Teresa's smile and soft gentle nature brightened up a cold rainy weekend aboard Lastdance

March 13 - It’s hard to believe it’s already March but with the weather moderating, I got out for my first sail of 2009 aboard s/v Audrey, a Pearson 36 owned by Jon and Michelle who are dock mates here in Beaufort. We’ve been doing alternating dinners and happy hours aboard our respective boats along with Ted Jones and Malla. Ted used to be the owner and publisher of Coastal Cruising magazine and he is now retired and living aboard s/v Ocean Gypsy.  With these new friends, I trekked to town when the waterfront shops in Beaufort hosted a cocktail evening.
We got a belly full of wine and hors d’ourves along with great conversation with the shopkeepers and locals who offered tons of information about Beaufort “then and now.”

   My Aunt Mary used to say, “When one door closes, another opens.” With those words in mind when a brief relationship in Tennessee ended, I went in search of an open door, not really sure of what I would find. I found Teresa, a kind and gentle woman with remarkable grace and beauty.  We learned a great deal about each other on the phone and internet and then I drove to Raleigh for what I thought might only be a simple date.

   I stayed for two days and departed with the knowledge that I had crossed a major threshold in my life and so with Aunt Mary’s voice in my head, I realized that one door had closed and another had indeed just opened for me. Since then, Teresa has been to Beaufort where we hunkered down during a weekend of chilly and rainy weather. We shared an evening with Jon and Michelle aboard Lastdance where we enjoyed salmon risotto, several bottles of wine, two large bars of dark chocolate and a bit of grappa! They invited us aboard s/v Audrey for breakfast the next morning and we passed away several hours sipping mimosas and woofing down a great breakfast prepared by Michelle.

   Teresa and I then drove to Smithfield, NC to hook up with John and Gail (s/v Tranquility) who were driving home from Florida. We had dinner with them at a Texas steakhouse where my ribeye was marginal but being there with Teresa and these great long-term friends was a special acknowledgment of their warm acceptance of her into my life. I then continued on to her home in Raleigh where I got to lounge around in “Arab pantaloons,”…Don’t ask!  I’ve been back to Raleigh several times and each day has brought me closer to this wonderful woman and we are both eagerly looking forward to going sailing together and much, much more in the future. 
   I'm having a new main sail made and in chatting with my sailmaker, he mentioned that he was making a sail for a guy up in New Bern who also had a Pacific Seacraft. 
"He's also from up north, you might know him, his name is Nolan." 
I asked, "Bill Nolan?" 
"Yeah, thats the guy, do you know him?" 
Bill used to sail out of Morgan Marina in NJ and it's been 11 years since I last saw him. He called later in the day and we talked about the old days sailing on Raritan Bay and we made plans to get together before I sail north in May.

   Ted said a heartfelt farewell to Malla who returned to Seattle after a month aboard s/vOcean Gypsy. Hopefully, she’ll return soon and continue her voyage of exploration with Ted.  Jon and Michelle departed today to haul out s/v Audrey until the fall when they’ll return to continue their voyage south. I’m sitting here alone again but eagerly anticipating returning to Raleigh tomorrow to see Teresa. She resigned from her weekend job beginning April so I’m looking forward to her coming to Beaufort more often so we can do some sailing together. 
   Before I head to Raleigh, I’ll be stopping at CampLejeune to join my good friends John and Denise in seeing off their son Kevin. He is a US Marine, Lance Corporal and is deploying to Iraq this Sunday and ironically, he will be based with my son Christopher in Al Asad. I guess it’s just part of the cycle of life but it pains me when I recall them as little boys together at our annual Christmas dinners. Now they are men going in harms way…Godspeed Kevin and Christopher and all our brave warriors who walk the walls and guard the gates for us.
   “Sailing with Carol” has been released on Amazon. Just go to www.amazon.com  then click on books, type in Sailing with Carol and order a dozen copies. Writing it has been a long but cathartic journey for me and I don’t think I could have moved forward had I not told Carol’s story. I have moved forward though and I know Carol would be happy with both the book and how my life has progressed; she was just that way.