor macrame braided web nautical belt in natural line (pictured above and below) is available in five different colors, each created with full grain leather belt ends and solid brass buckles. A great nautical look for men, women and children too. Skipjack's sailor macrame nautical belt

Skipjack's nautical sailor macrame belt is available in five colors.

 
The classic nautical signal flag belt is available with your choice of red or white webbing as a background to the signal flag ribbon. Skipjack's nautical signal flag belt

Nautical signal flag belt in red or white webbing at Skipjack.
Feeling a bit piratical? Then choose our skull and crossbones belt. Available in red or white webbing with red bandanna or on hot pink with pink bandanna for our female buccaneers!
Skipjack's skull and crossbones nautical belt

Skull & Crossbones belt.

Skipjack's crossed oars nautical belt comes in navy blue with gold thread oars and trim cotton web ribbon belt is perfect for all seasons. Skipjack's crossed oars nautical belt

Crossed oars nautical belt
Go fishin' in style with our striper nautical sports belt. Comes in navy blue on a moss green webbing.  Skipjack's striper nautical sports belt Wanna go striper fishing? Visit stripers247.com

Skipjack's striper nautical sports belt.

The classic schooner under full sail on ocean blue waters is one of our most popular nautical themed ribbon belts. Skipjack's schooner nautical belt

We're all about schooners here at Skipjack representing both the "Schooner Virginia"  and the schooner "Spirit of Independence." Check out our blog "Schooner Racing on the bay" at http://racingthebay.blogspot.com/ and see the world's largest gathering of schooners each October right here in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia. Go to: http://schoonerdays.blogspot.com/

The Skipjack Schooner nautical belt for men and women.

We stock sizes 32 to 46 at our riverfront store here in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia. Smaller sizes starting at 20 and sizes larger than 46 are available too. Expect up to two weeks upon order for receipt.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Tall Ship "Statsraad Lehmkuhl" to Visit Norfolk, Virginia


Location: Otter Berth, Downtown Norfolk, Virginia
Date: November 4-5, 2010
Time: Ship Arrival
Thursday, November, 4, 2010 at 9 am

Ship Tours
Schools Tours (schools only)
Friday, November 5, 10:00 am - Noon

Public Tours
Friday, November 5: Noon - 4pm 

On Thursday November 4, 2010 the unique and majestic 96-year old Norwegian tall sailing ship "HNoMS Statsraad Lehmkuhl" is scheduled to arrive in Downtown Norfolk at 9 am, docking at Otter Berth next to Waterside. The ship will depart on Friday, November 5, 2010.

On Thursday November 4, 2010 the unique and majestic 96-year old Norwegian tall sailing ship "HNoMS Statsraad Lehmkuhl" is scheduled to arrive in Downtown Norfolk.
Arrival will be immediately followed at 9:30 am with a dockside public welcome ceremony.  The public is invited to tour the ship on Friday, November 5, from noon - 4pm; school groups can reserve a private tour from 10 am - noon.

The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is sailed by the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy's first year officer cadets, who are participating in leadership training and team building during the trip. The cadets also get a strong foundation of basic seamanship during their weeks onboard. Stripped of modern communication technology, the students are forced to work together to overcome the timeless challenges and dangers of travelling the seas by sail. Statsraad Lehmkuhl has been part of the basic training program since 2002, whereby the Royal Norwegian Navy leases the ship for several months every year. Norfolk has become a favorite port of call for the ship and her crew; this will be the 6th consecutive year that the ship has called on Norfolk as part of their sail-training schedule. The port visit is sponsored by Norfolk Festevents, Ltd.


The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is sailed by the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy's first year officer cadets, who are participating in leadership training and team building during the trip
The City of Norfolk and her community leaders will officially welcome the HNoMS Statsraad Lehmkuhl on Thursday, November 4 with a flag-raising and dockside ceremony scheduled to take place at Otter Berth in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia.  Lake Taylor High School's NJROTC Color Guard will carry out the flag-raising ceremony beginning at 9:30 am.

School Tour Schedule: Friday, November 5, 2010, 10 am - noon. Please contact Hank Moseley with Festevents, at 757-441-2345 ext.3019 or moseleyh@festevents.org for more information and to arrange for school tours. Schools must provide their own transportation to and from Otter Berth. Ship tours are FREE.

Public Visitation Schedule: Friday, November 5, 2010, Noon - 4 pm. Ship tours are FREE and open to the public from Noon - 4 pm only.

Facts & History: HNoMS Statsraad Lehmkuhl

•The Barque ‘Statsraad Lehmkuhl' is from Bergen.  It is a three masted Barque, launched in 1914.  She was built by JC Tecklenborg, Bremerhaven, Germany and is Norway's oldest and largest sailing vessel.
•Overall Length: 98 metres (321.522309711')
•Length of Hull: 259'
•Rig: Three-masted barque
•Height of Rig: 158'
•Beam: 12.6 metres (41.338582677')
•Draught: 5.2 metres (17.060367454'
•High Carbon Steel Hull
•Carries a crew of 125 (100 training)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Unforseen Circumstances: A New Novel by Debbi Holmes


Book Signing

Debbi Holmes will be at Skipjack Nautical Wares
Friday, October 15 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, October 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Debbi Holmes recently accomplished a dream she had since high school; she wrote and published a book called Unforeseen Circumstances. The book has turned non-readers into readers and has left avid readers’ wanting more. 

Debbi Holmes will be signing her book Unforseen Circumstances at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery
Inspiration for the Book
Inspiration can come in many forms and can be different for many people. For Debbi, the inspiration came last year when she was struggling to find a good book to read with a mixture of romance, suspense and action. Her husband joking said, “Why don’t you write your own?” Debbi stated, “I don’t think he thought I would follow through on that comment!” Debbi eagerly got to work writing her book.

The storyline needed to have all the components she was looking for: romance, suspense and action. The idea came from stories she heard from “transients” that visit the dock, where she lives on her boat, about pirates in the Caribbean. She also had her nephew as a resource, who is in the Coast Guard, to provide stories about pirates coasting the Caribbean waters. She states, “I live on a boat so some of the experiences the characters have are interwoven from both my own experiences and fantasy.”

She had a co-worker read the book to get her opinion and see if was worth taking the time and expense to publish it. After her friend raved about the storyline and characters and encouraged her to follow through, Debbi began researching what it took to publish a book.



Patience is a Virtue

The good ole statement, “Rome was not built in a day”, is rule of thumb to keep in mind when writing and publishing a book. It takes both time and dedication to go through the process. Since she is a full time manager, the book was written at night and most weekends. “My husband found me disappearing from enjoying friends out on the dock, to being holed up in the bedroom, writing”, she states. Writing the story, for her, was the easiest part. She was able to finish the story in 3 months. Then it was time to design the cover, edit, and publish the book.

The cover was Debbi’s idea. She wanted to design a cover that would catch an individuals’ eye who is scanning the shelf for an interesting book to read. She utilized a photographer based on a referral and her daughter as the model. After 6 hours and over 80 different photo shots, she finally found the one that she imagined.

The road for editing was a little bumpy. She paid a student, who was working on their Masters in editing, to do the original editing. She didn’t think to go behind them to re-read the whole book. It went to the publishers and the first edition went out for people to buy. Luckily, only friends and family purchased the first edition and informed Debbi of misspellings, punctuation errors, and missing words. She immediately pulled it back out of print and had it re-edited by three different friends as well as going over the book herself an additional 2 times. “I have learned patience through this process and that has been the hardest thing for me”, she states. The second edition was completed and the book went back to printers. It is now available for purchase.  



Upcoming Projects

Debbi is not finished pursuing her dream. She is currently marketing her first book and has a few book signings lined up. She is half way through the sequel to the first book, which many are anxiously awaiting. She also has 2 other ideas for books that are going to be a completely different story line from the first two. She wants to maintain the theme of boats and water in all of her books, making it her signature style.


Comments from Fans

I had the privilege of reading Debbi’s book, which I must say was simply amazing. I was so engrossed in the story line that I could barely put the book down. She did provide a little snip-it of the sequel in the back of the book and I choose not to read it because I wanted to be completely surprised. I, like many others, are eagerly waiting for the sequel to be finished.

When I heard that Debbi had written a book, I went online that evening and purchased it.  Just a few days later, I brought it to work and had Debbi sign it.  I was very excited for her and showed the book to everyone I saw that day.  I have to say, I really enjoyed reading Unforeseen Circumstances.  The early references to local landmarks sparked my interest in the beginning.  As I read on, I noticed that Debbi's descriptive story telling really made you feel as if you were right there with the characters.  This book had a little bit of everything, Romance, Suspense and Action.  There were times; I just couldn't put the book down.  I am looking forward to the sequel.” By: Sharon Hughes

“The story is so intriguing; I immediately got immersed in the characters lives.
Debbi has such great way of making the reader feel that they are a part of the story.  She's also a very descriptive writer.  When she talks about the beaches and some of the downtown Portsmouth landmarks, I can completely envision myself there! By: Michelle Garrett

For more information on the book and Debbi please visit www.debbiannholmes.com.
You can also purchase Unforseen  Circumstances  at Skipjack's web store: Click here!

Written by Shannon Dickson.