“Who is this?…”  I asked.

“Did’ya take the Sound like I tol’ya?”  Asked the strange voice.

“Did I take the sound?… What sound?… Who is this?” I asked trying hard to recognize who I was speaking to.

“Ya, I figure you must have taken the Sound, if you’re all still ok.  I don’t know what the heck you were thinking, trying to go on the outside of Long Island… It’s me, Michael, the fisherman from Connecticut.  I’ll be checking on you from time to time.  You’ll be just fine, just take it slow…”

Sure enough, it was the grumpy fisherman that called me Polish, way back on the beginning of our journey.  Amazing, though his life is full of sorrow, brokenness, and appears to him as being meaningless, he remembered us, and took the time to check in to see if we were ok.

It is easy to judge a person.  Being accurate on that judgement however, is very difficult;  in fact, it may be near impossible.

Aleph Tav motored fast, straight toward the shore of Cape Henlopen… 10nm… 7nm… 5nm… 3nm… 1nm and closing…  Several people on shore stood up with their hand covering the sun glare, as Aleph Tav cut through the water full speed heading straight at them… 20ft depth, 15… 10… 9… a jeep on the fast approaching beach came to a full stop… What could have gone wrong?…  Absolutely nothing, just lining her up for a perfect west wind. Yipeeee!…

With powerful elegance, Aleph Tav turned parallel to the beach as I spun the helm hard to port and unfurled her majestic genoa.  With a full sail, Aleph Tav heeled over as she picked up speed along the sandy beach.  The jeep took off after us, and we raced side by side for almost an hour, until they ran out of beach and we sailed on to victory…

Docked at a marina closed for the season, we enjoyed a couple of very peaceful nights.  Then a severe weather warning came over the radio: blizzard conditions, wind gusts 45 to 50 miles per hour, 15 to 25 foot seas, 10 degree temperatures.  This was all coming in the next 24 hours.  But we were well docked in a protected area, so we prepared to wait out the storm.  The next leg of the trip would be a 24 hour non stop sail to Norfolk Virginia, with absolutely no place to fuel up, rest, or duck away from a storm, so this dock was a priceless blessing.

Nestled in front of a cozy propane heater we were enjoying a delicious hot chocolate when there was a harsh knock on the window.  I stuck my head out of the companion way.    “Good morning officer, how can I help you…” I asked with a nervous smile…

To be continued