Where is Hidden Cove? It sits between Jasmine and Keeper's coves; and is fronted to the southeast by the slightly cross shaped Croix Island. It is unique among the Skye Point coves in that its terrace sits atop a thirty foot cliff face. The best way to access its beach is by scaling the cliff. Very dangerous! At high tide, the beach is submerged under more than eight feet of ocean. There isn't much warning when the tide rises - the beach is there, then it isn't.
A steep, winding path has been cut into the narrow, rocky ridge shared by Hidden Cove with Jasmine Cove by wave action and erosion, and it also gives access to the beach. The wooden railing put in place by earlier settlers is in severe decay in most places. Most of it is missing. Crashing waves keep the ridge so wet along the bottom fifteen feet of the path, that even at low tide, the path is extremely slippery and more dangerous even than scaling the cliff. It's far too easy to tumble over the side into the water below and get swept out to sea. A barb-wire topped fence runs along the ridge to prevent hikers from climbing over from the Jasmine Cove side. The same is true for the slightly wider ridge between Hidden Cove and Keeper's Cove. The ridges and all of Hidden Cove remain an undeveloped wilderness area. Croix Island is partly responsible for the cove's topography, as it blocks the waves that could have built up Hidden Cove's beach. Before the San Chapelles declared the island a wilderness area and gave it over to the Skye Pointe Wilderness Area Trust, it had housed a number of guest cabins. Though those have been dismantled, the park service still allows day visitors, but insures everyone is gone by nightfall. Is Croix Island in the new novel? I'm not sure, but we shall see!
What about Keeper's Cove? It isn't in the new novel (yet), so I'll develop it later. How much later? I have no idea. Let's find out together. :)
Showing posts with label SkyePointe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SkyePointe. Show all posts
Friday, August 27, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
More to the Pointe
...far more it seems. Time to look further inland, where the gently rising forrested slopes above the coves are topped by another set of grassy terraces. Jasmine Cove's marine terrace extends a little over a mile further inland than the others, creating a slightly tiered valley - called Jasmine Glen by the locals - between the slopes above Coral Cove and Hidden Cove. The Crescent City - Port Leighton Highway (also called Hwy 8) has been cut across the grassy terraces, but rather than follow the three hundred foot drop into and rise out of Jasmine Glen, the road crosses it on top of a brick and steel arch bridge.
Why an arch bridge? I wanted something safe enough for the hardier children to run and play around as they make their way through the glen, uphill to the elementary, middle and high schools. The schools lie just below the second tier of the valley, home to the North Yacht Club. Why is there a North Yacht Club when the main one sits on the quarter-mile wide ridge shared by Marina and Coral coves? There had to be somewhere to put the golf course. :)D
Why an arch bridge? I wanted something safe enough for the hardier children to run and play around as they make their way through the glen, uphill to the elementary, middle and high schools. The schools lie just below the second tier of the valley, home to the North Yacht Club. Why is there a North Yacht Club when the main one sits on the quarter-mile wide ridge shared by Marina and Coral coves? There had to be somewhere to put the golf course. :)D
Thursday, July 15, 2010
What's The Pointe?
We've all heard the much overused 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. My picture? A more complete visualization of the fictitious coastal community, Skye Pointe, that I introduced in Sunrise on the Pier. Unfortunately, I have no talent for drawing or painting. I wish Jarin was real! Since he isn't, I have to opt for the thousand (more or less) words. The problem? I didn't have any to describe what the residents refer to as 'The Pointe' or 'The Coves'. The solution? Research!
The rich vocabulary that describes coastal topography not only has the words for what I envision, but also for the detail I hadn't previously considered. I can now write that each of the land masses for Marina, Coral and Jasmine coves sits above its beach on progressively higher marine terraces. Before researching, I hadn't known what to call them, or any coastal elements. 'Marine terrace' sounds infinitely better than 'elevated land above the beach'. Tombolo sounds far more romantic than 'the stretch of sand connecting the cove arm to an offshore island'. Cove arm? Embarrassing - but I was really referring to the ridge between adjacent coves. By the way, aren't you glad I didn't name this post 'Going Coastal'?
Getting back to Skye Pointe's appearance, I can continue by describing the cove terraces. Marina Cove's terrace is only six feet above the beach; with the height being masked by the marina piers and walkways. Coral Cove's terrace is twelve feet above the beach, and the Jasmine Cove terrace sits about eighteen feet above the beach. Why these heights? To illustrate that the cove terraces get progressively higher until there's a steep drop from the terrace above Hidden Cove to the one above Keeper's Cove - which is at the same height as the Marina Cove terrace. As the largest coves, Marina Cove and Keeper's Cove became home to small villages. The smaller Coral Cove and Jasmine Cove became mainly residential; sites of the multi-acre beachside estates such as those owned by the San Chappelles and the Gibsons. Parks and public trails are interspersed among the estates giving all Skye Pointe residents and guests beach access. As with all the coves, smaller homes (called cottages) are nestled into the slopes above the terraces.
The first settlers protected the terraces on Marina, Coral, Jasmine and Keeper's Coves from erosion by stabilizing them with stone retaining walls. They didn't know it at the time, but the retaining walls around Coral Cove had the effect of starving the tombolo that extended from the ridge Coral Cove shares with Marina Cove to Picnic Island, which is about one hundred fifty yards offshore. After a couple of centuries, the tombolo finally collapsed - during the timeframe covered in my new novel. Picnic Island has become unstable and will disappear over time. The retaining walls also starved the beaches of Coral and Jasmine coves, causing them to shrink over the years. After the tombolo collapse, the wave action changed and began depositing sand (probably from Picnic Island) onto the beaches of both the coves, reversing the shrinkage. Marina Cove's beach is protected from wave action by all the boats and yachts moored in the marina. It feels good to begin sharing Skye Pointe by getting it all down on 'virtual' paper. I'm sure there's more to come.
The rich vocabulary that describes coastal topography not only has the words for what I envision, but also for the detail I hadn't previously considered. I can now write that each of the land masses for Marina, Coral and Jasmine coves sits above its beach on progressively higher marine terraces. Before researching, I hadn't known what to call them, or any coastal elements. 'Marine terrace' sounds infinitely better than 'elevated land above the beach'. Tombolo sounds far more romantic than 'the stretch of sand connecting the cove arm to an offshore island'. Cove arm? Embarrassing - but I was really referring to the ridge between adjacent coves. By the way, aren't you glad I didn't name this post 'Going Coastal'?
Getting back to Skye Pointe's appearance, I can continue by describing the cove terraces. Marina Cove's terrace is only six feet above the beach; with the height being masked by the marina piers and walkways. Coral Cove's terrace is twelve feet above the beach, and the Jasmine Cove terrace sits about eighteen feet above the beach. Why these heights? To illustrate that the cove terraces get progressively higher until there's a steep drop from the terrace above Hidden Cove to the one above Keeper's Cove - which is at the same height as the Marina Cove terrace. As the largest coves, Marina Cove and Keeper's Cove became home to small villages. The smaller Coral Cove and Jasmine Cove became mainly residential; sites of the multi-acre beachside estates such as those owned by the San Chappelles and the Gibsons. Parks and public trails are interspersed among the estates giving all Skye Pointe residents and guests beach access. As with all the coves, smaller homes (called cottages) are nestled into the slopes above the terraces.
The first settlers protected the terraces on Marina, Coral, Jasmine and Keeper's Coves from erosion by stabilizing them with stone retaining walls. They didn't know it at the time, but the retaining walls around Coral Cove had the effect of starving the tombolo that extended from the ridge Coral Cove shares with Marina Cove to Picnic Island, which is about one hundred fifty yards offshore. After a couple of centuries, the tombolo finally collapsed - during the timeframe covered in my new novel. Picnic Island has become unstable and will disappear over time. The retaining walls also starved the beaches of Coral and Jasmine coves, causing them to shrink over the years. After the tombolo collapse, the wave action changed and began depositing sand (probably from Picnic Island) onto the beaches of both the coves, reversing the shrinkage. Marina Cove's beach is protected from wave action by all the boats and yachts moored in the marina. It feels good to begin sharing Skye Pointe by getting it all down on 'virtual' paper. I'm sure there's more to come.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
All About Marina Cove
Marina Cove, the largest of the coves, has - as we know - the marina used by the residents of all the coves. Narrow lanes snake through the forested slope above the cove, where some of the first settlers built their homes. These homes - or "cottages" as they are now called, have become the summer homes of their descendents. The first settlers also built retaining walls to shore up the soil on which the town was built, as well as the edges of the cove. Later before the governing fathers prohibited the practice, homes were built on the arms of the cove. It was one of these that Gabrielle stood in front of as she looked out toward Skye Pointe.
The features of Marina Cove that are a part of the story in the next novel (I'll just call it SP2) are its northern and southern tombolos. The retaining walls on the north arm of the cove unfortunately have the side effect of starving the northern tombolo. Fifteen years before the events in Sunrise on the Pier and most of the events in SP2, the tombolo finally crumbled and all that is left is a tiny island that gets smaller every year and will eventually disappear. The southern tombolo is fed by the erosion of the land mass south of the cove and is stable.
The town itself is built along three parallel streets. The buildings on those streets are situated one above the other such that from the piers, it appears that there is only one street with multi-story buildings. The rays of the sunrise hit the east facing windows of the buildings, and are then reflected to the west facing windows of the buildings on the next lower street. The rays are then reflected and refracted back and forth among the windows, creating the phenomenon that Jarin electrified in his painting, Sunrise on the Pier.
The features of Marina Cove that are a part of the story in the next novel (I'll just call it SP2) are its northern and southern tombolos. The retaining walls on the north arm of the cove unfortunately have the side effect of starving the northern tombolo. Fifteen years before the events in Sunrise on the Pier and most of the events in SP2, the tombolo finally crumbled and all that is left is a tiny island that gets smaller every year and will eventually disappear. The southern tombolo is fed by the erosion of the land mass south of the cove and is stable.
The town itself is built along three parallel streets. The buildings on those streets are situated one above the other such that from the piers, it appears that there is only one street with multi-story buildings. The rays of the sunrise hit the east facing windows of the buildings, and are then reflected to the west facing windows of the buildings on the next lower street. The rays are then reflected and refracted back and forth among the windows, creating the phenomenon that Jarin electrified in his painting, Sunrise on the Pier.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Why Four Coves When There Are Five?
In Chapter In Or Out?, of Sunrise On The Pier, Gabrielle stands on the post and rail fence and sees only four coves. How can that be when there are five coves at Skye Pointe?
From her perspective, she sees past Marina Cove to Coral Cove, Jasmine Cove, De La Croix Island and Keeper's Cove. In the distance, De La Croix Island appears to be the southern tip of Keeper's Cove. Instead, it is actually a barrier island that blocks Hidden Cove from view - unless the perspective is due east.
From her perspective, she sees past Marina Cove to Coral Cove, Jasmine Cove, De La Croix Island and Keeper's Cove. In the distance, De La Croix Island appears to be the southern tip of Keeper's Cove. Instead, it is actually a barrier island that blocks Hidden Cove from view - unless the perspective is due east.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Skye Pointe? Where the heck is it?
I'm starting to work on a new novel. First for me is storyboarding. Last time, it helped me learn who the characters are and understand their motivations. Also last time, the final story was nothing like the set of scenes I started with. For me, the storyboard seems to be the seed that germinates, growing who knows what as the final story. For this new novel, I find I need more backstory to get the scenes to flow. Its setting also involves 'aspects' of Skye Pointe. 'Aspects' is in quotes because I don't yet know what that means. So, backstory first!
What do I know about Skye Point? First, it's a fictitious coastal community. For the stories I write, it is situated somewhere in the Mid Atlantic United States. Geographically, it occupies the first two of a series of densely forested, gently sloped plateaus that extend from the coast all the way to the foothills of the northern Appalachian Mountains. I don't know that such an area really exists. But it doesn't have to - this is fiction! :). Skye Pointe's most prominent feature is the crescent shaped promontory north of the five coves, home to three lighthouses. Why five coves? I don't know. Maybe to give me a large enough area to keep writing novels about. Why three lighthouses? No clue, except that's the way I see it in my head. The largest of the lighthouses, Skye Light, is the only one visible from the cove side of the promontory. It is the largest lighthouse and sits at the highest elevation of the promontory. The other two lighthouses, Sea Light and Harbor Light, are at progressively lower elevations as they guide incoming ships away from the coves and into the Port Leighton harbor. Why 'Light' and not 'Lighthouse'? I don't know that either. Maybe it will become clear later on. I'm not even sure that the names - except for Skye Light - will stay the same. I like Harbor Light, but I think Sea Light is kind of weak. We'll see what happens to it. How about Guiding Light? Oh right - that used to be a soap opera. :)
What do I know about Skye Point? First, it's a fictitious coastal community. For the stories I write, it is situated somewhere in the Mid Atlantic United States. Geographically, it occupies the first two of a series of densely forested, gently sloped plateaus that extend from the coast all the way to the foothills of the northern Appalachian Mountains. I don't know that such an area really exists. But it doesn't have to - this is fiction! :). Skye Pointe's most prominent feature is the crescent shaped promontory north of the five coves, home to three lighthouses. Why five coves? I don't know. Maybe to give me a large enough area to keep writing novels about. Why three lighthouses? No clue, except that's the way I see it in my head. The largest of the lighthouses, Skye Light, is the only one visible from the cove side of the promontory. It is the largest lighthouse and sits at the highest elevation of the promontory. The other two lighthouses, Sea Light and Harbor Light, are at progressively lower elevations as they guide incoming ships away from the coves and into the Port Leighton harbor. Why 'Light' and not 'Lighthouse'? I don't know that either. Maybe it will become clear later on. I'm not even sure that the names - except for Skye Light - will stay the same. I like Harbor Light, but I think Sea Light is kind of weak. We'll see what happens to it. How about Guiding Light? Oh right - that used to be a soap opera. :)
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