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Mitch has been kind enough to let us republish a recent series of articles he wrote that are at the Observer News. I have included a link back to the original article on the Observer News website at the bottom of the article here.

Coming in from the cold

Part four of an Observer News feature series

By MITCH TRAPHAGEN This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I had never been so cold in my life — and that is saying something coming from a former Minnesotan. The wind blasting across Norfolk harbor shook my spine and instilled fear deep into my heart — not a life-threatening fear so much as a will-I-ever-get-out-of-this fear. I wanted it to end.  I wanted a 737 to take me back home.  For the first time in days, I didn’t miss my wife.  I wouldn’t want her to endure the cold and choppy waves blasting spray over the deck.

One of the mightiest ships on the sea viewed from one of the smallest: a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in Norfolk harbor. MITCH TRAPHAGEN PHOTOS

Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, the icy cold hand clutching my heart began to release its grip. By the time I sailed into downtown Norfolk, conditions were almost pleasant — at least as pleasant as things could be with a temperature in the 40s. But as the waves subsided and the sun warmed my skin (what little was exposed) and I remembered why I was doing this, my outlook brightened with the rising temperature.

If you have a bad day or reach a point in your life where you wonder if there is any good left in this world, I can assure you there is. Let me introduce you to Captain David […]

Mitch has been kind enough to let us republish a recent series of articles he wrote that are at the Observer News. I have included a link back to the original article on the Observer News website at the bottom of the article here.

My wife Michelle flew in to help prepare the boat for the voyage home. The tanks and lockers are full. It is time to sail home. Saying goodbye to Michelle was the hardest part.

Part two of an Observer News feature series

By MITCH TRAPHAGEN

The Chesapeake Bay is beautiful, historic and the entire area is a national treasure. Part of what futurists Herman Kahn and Anthony Wiener termed the BosWash Corridor; 50 million people, nearly 20 percent of the population, live in the region stretching from Washington, D.C. to Boston, on only two percent of the U.S. land area. The Chesapeake Bay, particularly the Eastern Shore, is a respite from the crowding. The bay plays a prominent role in our nation’s birth and history. While the Founding Fathers created the concepts in Philadelphia, much of the blood was shed for freedom on these waters.

For a boater, the bay appears to be nirvana. There are hundreds of rivers and creeks offering protection from adverse weather. There are also hundreds of historic, picturesque waterfront communities to visit. Years could be spent cruising here without seeing it all. But the Chesapeake is also temperamental and, in fact, can quickly become downright grumpy.

Last year I sailed for the Chesapeake from Cape Cod, through New York City, then sailing offshore in the Atlantic to Cape May, New Jersey. From there I sailed up the Delaware Bay to the C&D Canal, which brought me to the bay. The stark, desolate landscape and the steel gray water of the […]