Spirit of Independence at Thomas Point Lighthouse
Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race
Got the whole gallery of images from the Schooner Race uploaded – all 394 of them. You can find it here:
Cape May Morning ~ Video Postcard
Nice morning after the tow into Cape May Harbor the night before. Nice antidote to all that excitement.
Coffee in a paper cup. Time to kill.
For some reason, cameras make everyone at Utsch’s very nervous. Three times different people stood in front of my lens and demanded to know what I was doing. The last time it was the owner. When I explained, he laughed and gave me a hug.
Never got far from the marina. All this is from there.
Returning ~ The C&D Canal
Motoring into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
One of the easiest ways to spot the handiwork of man, especially engineers, is to to look for straight lines. Humans love straight lines. Nature, not so much. We think in a linear fashion, prefer to travel that way, even measure time along a single line either forward or back. Simple geometry imparts order and efficiency to our world in a manner we admire with almost spiritual piety: the shortest distance between two points, walk the straight and narrow path, etc.. To the ancient greeks, geometry was indeed an expression of the divine. We don’t even build things out of trees until we’ve sawed them into straight boards. Continue reading “Returning ~ The C&D Canal”
Returning ~ North from Solomon’s Island
Motoring out of Solomon’s Island
Mike jumped ship in Portsmouth, though I could tell he wanted to keep going. We picked up George Doby at the airport on our way back to the boat. George has sailed with Paul several times, and was glad to get a spot on board for the long trip back. He has family near the coast in New Jersey, and planned to stay on for a visit when we got there. Continue reading “Returning ~ North from Solomon’s Island”
Schooner Race 2011 ~ Portsmouth
Portsmouth, mostly in pictures.
The party is the big event. Technically, it lasts from noon on Saturday until around 5. In truth, it starts Friday and runs through Sunday. Lots of very cool people, all with interesting lives and fascinating stories. Unlike the previous 72 hours, the whole weekend was beautiful.
Schooner Race 2011 ~ Night Sailing
In Portsmouth, friend, fellow sailor, and fellow blogger Steve Early appeared on the docks, working that day. We went for coffee and a bit of breakfast. We talked about many things, having much in common. He asked something I hadn’t expected, though: “How did you like sailing at night?”
It caught me off guard. It’s a simple question, but requires a careful answer to get right, and I don’t think managed it. Most of the Schooner Race takes place at night. Not many photos or video to show for it. I can’t just show them to explain. The previous post was what happened during the day. This is what it was like at night:
Schooner Race 2011 ~ The Race
Schooners across the horizon
At 4am, the sky over Baltimore Harbor glows pink and bruised, like dirty cotton candy. It’s foggy and raining, and I am in search of coffee. I find it at a 7-11 which, despite the name, is open all night.
