Circum-navigating, in my Minds Eye, Part V…

From Juneau north to Anchorage, (61.2° N 149.9° W)

A trip of magnificence and many portage’s,

We could have stopped in them all,

But would have depleted our savings in shopping malls,

That was not what I came here for,

I came to enjoy the Natural beauty, not that of flea market stalls…

The boat has been running top notch,

In Anchorage though we have to have it checked out,

To make sure she is ready for the trip to Hawaii,

Some five thousand miles further south in the Pacific,

I kinda look forward to that part of the trip, as the rest was,

Just a precursor to this part of the cruise,

We now get to test our mettle, so to speak,

The electronics, the radar, the GPS, all did we seek,

To have installed at the start, to be able to sail without help,

Of land markings and identifications from lighthouses, so bright…

I now get to see, if what I learned in my captains classes,

Will give me what I need to complete the trip to the islands,

Or will I need to call on the satellite navigation systems,

And again use what I need to see with, my magnifying glasses,

But with all the technology of man at my fingertips,

I know I am really looking forward to this extended part of our trip…

The loneliness may be quite strong,

And the aloneness will be so much more wrong,

I will want to speak, with or see, another human being,

At the very least, initially,

But after a time, I will learn what all solitary sailors do learn,

To be one with the sea, one with the sky, one with the breeze…

So somewhere in our trip through this area,

We will get on the SAT phone & keep you up to date,

Another of mans wonders, to be able to send email,

From the middle of the northern Pacific, maybe like a snail,

But fast enough for me to read my messages, while under sail…

                    © ed – 3/7/04