The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter., 1961-04-14

LIB AedA
background music we could have
been skirting the coast of Mozam-
bique with a cargo of apes and
sandal wood. That could be the
trouble with all of life, no back
ground music.
The day was young, so we decid-
ed to start across without any de-
lay. AS for the wind it was a little
more south now and falling off.
This would involve tacking over to
the other side, but with plenty of
daylight hours left we should be
far enough to be able to pick up
the light to the Alligator soon
after dark. The alternative was to
sail east about four miles to the
mouth Of North River where there
was good camping spot, and get
an early start Saturday morning.
That was the reason for the camp
ing gear. 1t it had taken the better
part of the day to reach the mouth
of the Pasquotank or the weather
or wind would not permit crossing
we could hold up on the point of
land separating the Pasquotank
and the North Rivers. headed the
sloop into the wind as close as she
would go, made a note of the COM
pass heading, and intended to sail
her on that course for fifteen min
utes.
The feeling on board was pro-
badly something like that when
passed over st. Johns Newfound-
land, and banked the "Spirit" to-
ward Ireland. Excelsior! - And all
that.
Then the wind fell off. Nothing.
Even the ground swell leveled out
Ritz's rock bait could be seen float
ing on the surface far behind the
stern. Occasionally a gull would
show slight interest in it. At 1900
noon canned beef and beans were
opened. A wedge of chese and a
can of sardines were brought out
along with three warm beers. The
meal was good because everyone
was long way from breakfast, but
it was eaten in silence. In the last
two inactive hours we had just
about talked out.
The waves had now slicked off
to the point where you could de-
tect cats paws approaching. What
few there were baffled their way
up from the south. The afternoon
wore on. We kept beating back
and forth to hold our own while
hoping the wind would pick up
The evening sun was getting hot
so we decided to swim over the
side. The waters of the sound were
refreshingly cool and our spirit:
were given a boost. This is another
thing unknown to this "newly-rich'
generation of sailors. When the
wind doesn't blow you have to fint
other entertainments. Sailing is {
way of life, not just means o.
transportation.
BY three o'clock we were only
about mile and half from thu
mouth of the Pasquotank. Thunder
heads were beginning to appear
down in the southwest. At thi
point we knew too many factori
were against us. The best part O.
the day was over. There was littl'
or no wind and the weather wa!
questionable. So we headed tn
boat eastward toward the Nortl
River bell buoy. l took the "Safari'
into the North River by way of tn
marked channel. / could have Gu
inside of the markers by about ;
mile, thus taking her over the shoa
and spoil area. However, there i
only one to two feet of water there
and if any of that weather materi
allied a lot of water would b
breaking on that shallow grounC
Besides, there was nothing else t
do and sailing small boat wit,
the same planning and strateg
you would use with a ninety foo
schooner adds another dimensio
to the game.