Ease into the wind. Raise the sails. Silence the motor. And Stardust, as if longing for such a journey all of her 19 years, responds like a freshman at spring break. Weathered canvas fills smartly.
Steel rigging begins to hum.
Sunlight splinters into thousands of gold shards that shimmer in the water. Off in the distance, Fisherman's Inlet Bridge emerges from the haze and, just beyond, lies the entrance to one of the most intriguing yet little-known waterways on the Atlantic Coast, the Virginia Inside Passage. To go where few who are unfamiliar with the complex, twisting waterway now dare to go. To anchor out near the islands, walk some of their restless beaches and sense the power of the ocean as it works them like a potter with soft clay. To duck into small harbors, dock at some of the fading but still vibrant little towns along the seaside and seek out people who shape their character.