second posting

Sept 1.. to see the sun set off the bow, and then wake up to sunrise over the stern... pretty good alignment. two nights ago i sailed all night on long island sound. Had moonlight for the first part, and then as the moon set phosporesence alighted like constellations flowing out under the rudder and splashing out in my wake. heading around new york and the east river through hell gate and out into verrazanos narrows tommorrow...

Sept 8th Had great weather for the leg off the jersey coast. nice following seas and more or less gentle breeze. rainy now here at cape may as i take care of business and re supply.. and the cape may beach is very sandy.

Sept 11. i have more time today as i was downloading charts for both delaware and chesapeake bay from noaa site last time. good thing i took this inside route instead of the outside cause they are saying 17 foot seas out off the coast... i've been lucky the wind has been at my back for the whole trip and sounds like it will continue out of the northeast or north for the next four or five days. I am gratefull. i am in Rock Hall, a small port north of annapolis waiting out the rain and high winds. i may set sail later this morning or afternoon if it dries out. it amazes one how big the water is when out in even just one of these bays and there is no sight of land and you realize the water is all connected and the immensity starts to sink in. i love being on the water and feeling the wind pushing the boat along. i like the challenge of those tense moments when the wind is too strong , or the current is suddenly swirling , or the waves crashing over the bow and something must be done, and soon. But i most love the calm , serene times when the wind is just right from behind and the sails are set and the sun is sparkling on the water surface and there is nothing to do but be there. i am working on a tiller extension cause when it is rough going , i can't leave the tiller, even to get a bite to eat, or check the time or pee or... anything. i found a piece of two inch pvc pipe to slip over the tiller and will see if that will let me hold the tiller with one hand while i rummage in the cabin. I see lots of big boats, both power and sail, and though my boat is quite humble i think i have two advantages over those fancy yachts. The first is that mine is a simple boat. Even so there are numerous parts and systems that have to be maintained for it to be safe and enjoyable. Clearly, the bigger the boat, the more complex the systems that need repair and maintenence. I believe i spend more of my time sailing then fixing. Secondly, when i see the big yachts go by, the folks are generally way up high, and surrounded by glass or canvass or lucite. i am, on the other hand, out there, close to the water and spray and scent and uncovered to the elements, which i came to enjoy. Even the raindrops falling on the tops of my bare feet feels good.

Sept 21. Arrived in Beaufort NC yesterday four days out from Norfolk VA. The first day was mostly motoring through a set of locks and under six bridges three of which were drawbridges. A night tied up to the dock at Midway Marina in Coinjock a Intercaostal waterway town where i had a couple beers with the marina manager and his wife over some (luckily) half priced wings. Then back out on the open water with a day through Albemarle Sound, Roanoke Sound, and then two days on Pamlico Sound which is the bigest sound around. 20 miles wide and 80 mi long, it was close to 50 miles out to Cape Hateras, there were hours spent navigating without site of land in any direction. Somehow it was comforting to know that it wasn't very deep, only 22 feet or so at the deepest and much of the time i had to worry about shoals that get as shallow as five, four three feet. My boat needs about two feet 7 inches befor and running aground whcih can be serious as then you are at the mercy of the surf and waves.

So, now i'm in Beaufort Public Library which they just moved from the town center by the warf, into an empty box store out on the strip, which for a boater means a 40 min walk. They don't expect anyone to walk out here because about three blocks out of town, Live Oak Street turns into Highway 70 and the sidewalk ends. But Beaufort is a very friendly area and the waterfront is very accomodating to trancient boaters. I spent the afternoon on the Rachel Carson wildlife reserve yesterday and then anchored in the harbor last night. Today i will probably motor out a couple miles to the outer banks by Carrot island for beach time while i wait for the small craft warning, and the wind to recede to make a run outside down to Wilmington NC.

I love to see fish jump around me as i sail. Couple days ago, while i was actually looking for Norfolk but was in Rappahanock, (whoops, gotta get that GPS) saw a small fish jump a couple feet out of the water quickly followed 18 inches behind by a bigger fish that had dinner on it's mind. That's life for real. Lots of porposises which seem to like to check out my boat as it sails on, and i noticed that their fins are kind of beat up along the edges. This water out here is alive, but the sea life is threatened, as i read in the local paper that there was a very large fish kill. Estimated 5 million Menhaiden killed, which is a feeder fish for larger species with oxygen depletion being the cause in Bern, NC upstream on the Nueces River from where i exited the Pamlico Sound. Very sad to us mariners.