…for Jamey.
For some reason, Jamey and I tend to not switch off at the helm during the day, each preferring to take the wheel the whole time. We've always done this. When it's good sailing, I will guard my position as captain and forego potty breaks, eating, and drinking for as long as ten hours. This may have been a practice that developed many years ago when I was starting to build my sailing skills and was afraid of Jamey altering my course or trimming my sails (which I would perceive as undermining my small accomplishments or as patronizing-- typical male/female dynamics, huh?) We may have fallen into this way of working as a team because Jamey is willing to do the long stretches of boring motoring, more capable of handling difficult conditions, and more tolerant of uncomfortable weather. Today Jamey was at the helm.
It was NOT a peaceful day for me. Imagine four active children waking up in a small and limited space. Needing breakfast, homeschooling, snacks, lunch, entertainment, attention, attention and more attention.
Don't get me wrong. Phoenix is super proactive with her workbooks and is teaching herself all sorts of things. For example, I did not know that my way of doing long multiplication is the "U.S. Traditional Method" and is considered by Phoenix to be outdated and more difficult to understand than other "algorithims." My biggest problem with her right now is keeping her from reading all of our Kindle library books straight away. (She averages two per day, and putting library books on the Kindle is dependent on good WiFi access for us).
Nevertheless, it was a day of constant multi-tasking for me. Setting up activities and lessons for one kid while another one finished theirs, delegating chores, keeping the inevitable mess at bay, trying to get the little ones to nap (totally unsuccessful!), ensuring that life jackets and harnesses were on when up above, satisfying their insatiable appetite, breaking up quarrels and fights, etc. At one point I celebrated Indigo taking a long nap in her fort under the table, but then found out she had been happily hiding out, "daydreaming", and avoiding doing schoolwork. She later redeemed herself, and wrote a great essay imagining herself as a Jamestown settler (posted below).
I love being a stay-at-boat-mom, but tomorrow I'm taking the helm!
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It was NOT a peaceful day for me. Imagine four active children waking up in a small and limited space. Needing breakfast, homeschooling, snacks, lunch, entertainment, attention, attention and more attention.
Don't get me wrong. Phoenix is super proactive with her workbooks and is teaching herself all sorts of things. For example, I did not know that my way of doing long multiplication is the "U.S. Traditional Method" and is considered by Phoenix to be outdated and more difficult to understand than other "algorithims." My biggest problem with her right now is keeping her from reading all of our Kindle library books straight away. (She averages two per day, and putting library books on the Kindle is dependent on good WiFi access for us).
Nevertheless, it was a day of constant multi-tasking for me. Setting up activities and lessons for one kid while another one finished theirs, delegating chores, keeping the inevitable mess at bay, trying to get the little ones to nap (totally unsuccessful!), ensuring that life jackets and harnesses were on when up above, satisfying their insatiable appetite, breaking up quarrels and fights, etc. At one point I celebrated Indigo taking a long nap in her fort under the table, but then found out she had been happily hiding out, "daydreaming", and avoiding doing schoolwork. She later redeemed herself, and wrote a great essay imagining herself as a Jamestown settler (posted below).
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| Cheerios have this insidious way of spreading everywhere even on a boat |
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| Everyone's favorite hangout place |
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| Dancing on the deck |
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WHERE WE STARTED: Mariner's Wharf, Elizabeth City
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| An early morning departure from Elizabeth City. At least four boats left before us. |
WHERE WE ARE: Anchored in seven to eight feet of water at the bottom of the Alligator River, a mile east of the Alligator River-Pungo River Canal entrance. Great protection from southerly winds. This anchorage would be horrible in anything coming from the north. There are potential snags in the area.
THERE TO HERE: Around 50 miles. 9 hours. There were at least ten other boats migrating south across the Albemarle Sound and down the Alligator River today. Due to its shallow water and long shape, the Albemarle Sound can apparently get quite nasty with choppy seas under even just a little wind. We saw boats that had intended to stay longer in Elizabeth City conceding to the enticingly calm conditions and heading down with us.
The Albemarle Sound is the closest that we will get to Roanoke Island on this leg of our journey. We have an interest in visiting Roanoke Island because it is where the British first attempted to build a colonial settlement in 1584 and 1587. The fate of the final Roanoke colonists, a group that included a handful of women and children (and Virginia Dare, the first child born in America to English parents), is one of history's great mysteries. Supply ships who returned to the settlement in 1590 found an abandoned settlement with no signs of a struggle and only a couple of clues carved into a fence post and nearby tree. Despite much effort by historians, archaeologists, and scientists, there has not been sufficient evidence found to determine what the ultimate fate of the Roanoke colonists might have been. The theories are many, and recent efforts have looked at Albemarle Sound as a possible source of more clues.
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INDIGO'S ESSAY:
My name is Julia Richard, a kid. I am going to Virginia on a sailboat to make town. I come from England, and it's a 100 day sail. I don't get to change clothes for all that time. When we arrived after 100 long days, we went on shore. Then we found Indians. They were dressed oqwardly. They brout goods and water. They had a town, and their leader was named Powhatin. They did not have guns or sowrds. They had spears and arowws. Their spears were made out of chipped rocks and they cooked deer meet. They had a hut for animal furs. They had a lot of meat. We had forts made out of wood logs.
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| The peaceful view from our anchorage |
The Albemarle Sound is the closest that we will get to Roanoke Island on this leg of our journey. We have an interest in visiting Roanoke Island because it is where the British first attempted to build a colonial settlement in 1584 and 1587. The fate of the final Roanoke colonists, a group that included a handful of women and children (and Virginia Dare, the first child born in America to English parents), is one of history's great mysteries. Supply ships who returned to the settlement in 1590 found an abandoned settlement with no signs of a struggle and only a couple of clues carved into a fence post and nearby tree. Despite much effort by historians, archaeologists, and scientists, there has not been sufficient evidence found to determine what the ultimate fate of the Roanoke colonists might have been. The theories are many, and recent efforts have looked at Albemarle Sound as a possible source of more clues.
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INDIGO'S ESSAY:
My name is Julia Richard, a kid. I am going to Virginia on a sailboat to make town. I come from England, and it's a 100 day sail. I don't get to change clothes for all that time. When we arrived after 100 long days, we went on shore. Then we found Indians. They were dressed oqwardly. They brout goods and water. They had a town, and their leader was named Powhatin. They did not have guns or sowrds. They had spears and arowws. Their spears were made out of chipped rocks and they cooked deer meet. They had a hut for animal furs. They had a lot of meat. We had forts made out of wood logs.
Hi Indie,
ReplyDelete'Thanks for telling us about your trip, and about what Indian life must have been like.
Grammy and I look forward to reading about your trip every day.
Love, Grampy