the magenta line........from P

I have had to readjust my sensory expectations. On our other long distance cruises, especially the northern leg of this adventure, we have flown the canvass (OK actually a mylar-dacron composite) 75% of the time. We will only grudgingly fire up the iron sail when it's time to roll up the real sails and pull into port, or when we have to beat straight into the wind to make time, or when there is some emergency, minor or otherwise. So far this trip is different. I now know why the intracoastal waterway (ICW) is affectionately, and sometimes not so affectionately known as "the ditch." Today was a great day because we actually hoisted both the mainsail and the genoa - and sailed fast in the Neuse River - for about three hours. But this was a special exception, because we have been motoring for a hundred and fifty straight days. Maybe that is an exaggeration - we actually had another great two hour sail across the Albemarle Sound on Friday. Otherwise we run the motor probably 90% of the time. You have to. The canals that connect together all the various sounds and rivers are just over 100 feet wide in some places, and you have to keep the boat in the middle 50. My GPS/chartplotter shows a thin red line running down the middle of the ICW channels all the way from Norfolk to Florida. It is pre-programmed into the chart function of the GPS and it is amazingly accurate. If I am on that line, my depth sounder shows 12 to 16 feet. If I move off that line by just a few yards I show 8 to 10 feet. I dare not experiment much further. So in the canals I am fixated on this little line, described in our cruising guide as "magenta." All day my head bobs up and down from the GPS screen to the water just ahead (we have been repeatedly warned about floating logs and fallen trees). I think I have just figured out why my neck is sore. All the while, the iron sail drones along at 2,000 RPM. I am finally learning to embrace it. I do love my new engine - it fires right up with the touch of a button and it is as dependable as the tides. It also runs 1.75 hours on a gallon of diesel. These are good motoring thoughts. Also, the fall colors in the woods - framed by the cypress stumps and scalloped mud shoreline - make for incredible scenery as you think about the gallons of diesel. And listen to the sound of the engine. And dream of sailing. Maybe soon.


Better keep it straight. Lots of submerged stumps and "dead heads" along the perimeter.















Some fellow ditch runners. It's fun to travel in a
pack











Our bowsprit



















This sure beats the office.