Adventure bound

Raleighites are spoiled for vacation options. It’s something we’re prone to brag about: the gorgeous mountains and ocean beaches both within an easy drive. But for some, nothing beats an honest-to-goodness adventure. Far-off places lure with perfect waves to surf; epic races to run; sailing trips to take. Some of Raleigh’s most adventurous travelers love their exotic jaunts so much they’ve made them annual affairs. For Raleigh’s Bud Doughton and his wide circle of friends, it’s a yearly surfing trip to Costa Rica; for competitive runners Carol and Fernando Puente, there’s no race like the world-famous, 56.1-miles Comrades marathon in Durban, South Africa. And for Amy, David, and Brodie Batten, bareboat sailing in the British Virgin Islands is what it’s all about. Come along as these Raleighites fill us in on the faraway action.

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Board meeting
Dedicated surfers Bud Doughton, Mason Williams, Clay Ferebee, Tarlton Long, and Jim Manly stake their annual claim to a stretch of Northern Costa Rican beach they’re careful not to name.

The surfers: Bud Doughton and crew

Every winter for the past 20 years, Raleigh native Bud Doughton, 60, and a group of a dozen or so Raleigh friends have headed to Costa Rica to surf. The 10-day trip is a highlight of their year. For two decades it has been a source of gritty adventure, enduring friendships, and bragging rights. It has also kept them in fighting trim.
Where and when do you go? When did you start going?
Northern Costa Rica, in the winter. We first went in 1994. Surfers typically don’t identify their surf spots, but they’ll tell you generally, and they’ll give you a clue. The illustration of the hotel (on pg. 72), by our daughter-in-law Lisl Doughton, where we stay, is our clue. Most Costa Rica surfers will instantly know where it is.
Why do you go?
Because the surf’s good every year, the weather’s good. You can count on it. It’s very consistent. And it’s relatively easy to get to Costa Rica. We have gotten to know the hotel owner, who is Greek, very well, and we leave 17 surfboards there. The hotel has been closed for the last six years and is guarded by a pack of 11 dogs, but he graciously opens for our group. He’s got the only place on the beach where you can see the ocean. When you wake up in the morning, you see the surf. It is a million-dollar view.
Who goes?
The numbers vary every year from about eight to 18. From Raleigh, Bo Bobbitt, Mason Williams, Catherine Williams, Walker Long, Charles Lee Smith III, Clay Dunnagan, Clay Ferebee and his wife Debra, who own Sunflowers restaurant – she has some Costa Rican artwork in the restaurant. My wife Anna, our daughter Lawre, our son Horton, Allen and John Summerford, Kirk Preiss, John Preiss, Dustin Faithful, Alex Floyd, Jim Bailey, James Bailey, Harriett Broughton Holiday, Robert Finley, Edward Finley, Ginger Finley, Duncan and Evan McMillan and Jay Stevens (Carolina Hurricanes team doctor). Tarlton Long, Jim Manly. Worth Dunn from Raleigh/Greenville, who helped coordinate and plan the first five or six trips to Costa Rica with us, built his own house where we have had gourmet dinners.
What do you pack?
We pack light. A fan – because the hotel doesn’t have air conditioning. The best sunblock you can find, a great pair of polarized sunglasses, Lycra shorts, rash guard, a good hat and new U.S. cash with no tears, wrinkles or marks. Those are the things you need to survive.
Do you do anything special to prepare?
The average surfer who’s going on the trip will swim 60 miles in the six months prior to going, will run over 200 miles, will do over 6,000 push-ups and sit-ups, 30 hours or more of yoga, and more than 60 hours of other cardiovascular fitness. Some do more, and some do less. If you’re not in pretty good condition when you show up, you run the risk of burning out completely on the third day, or getting hurt. We’ve had people come without conditioning who crack ribs, get stitches, nearly drown and stop surfing on the third day.
What do you do there?
We get up at 5:30, 6 a.m., get a cup of coffee, and eat a snack in the room. From the veranda, you can see the surf. Everyone is taking imaginary rides. We put on sunblock, amble into the water about 6:45, and surf a couple of hours until the wind switches, at 9:30 or 10 a.m., from offshore to onshore (breezes). At that point, most people come in, take a shower, and have brunch. Nowadays, everyone goes online, checks their texts. In the old days it often took three days to call home. In the middle of the day, it’s so hot you can’t do anything else. At about 3:30 or 4 o’clock, we get back in the water and surf until dark, celebrate the day with a few cold Imperials and then figure out a place to eat dinner. After dinner, at about 9 p.m., some of the young kids go out and the old guys have a nightcap of Flor de Cana (rum) and go to sleep.
SurfDayOnePhotos-4341-2Why do you keep going?
It’s the consistency of the surf; we can count on the weather; we have made a lot of friends down there. Secondly, it’s the people. I’ve been surfing with some of these people for 50 years. Next year, Josh Long, Walker’s son, may bring his son Walker III, the first grandchild to go. This year people came from Raleigh, Charlotte, Virginia, Texas, California, Florida, Wyoming, Nicaragua and Ecuador – it’s great to see everyone again. It’s like a reunion. The oldest person is 65 and the youngest 14.
Do you have a favorite trip out of the bunch?
No, each trip is unique, but equally fun. Each trip has its own surprises. It’s not really a vacation. We have to come back and recover. It’s more of an odyssey. You’re worn out.
Have you had any mishaps?
The normal stuff. Lost bags, cracked ribs, one shark attack. Tarlton Long had a bull shark charge him, hit his board, and drive the board into his face – nothing a local surgeon couldn’t fix with 53 stitches. We’ve had a few bushmaster snakes show up. A lot of broken surfboards. Four or five sting ray stings. Flat tires and dog bites. No power or water for a few days. The usual things you encounter when traveling.
Has your experience on these trips changed anything about your lives in Raleigh?
Our friends have become a lot better friends. And it has allowed us to get to know multiple generations. Everybody’s equal in the water. There’s no best surfer, there’s no worst surfer – it’s all how you enjoy it. It has allowed us all to get to know many generations on a more equal basis. The other side of it is I could easily be 300 pounds by now, at 60, but knowing I have this trip every year, it makes me stay in shape. If you go on this trip to surf and you can’t keep up, everybody just leaves you in the dirt. Nobody feels sorry for you. A lot of younger kids have had their feelings hurt when Mason Williams and Walker Long, at 64, paddle right past them and get outside on a big day while the kids remain exhausted and trapped inside the break.
What adventure is next on your list?
I’d like to take a small (25-foot) boat trip with three or four friends to a surfing and fishing spot about 75 miles south of Cat Island (Bahamas). It’s on my bucket list.

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The international ultramarathoners: Carol and Fernando Puente

Carol and Fernando Puente, a pair of dedicated, competitive athletes, have been running marathons for years. They also work together. Fernando, 60, is a general and cosmetic dermatologist at their Raleigh Dermatology clinic, and Carol, 58, works as associate director of their Skin & Cosmetic Solutions clinic. The couple have been married since 1977 and train together for their races here and abroad.

Where and when do you go? When did you start going?
Carol: Durban, South Africa, in early June. This will be our third year.
Why?
Fernando: We go for the Comrades Marathon. It’s a 56.1-mile race between Durban and Pietermarizburg, the oldest and largest ultramarathon in the world. It began in 1921 in honor of South African soldiers who died in World War I. About 18,000 runners come from all over the world, and it’s like a national holiday there.
Carol: We started going because we wanted the challenge. I first registered, and then Fernando said, “Sign me up, too!”
Who goes?
Carol: The two of us. The first year we brought our three adult children, too. There are a handful of people from the area who also run it.
What do you pack?
Fernando: We pack American flags to hand to the crowds as we run, and shoes to give to the runners who come from all over Africa, from Ethiopia, from Kenya, who don’t have shoes to run in. We all bring shoes, and hope every year we’ll have enough. These people arrive at the race having spent 20 hours in an overnight bus to get there, without shoes. We also pack gels and salt tablets for the race, sunglasses, caps, and running clothes.
Carol: There’s a special Comrades shirt for people running from the States that says USA.
Do you do anything special to prepare?
Fernando: It’s a six-month-long training plan, with a gradual increase in mileage each week. We do hills, and each weekend, two back-to-back long runs. This weekend, we’ll do 2½ hours on Saturday, and four hours on Sunday. Our favorite place to train is Umstead Park. The race, though, is all on roads, on asphalt.
Carol: Every year, they change the course direction – one year, it will be the uphill route, the next year, the downhill route. This year, it’s a downhill year, starting in Pietermaritzburg, and ending in Durban.
What do you do there?
Fernando: This year, we’ll get there on Wednesday; the race is on Sunday. We’ll try to acclimate to the time zone and keep off our feet. We’ll go to some Comrades meetings, gatherings of people from different countries.
What’s your favorite part of it?
Carol: One guess: the finish. You feel like you’re in the Olympics, running into Durban Cricket stadium, and it’s jam-packed, and you do two laps around. There’s a huge amount of hoopla.
Fernando: And it’s a beautiful race. A lot of people have gotten hooked on it. Every year you go back, they give you the same number, and if you run it enough, they retire your number, and it’s yours.
It’s also a very traditional race. They go by clock time, not chip time, so you don’t want to be in the back. And they stop the clock at 12 hours. You have to finish it in 12 hours. The people who come in first and the one who comes in last, right under the 12-hour mark, both get flowers. Another thing is the medals. Today, you run a race, and they give you a medal the size of a saucer. These are small – smaller than a silver dollar.
You see so much, and there’s so much spirit. All along the route, people are lining the roads, having barbeques, cheering the runners. You run past barefoot people, living in poverty, an elite girls’ boarding school, and people doing tribal dances. A huge amount of socioeconomic difference.
Why do you keep going?
Carol: Really, it’s for the inspiration and cameraderie. It’s more than a race; it’s a journey.
DSC_0231_2Is there something memorable you have learned?
Carol: Humility and gratefulness. For good health, and for being from the United States of America, a country that has so much, and can inspire and help others.
The race benefits the Ethembeni School for Handicapped Children, which is on the route, and it’s so nice to see how much Comrades runners have done for that school. You take a bus tour of the route the day before, and it stops at the school, and the kids all come out and clap for the Comrades runners. They get so excited as runners drop off supplies and monetary donations to help pay for their education.
You are aware that people are the same everywhere. Poor people, rich people – everybody has dreams and hopes.
Have you had any mishaps?
Fernando: The first year, we didn’t get there early enough, and we didn’t sleep at all before the race. We learned our lesson.
Carol: Last year, it was horribly hot, 86 degrees, and with gale force winds. One-third of the people had to drop out.
What adventure is next on your list?
Carol: I really want to run the Pike’s Peak marathon and a triathlon. Fernando wants me to cycle the entire Blue Ridge Parkway with him, which he already accomplished several years ago.

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The sailors: Amy, David, and Brodie Batten

Amy and David Batten, both Raleigh lawyers, and their son Brodie, 10, are inveterate travelers. One of their favorite trips is the annual bareboat sailing trip they take as a family. Bareboat sailing means they do it alone: navigating, operating, and adventuring without a crew. David Batten answered our queries.

Where and when do you go? When did you start going?
We have gone bareboat sailing in the British Virgin Islands every spring for the past six years.
Why?
We enjoy boating at the North Carolina coast and have an ownership interest in a sailboat based in Tortola. We’ve gotten to know the waters and the islands and feel very comfortable there. It’s a great way to close out the winter.
Who goes?
Just the three of us – two parents and our 10-year-old son.
What do you pack?
You don’t need much on a sailboat – swimsuits, cover ups, flip flops and sunscreen. We each take only as much as we can fit in a carry-on bag, as there isn’t much time between when the plane lands in St. Thomas and the ferry leaves for Road Town, Tortola, the capital of the BVIs.
Do you do anything special to prepare?
We like to look back at our pictures from prior trips and think about which islands and moorings we’d like to visit this time. We don’t usually map out the route in advance (our actual route often depends on the weather), but it’s fun to focus in on a few stops and then let the trip evolve from there.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhat do you do there?
Being on a sailboat is like camping. Every day, you take yourself to a different location or two, then find your spot for the night and set up camp. The journey from one mooring to another is half the fun. We like to stop for a snorkel and lunch when we can; other days, we just enjoy a nice sail. Once we have tied up in our spot for the night, we’ll swim, take the dinghy to shore or just hang out on the boat and make dinner.
What’s your favorite part of it?
Easy sailing on a sunny day with a nice breeze. Discovering new moorings and anchorages.
Why do you keep going?
It’s great family time with lots of activities to keep us busy and wear us out. At the same time, the pace is slowed, and there’s something about being on the water that is inherently relaxing.
Do you have a favorite trip out of the bunch?
One year we sailed to Anegada, the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands, and spent two nights there. It was magical. The beaches were deserted, the snorkeling was beautiful, and we took an inshore fishing charter over the reef where we tried to catch barracuda, but ended up with a bonefish on the way back home instead. The moon and stars at night were also pretty special.
Have you had any mishaps?
Last year, the boat began to take on water while we were sailing and we had to abandon ship! Turns out the propeller shaft had fallen off, leaving a hole for water to enter the boat. The boat was rescued after we motored the dinghy to an abandoned beach on Virgin Gorda. Quite an adventure, but all was well in the end.
Do you have any tips for folks who’d like to go?
Plan on spending some time at a resort or hotel at the end of your sail for a change from the camping.