What a ride! Sonora had a headsail out on a pole and the main set on the opposite side. Both boom and the pole were made fast with their respective downhauls, pulling her sails out for the strong winds to fill. She looked incredible, with her canvas out on both sides, running rigging creating shapes of a triangle on all of her spars. Looking like this, waves ranging from six to eight feet would catch up to her, and her stern would rise a bit as she surfed down the face of the wave. Gusty winds pushed her forward and

I’m at Beaufort! It was only a sixteen nautical mile leg, which is the shortest leg of this journey so far. It was still very challenging. I hope this is it for the Intracoastal! Offshore from now on, baby. With only three hours of travel to do, I was trying to make Beaufort in the morning so that I can have a full day to check out the sights. I also wanted to hit shower and laundry before they all closed. But that was not to be. I had harsh weather and pouring rain early in the morning. I had

I think humans are meant to struggle for survival, even if its just a little bit. Even if you aren’t actually struggling to survive, being in an environment where that is on everyone’s mind is enough. It puts all of our ups and downs, triumphs and defeats in perspective. Of course, truly struggling to survive is horrible. I feel fortunate not to know what it feels like to truly starve, and I do not miss any part of even the mildest hypothermia. But I do think we’re hard-wired to be on the lookout and be in the pursuit of something.

ICW: Alligator River to Goose Creek Today’s leg was the penultimate leg before arriving at my second port-of-call at Beaufort. Now that my mind and body has been used to this environment, today felt like a blur. The monotony of the tasks and the similarity of the environment makes it feel as if I was in some dream. One of those dreams where you can’t tell how much time had passed. I’m seeing the same sights over and over again. Alligator River canal was beautiful, but I am a bit tired of seeing trees all around me. At one part