Mast down today

I sailed off the mooring yesterday morning at 0825, with serious doubts about proceeding on the trip. It was mostly a result of excessive worrying about a host of things I won't delve into at the moment. Suffice to say that being on the move once again, on a small boat, helped to rearrange my outlook. It was a nice day, although I did end up motoring through calms for almost 3 hours. The majority was under sail.

Arrived at Chipman Point Marina, which is a favorite spot, and Chip, the owner, and a friend, agreed to unstep the mast, which we did today, shortly after lunch. I am planning to paint the mast over the next several days.

Just took a break to close things up as a rain squall has started. Really coming down!

Good friends Tom, Michelle, and Douglas came down and took me out to a great dinner at the Wheel Inn in Benson.

Back to the trip south of 50 years ago. After leaving Norfolk we were a couple of weeks moving south to Charleston. Mostly under power, being on a vessel not suitable for close quarter sailing, but we did get some sailing in on the big waters of North Carolina, like Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound, and the Neuse River. We spent several days in Morehead City, for reasons I have forgotten, but used the time to meet some local youth and party a bit. Eventually, we found ourselves in Charleston and I felt a huge sense of relief in having gotten the boat there without screwing something up. It was a good confidence booster for me as well. I had gotten a low number in the draft lottery and had decided I didn't really want to be in the army. My dad had been in the Navy and I decided that would be for me. But I flunked the physical due to a lack of depth perception. So I felt like a real loser. Even the military, sending kids to Viet Nam in droves, didn't want me. So that 2 week stretch was really just what I needed.

Till the next time, Charlie