The Windfall is a family-owned charter sailing vessel. Capt. Rob Temple bought the schooner from her designer and builder, Bob Marthai in 1985, got her certified by the USCG to carry passengers and has worked her in North and South Carolina and Florida.

The Skipper

Rob Temple has been a Coast Guard licensed captain since 1978. A native tarheel , he was a frequent visitor to Ocracoke from 1952 until making it his permanent home in 1993. He has owned and skippered the Windfall since 1985.

The Mate

The captain's 12 year-old son Emmet has signed aboard as first mate for the 2007 season. Emmet went for his first sail on the windfall when he was three days old. When he was six years old he was capt. Rob's only crew on the passage from Flamingo, Florida home to Ocracoke. At that time he was only hefty enough to hoist the jib and staysail, but now that he's put on a few more pounds, he's got the foredeck covered. As part of his training for the job, Emmet was required to get certified in CPR. He'd like it to be known that he scored 100% on his exam. (Capt. Rob only got 90%!) He also passed his Coast Guard-required drug test without studying!

Dave Frum serves as Emmet's relief crew. His two day jobs are working for the Ocracoke water plant and working as head of maintenance for Portsmouth village. Capt. Rob considers it a great asset to have dave on board to answer frequently asked questions about Portsmouth and/or Ocracoke water. Dave's also quite knowledgeable about Ocracoke's history, and flora and fauna.

The rest of the crew: Rob's wife and Emmet's mama, Sundae Horn, and their daughters, Caroline and Mariah Daisy, also serve as occasional deck hands. In the true spirit of nepotism, Rob's nephew Charles served as first mate from his graduation from college in 1995 until the fall of 2003 when he jumped ship to head up the high school English department at Ocracoke School. He's been pressed back into service recently to help with Emmet's OJT.

About the Windfall

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