I've been interested in sailing since the summer after seventh grade.  My first exposure came as a 12 year-old at Camp Sea Gull.  This proved to be the first of 6 summers for me at that Arapahoe, NC sailing camp.  Here I learned about points of sail, rigging, and reading the wind from the cockpit of a Sunfish.  Soon after learning the basics, I began sailing Hobie Cats - faster, and somewhat more intricate sailboats.  After a couple of summers, some racing, and countless capsizes there was no turning back for me.  Sailing would always be a passion of mine.  As a counselor at Camp in later years, I headed up "Hobie Beach," passing on what I knew of the boats to the campers and learning much about general boat maintenance and repair.

Beyond Camp Sea Gull, I had the chance to crew with my cousin Hubie in the NC State Championships and the Junior Nationals in Santa Cruz, CA.  Although I didn't stick with racing, I picked up more than a few tips about sailing theory and practice from the knowledgeable sailors I came into contact with. Cruising and pleasure sailing would prove to be my fascinations.  There's just nothing more satisfying than slicing through the water with the sun on your back, wind in your face, and no pressure sitting on your shoulders; riding the breeze with a pair of sails. 

I came into contact with Chris and Jackie through my Aunt Hannah Poteat (same family as Bobby and Hubie - although she might not always claim one or both).  In normal Christmas holiday-talks about post-graduation plans, I told her that I would be moving to Atlanta in the fall, but had no plans for the summer.  She connected me with Chris, having heard about the upcoming trans-Atlantic passage.  After emails throughout the semester (my last one at UNC), it it was decided that Bill (another cousin - different branch of the tree) and I would crew for the voyage. We packed up our things after graduation and landed in Beaufort, where SHIBUMI and the other four passengers were anchored.

Shortly after watching the Cape sink below the horizon, we began learning the routine of life at sea.  Our three hour shifts would find us usually in the pilothouse, keeping a watch on the boat.  From here we could control most aspects of the sailboat.  We'd tend to the engine systems, watch the sail sets (and their relation to the wind), and avoid any traffic (including a large warship). 

With our days now changed into "cycles," as we lovingly referred to them, life slowed down.  We brought a plethora of movies, but didn't tend to watch them, opting instead for novels or journaling.   Even filling out the position and weather log on the hour grew to be exciting - although catching fish or altering the sails ended up being the feature events of a given day.  Actually, the weight of a average day was spent napping, trying to catch up for having been on watch half of the night. 

But the constant cycle of watches was well worth it when I found myself sitting out on the deck on a sunny afternoon, cruising east across the open water to 25 knots of southern wind.  Maybe some of the dolphins would make their daily appearance , maybe a sea gull would fly by (even 1000 miles out), or maybe nothing at all would happen, and I would just sit there alone with the endless rolling waves.

TJ's Little Known Favorite Things at Sea