http://www.bwsailing.comBWSFor example, the slave ship Amistad
was in for a refit. It is the recreation
of the ship that was taken over by its
African slave prisoners, who were then
recaptured at a New England port. The
slaves were eventually freed from a
U.S. jail thanks to a court defense by
John Adams, later a U.S. president.
The present-day Amistad was once
captained by William Pinkney, the first
African-American to sail solo around
the world.
Leaving Mystic, most of the flotilla
cruised to a rendezvous in Stoning-
ton, CT, famous for its New England
charm, and repelling the British in the
War of 1812. Beautiful old houses are
everywhere, and good looking heir-
loom quality sailing craft lie smartly
moored in the harbor. Crews of Legacy,
Starchaser, Merlin, Grace, and Damn
Yankee swapped stories and caught
up on each other’s travels while sight
seeing and enjoying meals together.
HOMEWARD BOUND
We elected to begin the sail home as
Starchaser had earlier commitments at
home, and ours weren’t too much fur-
ther behind. We sailed back to Mystic,
explored Noank, CT, and then pressed
on to Oyster Bay, NY, where we were
welcomed with a picturesque sunset
sailing regatta.
Oyster Bay is the site of the Battle
Ship Maine memorial, and the sum-
mer White House of Theodore Roo-
sevelt. While President, TR laid out
his foreign policy by saying, “Walk
softly and carry a big stick”. His
White House is now a fine restaurant
and micro brewery with advertising
posters of him, beer in hand, saying
“Walk softly and carry a big growler
you will go far!”
From Oyster Bay, we retraced our
route through New York harbor and
down the Jersey coast. Underway to
Cape May in sunny warm skies, we
spotted numerous dolphins and a
whale to say nothing of experiencing
great sailing. Hull speed plus was the
order of the day.
Our early morning departure from
Cape May up the Delaware Bay saw us
motorsailing in light winds, marked
by non-stop ship traffic and a lone
guy in a 20-foot row boat rowing up
the bay. At least he was going with
the tide.
In late afternoon, the wind piped up
to 20 knots as we waited for a massive
car carrier to exit the C&D canal. The
captain asked if I could move to the
starboard side of the Delaware Bay
channel to which I replied Legacy will
be happy to go outside the channel!
The C&D canal itself is 450 feet wide
and for our passage through it was
devoid of any other ship traffic.
As the sun was starting to set, our
little flotilla ducked into a rustic ma-
rina off the side of the canal in Bear,
DE. It actually had a traffic light to let
you know when it was safe to enter or
exit the marina.
The following morning, we com-
pleted our trip through the canal
and entered the Chesapeake Bay. We
decided to take a detour to visit the
colonial town of Georgetown, MD,
so we turned east into the beautiful
Sassafras River. It was then Carol and
I heard a mayday from an overturned
sailboat at the mouth of the river.
By the time we got there, the Coast
Guard had rescued two crewmen and
the sailboat was being towed to safety.From Georgetown, we sailed in
tee-shirt weather down the bay and
stopped in Annapolis and Solomon’s
Island before heading home to Hamp-
ton. A month had passed and we had
fulfilled our quest to sail Legacy to
New England. We’d made new friends
and visited charming and historic
ports. And, we had the pleasure of
sailing with a flotilla of friends.Curtis Morris is a retired U.S. Air Force
Colonel and international security con-
sultant. He does freelance writing, and
is a presenter to sailing groups. He is
the Past Commodore of the Old Point
Comfort Yacht Club in Hampton, VA.37