Nautical Musings

Finding and buying a suitable sailing vessel was an adventure, followed by years spent learning to care for and handle the boat. Learning to appreciate that boat, the sea, and fragile North Carolina coastline filled my spare moments.
In early 1993, my buddy Ramon (Ray) Atkins and I found, and Ray purchased Irish Mist, a tired but sturdy 1964 Pearson Vanguard 32-foot sailboat. For three wonderful years, our combined families restored and learned to sail our boat. I became the new owner of Irish Mist as Ray advanced to a Heritage West Indies 38-foot sailboat named Mariah.
In October, 1993, I began to write a weekly sailing adventure column in our local daily newspaper, The Daily Southerner in Tarboro, North Carolina. Chronicled in over 150 weekly columns, I related the increasingly adventurous forays into the nautical world as we become sailors.
Welcome aboard, as I present 37 of those original articles.