WEEK 2:Fog, FOG and MORE FOG:
Plans were to head for Monhegan Island, a summer artist haven / fishing village that is 10 miles off the rugged mid- coast region of Maine. On a clear summer day it is easily seen from the coast and seems much closer. Looking out from Muscongus Bay ,our cozy nest, into the cold ocean (read frigid by Naples' standards) with rolling waves and into a veil of offshore fog, it was just too scary to attempt initially. We decided on an easier shake down cruise up into Penobscot Bay, Maine's premeire sailing destination, and departed to Port Clyde a meandering course through islands and bays and a million brightly colored lobster trap buoys aptly described as a fist full of M & M's cast on the sea. These need to be avoided when motoring as they tend to get sucked up and wrapped around the engine propeller. We learned this lesson on more than one occasion. Words spoken were not included on the kids spelling test that week. As we rounded the point to Port Clyde we were enveloped by fog and navigated into port with the radar. We anchored and dingied across the bay to a rustic shack of a restaurant called "The Dip Net". There was an old eagle claw footed bathtub outside on the pier with live lobster, crab and starfish that provided loads of entertainment for the kids before, during and after dinner. I prefered playing with my lobster with a fork after he's had hot thorough jacuzzi.' Afterwards we where exhausted from the day's events and were relieved to locate the boat in the thick night fog.

Notes from WINDSPIRIT Ship's Log: WEEK 3

With slightly improved fog conditions, we motor sailed from Rockland to Deer Island and the heart of Penobscot Bay. Here we rendezvoused with sister Elizabeth, Uncle Bob, cousins Thomas, Peter and Ben, and Nana at the Goose Cove Lodge which we used as our home base for the next week. The kids had a great time playing "Bear" and "Deer"- both some variation of chase on the wooded grounds. There were also lots of blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries ripe and ready for grazing. The cove bordered on a small nature preserve that provided some hiking. Bob and Liz did some kayaking around the coves and the older kids discovered some freedom in the dingy, "Windspirit id".

The Offshore Islands

After a teary goodbye to the cousins, we hoisted all three sails as we left Goose Cove and sailed to 30 miles Mt. Desert Island. It was one of those rare days when it all comes together: wind, weather and sights. We were on a beam reach with 15 knot winds attaining speeds of up to 10 knots (smokin' by sailing standards). It was clear and sunny. We passed through a couple thoroughfares, the name given to a passage through a cluster of islands, with minor adjustments to the sail trim. The islands were magnificant with bold granite shores and thick spruce interiors. We passed by Crotch Island where there is an active granite quarry, perhaps the source of some kitchen counter tops destined for Naples. It seems that many of the islands we visited have some evidence of being quarried in the past. Apparently, many if not most of the large buildings, monuments and bridges in New York and Washington were built with granite from Maine. The deep water and relative ease of transporting the heavy blocks by ship made this a logical source. The rough columns for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York were 8 feet in diameter, 64 feet long and weighed 360 tons each and were some of the largest ever moved. The largest use of granite was for cobblestone and curbs. We started to noticing how often we see granite in the towns and cities we visited, ie we don't take it for "gran ite" anymore.

We pulled into the large bay surrounded by Somes Sound(considered the only fjord on the eastern Atlantic seaboard) , the beautiful towns of Northeast Harbor and Southwest Harbor and the Cranberry Islands. Hinckley yachts and sailboats have been crafted in Southwest Harbor for 75 years and a flotilla was out sailing and celebrating their anniversary. It was a spectacular setting for such a review. We celebrated our good fortune by sacrificing a 2.5 pound lobstAHH at Beal's Lobster Wharf and threw a couple dozen virgin steamers into the fire for good measure . Laundry came next but that ruins the story.

WEEK 4 Cont.: Notes from WINDSPIRIT ship's log

From the offshore islands we headed to Boothbay Harbor for food, water. gas and laundry. At the Maine Resources Marine Laboratory we learned about lobster's life cycle and were able to hold a few in addition to pet some baby sharks and hold a variety of other local sea creatures.Most lobsters are a 4-5 years old when they are 1.5 lbs, the most popular weight on the menus. We saw a few live 20 lb. bruisers in the tanks.These guys would be the stars at any hot tub party. For the trivial pursuit fanatics, live lobsters have a red brown shell composed of three pigments: red, blue and yellow. Red is the most stable at high tempuratures and is the reason lobsters turn or remain red when cooked.

We had a delightful and too short a visit to Squirrel Island hosted by Jane and Bill Burke friends of Mom. Maine's license plate slogan is "Vacation Land". We had passed by many beautiful cottages and homes on islands, coves and capes. The tour was glimpse of what it is and was like to summer on an island in Maine. Many of the cottages were in families for generations and were featured in a Martha Stewartesqued book on the rustic elegance of Maine cottages. The kids spent the time at the local beach were the water was a toasty 60 but their highlight was a visit a forest where the elves had consructed elborate compounds - not featured in the book but equally impressive.

We pushed on to the offshore island of Darmiscove which is a wildlife preserve now but narrowly missed (by three months) beating Jamestown as the first permanent English colony in North America in 1607. The following day, our plans were to ride the winds of a passing cold front down to Portsmouth, New Hampshire but the winds did not cooperate and built to 25 knots with gusts to 30 on our nose. It was the kid's first day of home school. WHAT A BUST! Everyone felt seasick. We took our first "green water" onto our windshield as we pounded through waves. "Green water" usually is a wave crashing over the front deck and is more than just spray or foam. We were forced to cancel lunch plans with the Bushes at Kennebunkport and we limped into Cape Porpoise which has a beautiful lighthouse (pictured ) at the entrance. We were surprised to see another Maine Cat in this quiet, little used harbor. It was Hull #6. We are hull #48. We licked our wounds and a few lobster as we celebrated (mourned) another birthday of the captain.

The following day we explored Portsmouth, with it's lovely colonial architecture and upbeat downtown.
It was then a short six mile motor on flat calm seas to the offshore Isles of Shoals which consists of nine islands- half in Maine and half in New Hampshire more or less. These islands were loaded with history and sights. John Smith of Pocahontas fame and who explored much of the NE coast, liked these so much that he named them Smith's Islands. Cornell has it's Marine Shoals lab on Appledore Island and Star Island has a the large Oceanic Hotel (pictured) that is a popular conference center today. It was one of two large hotels that were popular summer retreats inthe late1800's before the advent of the automobile.Smuttynoose had one of the wealthiest , most thriving colonies at one point. Only two historic shacks remain. There were also stories of Captain Kidd and Blackbeard who left his 15 th wife and treasure on the island with the British Navy hot on his heels. His wife's ghost still roams the island reportedly. It is also the site of the 1800's murder mystery highlighted in the book "The Weight of Water".
'We didn't find any treasure or see any ghosts but we sure enjoyed exploring these islands.

WEEK 5: Notes from WINDSPIRIT'S Ship's Log:

Salem, Boston, Around the Cape Cod, Chatham, and Nantucket

We visited Gloucester before sailing on to Salem. Gloucester is a home of a large fishing fleet with some big sophisticated fishing vessels in addition to older wooden ships and schooners. On top of a Portuguese church there is a statue of Mary cradling a ship in her arms which can been seen from the entire harbor. This town definitely has saltwater in her blood.

We dock in Salem as the sun was setting near a house that looked like the house of the Sanderson sister witches from our favorite movie "Hocus Pocus". The kids and the captain were very excited. That night the less frightened half of the crew toured a witch exhibit that was next to a cemetary. We learned about "Wicca", the religion of witches, and , to our dismay, that "Hocus Pocus" was only a fictional story conjured by Disney.

Our destination was Provincetown or beyond depending on weather. What a day of contasts it would be! Initially it was flat seas and calm winds. We reached the tip of Cape Cod by 11AM with ideal 10 knot breezes. We were travelling at 8-9 knots with all three sails flying. It was decision time. Do we sail on around the cape or stop now? The winds were supposed to be strong and on our nose (bad) for the next few days but had not yet shifted. The winds seemed perfect to round the cape and make Chatam's outside harbor by 3 PM. We called the Chatham harbormaster who advised us on the favorable conditions of the inlet and how it was marked (because it changes so rapidly, the marker bouys are a series of flags that are moved as the pass changes). We decided to go for it. As we rounded the cape,it was sailing at its best. Windspirit surged ahead at increasing speeds as gusts picked up. 10.2 knots! A new speed record for us. Then 11.4 , then 12.2. It was exhilerating to feel Windspirit accelerate and almost lift out of the water. "Windborne", as in airborne, is a term used for the sensation.We were becoming overpowered (too much sail up)and decided to furl the "screecher", our large front sail, when a gust accelerated rocketed us to 14.5 knots! Wow! Exhileration turned to fear. Heels dug into the fiberglass deck. White knuckles gripping the helm. The gust subsided and let us off this wild ride. We quickly doused the screecher. To put this into persective, this is the equilavent to a car going 60 then accelerating to 120mph because the accelerator got stuck. Then things got worse.

The winds wrapped around the cape in an unusual fashion and Windspirit was doing 8 knots and burying her bows into steep 3-4 foot waves. Most of the time she would bounce back up but then she started to go so deep that the front deck would be completely awash and green water was up onto the cockpit windows. Her speed would go decelerate from 8 to 2 knots under the weight of the water. There was the sensation she was going to continue down to the bottom or go stern over bow - both unpleasant thoughts.To remedy the problem we had to slow her down but then we couldn't make any progress against the combined current, waves and wind. It was still 13 miles to Chatham or 26 miles back to Provincetown. We ended up hugging the coast and counting our progress by grains off sand and endless sand dunes. We arrived 4 hours later than expected but were happy to enter the harbor as the sun was setting. Had we been any later we would have been unable to negotiate the inlet and been forced to continue on another 35 miles to Nantucket, an easier port at night, but this would have been a long night on top of a longer day.

The kids did amazingly well during all of this. At one point Anne requested to make pancakes. To prevent batter on the ceiling, and everywhere else for that matter, the request was denied. And the rough seas did not prevent the wrestling matches in the bunk down below.

Martha's Vineyard to New York

Thursday, October 2, 2003

Week 6 began with soggy windy weather as we cruised the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Cutty Hunk and towns of Edgartown and Stonington, CT. One of the laws of sailing is that everything gets wet. The corollary law is that if it rains, EVERYTHING GETS WET quicker and the laundry quadruples. Also, Murphy was a sailor who discovered that anything that can go overboard will go overboard. We confirmed this by losing the guts of the coffee pot (while cleaning) to the depths of Vineyard Sound. This was grounds to abort the rest of the trip as the usual routine was to perk a pot at 6AM while the captain and Windspirit logged some miles before the rest of the crew awoke. Incidently, Murphy later revised Murphy's Law to appeal to a wider audience.

The weather was expected to be foul to the middle of the week. It was an excellent time for Loretta and the kids to rent a car and visit Uncle Bill's family on Long Island while Windspirit traversed Long Island Sound to New York City. We rendezvoused in Port Washington where we had a beautiful day of boating with Bill's family and Grandma Kieffner and were also joined by Helen's family(unfortunately no pictures turned out).

WEEK 7 : Notes from WINDSPIRIT'S Ship's Log

NEW YORK TO NORFOLK, VA

Winds and waves were expected to increase later in the day so Windspirit got underway at 5 AM . She cut across the busy Ambrose shipping channels dodging a few large ships and tugs with barges in tow in the predawn darkness. The wind and the waves picked up rapidly. The line of large screecher sail got fouled as we attempted furl it. Matters got worse as we tried to remedy the problem and we finally dropped the entire sail and lash it to the front deck. By 10 AM , winds were blowing up to 25 knots and the seas were 6 feet and building. It is said that the best cure for seasickness is to find a big fat oak tree and wrap your arms around it. With most of the crew feeling seasick or worse and the conditions expected to further deteriorate, we bailed into Manasqan Inlet, through breaking waves at the entrance, in search of that oak. Fortunately this was the beginning of the NJ intracoastal waterway so we were able to continue south towards Atlantic City. Unfortunately, the waterway passes numerous drawbridges and winds through many shallow bays and inlets with strong currents. On one particularly narrow bridge opening, Margaux screamed that the mast would not make it. The captain too had his doubts and could only imagine the sound of the mast and all the expensive hardware on top hitting the steel span. Veering left we missed the low span but "kissed " the bridge's fender. There was a minor scrape on the hull but the mast got through. While kissing a pine fender is not the same as hugging an oak, the captain was cured of any seasickness and was ready to head to sea and away from the bridges.

Our experience and jargon improved and by the end of the day the kids were using the VHF radio to "request a lift" or a "hole". We reached AC after sunset but radioed ahead for a spot at the Trump Marina Casino. While not an intended experience, the kids were impressed by the casino and all the lights.

The fixed bridges were too low to proceed on the intracoastal waterway south and the weather offshore was expected to be as bad or worse for the next three days. "Mrs. Kearns", Loretta's name when she plays teacher, and kids opted for an educational field trip to Washington, DC and rented a car. Off they went and visited the Museum of Natural History and the Washington Monument. Margaux who was studying minerals in her science materials was impressed by the Hope Diamond.

While folding the screecher sail in preparation for departure, the captain had a long wooden splinter from the dock rammed under his fingernail as a final reminder never to fly the screecher in heavy winds.Windsprirt departed for the 2 1/2 day 200 mile trip to Norfolk,Virginia late due to some delays in renting the car but after punching through the waves of the AC inlet (passes are usually rougher due to opposing currents,winds and waves) the sail to Cape May was relatively smooth. Cape May inlet is wide and straight forward but it was dark when Windspirit arrived and the light of the full moon on the back of breaking waves in the pass made for a disorienting approach visually. It was hard to distinguish breakwater from "breaking water". Fortunately the radar and chartplotter made the entrance much easier, nevertheless, the captain wore a backpack with the EPIRB, flares, handheld waterproof VHF, and flashlight "just in case".

The following day, the waves were slightly higher, 6-8 feet, but the winds pushed Windspirit south, past the mouth of the Delaware Bay down to Ocean City.MD for a fuel stop.Returning back to the ocean Windspirit met "The Green Monster" , a breaking 10 foot rogue wave that sent green water onto the windshield and over the roof . Wow! .The harsh weather was a combination of swells from a distant Hurricane Fabian and winds created by Tropical Storm Henri off the North Carolina coast and a high pressure system over Canada.

The rest of the day was spent offshore of Assateague Island, a long dune studded island and where wild horses roam. The image of wild horses running on a windswept beach has such an appeal. We had hoped to visit and explore here and Chincoteague Island with the entire crew but the plan was reduced to the captain scanning the beach with binoculars from offshore. No horses but Windspirit rounded the shoals offshore at sunset and rode herd with many green giants as the wind and waves kept building. Apprehension of entering an inlet at dusk or night time is balanced by the beauty of sunset on the ocean. The warm colors in the sky by are contrasted by the cold steely gray luster sea.The boat, though wet, seems particularly cozy and there is not another sole in sight. It was very dark when Windspirit tied up in the small commercial fishing harbor in Chicoteague and was greeted by a gregarious "Captain Barry" who "puts on his LL Beans and takes tree huggers out in the summer to learn about the marshes and see the wild horses and puts on his Cabelas in the fall to take out the hunters". He was a great source of information on the horses and everything else but it was time to rest.The weather reports called for increasing winds and waves tomorrow and a predawn departure was planned in hopes of beating the worst of it.

The next day brought winds to 20-30 knots with gusts to 35 and waves 4 feet building to 10 feet and beyond . It was a wild and exhausting day. The autopilot which makes solo sailing much easier by steering the boat while the sails are adjusted or a snack is prepared could not be used because the waves were too large. When WS surfed down the front of the waves she would broach or turn sideways if not manually steered. There were a few colossal waves that were 14 feet or higher - twice a high as WS cockpit roof. From the bottom these looked like walls of water. From the top there was the sensation of looking down a double black diamond ski run. They would pick Windspirit up and send her surfing down their face. At one point the speedometer read 16.8 knots but this was primarily the effect of gravity and not wind. Calamity stuck when the dingy, "Windspirit id" , flipped upside down in her davits and threatened to rip loose. After some tense moments she was reinstated in her pod. A pod of a different sort showed up and seemed to be enjoying the day. A group of five dolphins surfed down the face of a particularly large wave and two shot out of the peak for a spectacular aerial leap.It goes to show that good and bad is sometimes a matter of perspective. By the time Windspirit entered the relative protection of the Chesapeake Bay the waves decreased to four feet, which would have been HUGE a month ago but seemed like a light wind chop after a day with the big stuff. Windspirit performed very well but the captain hoped to never sail in similar conditions again.

There was much Navy ship traffic into and out of Norfolk and the bay. On the radio they use their number such as "This is Navy Warship 68 bound for sea". They are very impressive looking but when you hear WARSHIP it underscores the serious business of these vessels. Often in traffic other vessels ask what your "intentions" are, that is which side you are going to pass on? When asked " Sailing catamaran off my port bow this is Navy Warship 68. What are your intentions?" You find yourself saying or thinking, "Nothing but good , SIR."

It was a long day and a tough 2 1/2 days of sailing but it seemed worth it because Windspirit was back on schedule for her trip south and much of it was through the protected intracoastal waterway. Arriving at the dock, the captain was advised by the dockmaster that Norfolk and the east coast was on the projected path of a category 5 hurricane, Isabel. What a blow! Nothing survives such a hurricane without some or major damage. On the marine weather radio, which is listened to 3-4 times a day, the storm was mentioned but "was not expected to affect the local marine weather in the next 48 hours".This news was not expected. All I could think was the trip ends here with a damaged or, worse, a destroyed boat. After the hard work to get here it was GAME OVER.It was the emotional low point of the trip.

WEEK 8 : Notes from Wind Ship's Log

The crew reunited with Windspirit (after their sabbatical to Washington) at the Hampton City Marina, not far from Hampton Roads where the famous battle between the Civil War era Monitor and the Merrimac, considered by some to be the first precursors to the modern naval submarines, took place. After the initial news(trauma) and realization that Hurricane Isabel was going to seriously impact our trip, we began to consider our options. Though she was 6 days away, her projected course included the entire east coast and there appeared no place to run. Despite living in South Florida we had never been through the center of a hurricane. We had some near misses in the past including a few that spun off the coast of Naples and Hurricane Andrew which passed between where we were living at the time in Key Largo and working at Mt. Sinai on Miami Beach. Having made our way from Naples through Homestead to Key Largo the morning of the storm and commuting though the destruction for the next year, we saw first hand the devastation of a class 5 hurricane. Fortunately, Isabel dropped from a category 5 to a category 3 and we breathed a sigh of relief . Also the track appeared to be shifting north but Norfolk / Hampton area was still in the middle of the projected path ( see attached picture). Hurricane projected paths are influenced by the cold fronts coming down from the north and there were 2 cold fronts that were expected to influence the storm and possibly push it east and north. Our option was to stay in Norfolk for 5 days and be hit by the storm or attempt to duck inside of it and to the south. We decided on the latter and off Windspirit went in a mad dash, so to speak, across the lowlands of Virginia and North Carolina.

The next four days were maddening. First, we were moving by motor, sail or sail and motor whenever there was enough light to see. It was four days of up at 6 AM and going all day until dark. Pretrip planning envisioned breaks along the way to allow the kids to get off and blow off some energy - some exploration of the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia, a liberty call to Ocracoke Island, a day exploring Cape Lookout and chasing wild horses on Shackleford Banks This was not to be.
Also we envisioned the kids being acclimated to the tranquillity of a sailboat at this point in the trip, perhaps studying and reading then practicing silent meditation the rest of the day. This too was not to be. Any brief attempts to read in the bunks down below quickly turned into friendly then not-so-friendly wrestling matches.Our frustration was further boiled by the seemily slow progress through the rivers, canals, and sounds known as the "low country" of eastern North Carolina to which could have been anywhere on the 400 mile trek). A sailboat moves at 5-8 knots or 50 -90 miles a day. There are better modes of transportation to use to out race a hurricane - jet, car, or bicycle for that matter. Finally, our wireless internet technology failed us when we wanted it the most - probably due to lack of cell towers in the remote low country.

Though there were many places to anchor for the night we usually opted for one of the "mom and pop" marinas that were enroute. The had pools which were great to let the kids burn off some pent up energy and a TV to get an up date on the storm track. Marine radio was very vague on potential storm paths so much of our info came from other cruisers with TV's on board - but they all had their own theories and strategies as to the best thing to do and there was little agreement. In the end we were left to make our own judgments.

When we got down to Beaufort NC (where the storm eventually came ashore) it was < 48 hours before projected arrival and DECISION TIME. Unfortunately the track did not change significantly and this was the point where the intracoastal waterway ran very close to the shore for some ways. There were mandatory bridge closures to facilitated evacuations of the barrier islands and to proceed further risked getting caught behind a mandatory closure with only a wisp of an island between us and the full fury of a the Atlantic Ocean and a charging hurricane. We had felt like an ant trying run out of the way of a steam roller. We realized that despite our best efforts there was a real chance we would get flattened. It was time to stop running and DIG.
We decided to go inland as far as possible which was up the Neuse River 26 miles to New Bern,NC with hopes to be west and south of where the storm hit the coast (as the less severe winds are on that side of the storm). After being turned away from a couple of marinas and exploring a narrow creek, we secured a room at the Sheraton. They had evacuated their floating docks but were very helpful with local knowledge and helped pick a spot for Windspirit to ride out the storm - a bay next to the Sheraton. Two anchors were set out and dug deep in the mud. Fortunately, Loretta and the kids were able to get a flight home the next day, less than 24 hours before the storm arrived. It was sad to wrap their trip up but there was little time for refection and sentiment - there was lots of work to do.

Yet there was also a sense of peace.The worst part of the past week was the anxiety of the unknown. Now the plan was clear. A steak on the grill seemed to warm up the atmosphere. Windspirit's barren decks were contrasted by flood of memories - happy kids voices and visions of all the good times we had as a family over the past 8 weeks. Windspirit was a part of it all.The kids often referred to Windspirit as if she were animated, like a wind driven thoroughbred.The captain played into this nonsense and perhaps started believing it it himself. We had really bonded.

It was getting dark and time to leave. After double checking the lines and securing the hatches, there was a sense that Windspirit was tugging on her anchor/ bridle lines ...as if frightened. There was a pat; then 5 kisses on the hull, one for/from each member of the family. Windspirit was reassured that she was a very capable boat but she was going to be on her own through this one.It was hard to look back as I left and motored across the bay. This would be the first night off Windspirit in over 45 days.

At daybreak the winds were gusting to 40 and the storm surge was already about four feet.Before the cable TV went out it appeared the storm eye was going to past directly over New Bern and Windspirit. By 10 AM the winds were gusting to 60 and driving water through the slightest cracks in the hotel, turning the lobby ceiling into a series of cascades and buckets. The limited hotel staff carried on. There were many families, apparently locals and that of hotel staff, in the lobby and halls. The bar was open all day and moderately full.

With foul weather gear on, the captain took a short walk check the dingy and better see Windspirit. It was difficult to walk and the wind drove the rain right through every crack and seam of the foul weather suit. The winds eventually gusted to 80-90 mph and the surge reached 6 feet. At the height of the storm, I looked across the bay and saw a sailboat that dragged anchor and lost it's mast under the railroad bridge that was between the hotel and Windspirit's bay. On initially seeing it, the first thought was a heart stopping "It's Windspirit". It was hard to identify the boat in the limited visibility.With my heart in my ankles and my stomach in my toes, I walked to the other corner of the hotel for a view to Windspirit's corner of the bay and confirmed that she was still where she should be.

Week 9: New Bern, NC to Hope Town, Bahamas.

After Hurricane Isabel, Windspirit was trapped behind the railroad bridge in New Bern, NC. Unlike highway drawbridges that are manned, railroad bridges usually stay open and are closed briefly when a train passes. There was much speculation by fellow yachtsman and the highway bridge operator nearby as to when it would open - but no one knew for sure. Reported opening times came with anticipation and passed with disappointment. Finally, almost 3 days after Isabel passed, the bridge opened and Windspirit, dodging floating debri, headed down the Neuse River and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Leaving Beaufort Inlet the seas were mostly calm. It was hard to believe that 4 days before the winds were 100 + and the waves 20 - 30 ft.

From Beaufort (Cape Lookout) it was down to Cape Fear then Winyah Inlet. The coast was a series of sweeping crescents and Windspirit would push from one cape to the next, usually traveling 3 - 20 miles offshore between points of land. The goal of every day was to maximize distance towards home. Windspirit had lost 6 days to Hurricane Isabel and because we so enjoyed and lollygagged through the New England waters, we were out of time. The object/ strategy each day was to head in the most direct line home; do 7+ knots under sail, motor or both; and tweak every bit of daylight out of the day. The plan often meant pushing until after sunset and entering the inlets after dark and groping into a secure anchorage in limited visibility. The captain was tempted to do an all-night sail but had fears of falling asleep and Windspirit becoming a hood ornament on some freighter.

The midcoast Atlantic inlets can be very tricky because of shoaling, currents and waves. They are rated as to their degree of difficulty from "all weather inlet" to "passable only with local knowledge". Because they change so much, the details are often omitted from the chart and GPS chartplotter downloads with a white box over the area(absent of details) and a note saying "subject to frequent change" . Inlets with these ratings had to be navigated 100% visually. They were avoided or traversed only if necessary and only in daylight and calm conditions. Windspirit's library had a couple of books dedicated to the details of the inlets - evidence that these passages could be treacherous and deserved respect.Nonetheless, Windspirit went out an inlet in the morning and in an inlet at the end of a day. Most times these were routine, sometimes they weren't.

Winyah Inlet looked like a straight shot with lots of lights for guidance. It looked like an easy night entrance even with only paper charts and radar (cheap skate captain tried to save $100 by not downloading the charts for South Carolina into the GPS). The captain was fooled (read A FOOL)! First, he rediscovered that dark completely destroys depth perception. The many lights and range lights that looked like they would be a big help on the paper chart became disorienting. In addition to strong currents and rocks, Windspirit had to dodge trawlers (like the one pictured) dragging their nets in and across the entrance. After making safe anchorage (and losing a few years of life expectancy), the captain promised to ALWAYS download the charts into the chartplotter - no matter what the cost.

The lesson proved it's worth latter on a couple of occasions. The first came when entering the remote and poorly marked St. Catherine's Sound in Georgia. With the GPS chartplotter and radar on "full tilt boogie", Windspirit traversed the winding shoal-studded inlet on a dark moonless night and made her way into a narrow creek with relative ease (the offshore approach before sunset can be seem on the GPS pictured). The spectacular canopy of stars overhead and the remote anchorage behind St. Catherine's Island were priceless.
That night, the captain reflected on how the GPS technology was the single most important thing that made the trip possible. It enabled us to negotiate the fog in Maine: make difficult inlet passages at night with relative ease and enjoy the trip instead of agonizing over charts trying to determine our position.

The trip home was 8 days of before sunrise to after sunset motoring or sailing, pushing for about 100 + miles per day. Offshore there is not much to see or do. Most of the day the boat was on auto pilot which relieved the captain from the tedious task of steering a course and allowed for small projects or very light reading. Much time was spent scanning the horizon for other boats and obstacles. Scanning the horizon ahead and behind became a metaphor for contemplation/ reflection on the trip and bigger things like life, career, relationships and values. Carl Sandburg's statement resonated, "It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness: to sit on a rock in the forest and ask himself, "Who am I and where have I been and where am going?" Windspirit became MY ROCK. In a way, this chance for solitude and reflection was the silver lining of Hurricane Isabel. I often joked that I was "sailing" through my midlife crisis. There was a large element of truth to this.

About 15 miles off the coast of SC the solitude was shattered. A Top Gun jet jockey came out of nowhere, rocketed by about mast high, then pulled a tight turn and buzzed Windspirit again. He did a low altitude barrel roll and was out of sight - all in about fifteen seconds. Another flyby of a different sort happened shortly thereafter. This little guy (pictured) had moxie. When he first landed, I thought he was lost, tired and frightened but he boldly and fearlessly hopped around exploring and picking up a few dead bugs ( he even hopped on my outstretched leg a few times) then flew off weaving through the troughs of the waves.

Plans made in New Bern called for Loretta to rejoin Windspirit in Charleston, SC but she was having herniated disk problems and the kids needed her more at home. Despondent, the captain attempted suicide by salt and grease ingestion at the nearby southern bar -BQ/ salt pork/ catfish spot. Unsuccessful, he returned to Windspirit to nurse a stomach ache.

From Charleston, SC the intracoastal becomes very tortuous (read torturous if you are trying to make time) but good weather prevailed and Windspirit was able to stay outside down to St. Catherine's Inlet then past Cumberland Island into Ferdinadina Beach, Florida.

Passing Cumberland Island was bittersweet. On its south side was the Florida border which, even though a full 3 days away from Stuart, seemed like Windspirit was home. Yet Cumberland Island was high on our lists of places to explore We had planned to visit as a family for a day or two. Though it added distance to the day's journey, Windspirit tacked into the coast and sailed down the length of the island just beyond the sandbar as a vicarious way to visit the island.We'll have to do it more formally next time.

Due to winds out of the south, the next three days were spent in motoring down Florida's intracoastal waterway which fortunately is very straight and direct. I had hoped to make West Palm Beach which would have been a straight shot to the Bahamas but lack of time and need for sail repairs due to chaffing in the Atlantic City to Norfolk heavy weather run made Stuart, Florida a better bet.

Since NC, the weather had been reasonably good but a tropical depression was now off the Yucatan peninsula and sending heavy rain over Florida (Naples had 6 inches that day). Windspirit skirted along the front of a major lightening storm with some regular lightening and some super bolts that seemed to make the earth shudder. Windspirit has lightening dissipater- a thing that looks like a wire porcupine on top of the mast - which gave some (false) sense of security (I have since read these may not be effective.) Anyways, darkness fell as the storm hit and Windspirit turned up the St. Lucia river through a particularly narrow and winding section know as Hell's Gate. Rain really blinds a radar and the wooden markers in Florida have very little reflectivity but the GPS was spot on and we made the marina. The next day her sails were removed for repairs and she was offloaded to a rental car and left with no definite plan of how she was going to get to the Bahamas.
After returning home and making a career change, there was still the job to get Windspirit to the Bahamas where she was to start her charter career. A weather window, when the winds are favorable for crossing the Gulfstream, appeared to coincide with a weekend and some time to make the trip. Brother Paul and I drove Stuart. While enroute from Naples to Stuart, a Miami radio station reported severe storm warnings for the Broward area. I was nervous because Stuart's St Lucia Inlet is rated as one of those shifting passages and we weren't sure if we missed the weather window or not. We decided to cross the Gulfstream at night when the winds are less.The Gulfsteam can flow as fast as 6 knots at its center and slower at its edges. This can influence your path and landing spot in the Bahamas. If winds are from the north it gets a notoriously rough.
We left the marina at midnight and punched though St Lucia's Inlet's steep chop.Fortunately it calmed as we left the inlet and angled south and east. We attempted to stay close to Florida until we got down to the West Palm Beach area then shot across. Paul was the hero and Windspirit was his ROCK as he enjoyed the solitude of a nighttime passage at the helm - while successfully managing to dodge the numerous freighters which ply the Gulfstream.

Many thanks to family and friends who kept us in your thoughts and prayers. It worked.