Below is a collection photograph's I took while
on a 6 month leave of absence from work. I sailed my Catalina 30'
from Newport RI to the Bahamas and back to Wilmington NC. I
sailed mostly alone, but was lucky to have various family and
friends to come along on some legs of the trip. This was the
actualization of a dream I'd had for a long time, and I hope some
of these photo's below can convey the immense amount of
excitement and joy a trip like this can bring.
Please note these photos are copyrighted. Please contact me if
you would like to use them.
Leaving Newport RI
This is not my boat you're looking at here, just another
sailor lucky enough to be out on a nice fall day in Narragansett
Bay. My friend Tim and I are finally underway after a crazy month
of preparing "Finnsanity" for the trip south. Recently
purchased by me, she still at this point has the prior name of
"Berth Control" on her stern! That was soon rectified
however.
Long Island Sound 
Getting sea legs headed west on Long Island Sound (right), Tim
and I sail hard on the wind eventually spotting Manhattan on the
horizon. (left)
Manhattan from the East River 
After spending a fantastic week in my home town of Port
Washington, on Long Island, Tim and I are joined by my cousin
Paul on a 3 day offshore jaunt to Norfolk, VA. Other than a small
rip in a sail, and a brief stopover in Cape May NJ to escape some
nasty weather, the trip went well. Some highlight's were seeing
Atlantic City NJ from 3-4 miles offshore at 2am, and having the
Coast Guard turn off the Loran station at 5am while entering
Norfolk Harbor in pea soup fog!
On the Intracoastal Waterway 
After arriving in Norfolk, Tim and Paul flew back to NY and I
was joined by 2 more friends (and excellent sailors) Rob (on
right) and Ned (looking sailorly) for my first day on the ICW.
This photo shows us going through the rather easy Great Bridge
Lock in VA.
The not-so Dismal Swamp Canal 
Alone on the boat now, I took a detour and traveled via the
Great Dismal Swamp Canal. This beautiful "ditch", now
maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers (like all the ICW) was
dug in George Washington days, much of it by slaves (don't quote
me on this). Perfectly still, and stained dark brown by the tanic
acid from the trees, the DSC is a wonderful alternative route to
Albermerle Sound, and ends near the FRIENDLY town of Elizabeth
City NC. This route does however, require one to lock up and down
about 8 feet.(right)
Sunset in Oriental NC 
After waiting out Hurricane Gordon for a week in Elizabeth
City, I was glad to be underway again. Oriental is a quaint
little town that attracts sailors from all over. As you can see
in the photo, fisherman use Oriental as a base of operations, and
are shown here getting ready to go after the nights catch.