Several years ago – around 1995, to be exact – I was in Annapolis, Maryland, and decided to take a boat ride from the harbor out to Thomas Point Lighthouse.
I was no stranger to boats, as I had a hobby of fishing as a child and as a young man. As I was enjoying the boat ride, I discovered something fresh and new that appealed to me. Sailboats. I mean, this was, after all, Annapolis, where several of the gift shops on the main street sell hats and shirts that read, “Annapolis: A drinking town with a sailing problem.” Honestly, I had never seen so many sailboats before on the water so close like this. I became instantly hooked.
A few weeks later, I was at the beach in North Carolina, and a sign caught my eye. The sign advertised sailing charters. Two days passed, and I decided to drive to the sailing marina and ask about the sign. A very friendly and helpful man advised me that for a price, I could hire a certified captain to give me a four-hour basic sailing lesson on a 26-foot sailboat. I booked this for the following day around 10 a.m.
