Waltzing Matilda: setting sail after a month.

March 7, 2010
“Oops, there goes a dolphin right next to me,” said Nathan in a mid-afternoon phone call from the Intracoastal Waterway on the east side of Mobile Bay. He’s planning on making Pirate’s Cove at Pensacola, Florida, by tonight. He set sail from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, at noon yesterday. “I was doing my captain’s log and realized that I had been in Ocean Springs for a month,” he said. Indeed, it was the weekend of February 6-7 that he had been shipwrecked on Horn Island, was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter and had his boat towed to Ocean Springs.
After casting off yesterday, Horn Island was his first destination. “If you fall off your horse or fall off your skateboard you have to go back to where you took the fall.” He anchored at Horn Island for the night, along with new friends Rick and Cathy who are sailing in tandem with Nathan in their boat the Valkyrie. Although secured by the new anchor he bought while ashore at Ocean Springs, Waltzing Matilda broke loose and began to drift, but Nathan said he only ended up about a mile offshore. Another problem he encountered was his second bout with snagging a crab trap. The trap line or lines tangled with his propeller, meaning he had to proceed under sail until he could put on a wet suit and go overboard to untangle the mess.
Being back at sea after being ashore made Nathan philosophical. “When I’m ashore I get very lonely but when I’m at sea, I’m fine. I don’t understand it. Being around other people makes me feel alone but when I’m isolated at sea, I don’t have time to get lonely. I’ve heard other sailors say the same thing.”
His month ashore was a great experience, Nathan said. “I had a lovely time in Ocean Springs. A lot of people regret me leaving. I’ve made some good friends there.”
Upon arriving in Pensacola, Nathan is considering more shore time there, perhaps working in the local shipyard or in the hospitality industry due to the upcoming spring break for colleges.
A personal note from Official Correspondent Dad Landry: Thanks to our longtime friends Carol Moore and her daughters Shawn and Jay who showed great hospitality to Nathan while he was in Ocean Springs. Recently Carol’s husband and Shawn and Jay’s father, Fred, passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. Nathan’s mother and I have been friends with Fred and Carol since before Nathan was born and Fred always thought highly of Nathan. When very young, Fred also had some wild sailing adventures – including a shipwreck or two – on the Great Lakes. I’m sorry he was not able to share in Nathan’s trip.
And an editorial note from Nathan: “I have discovered that the alpine hitch is the greatest knot ever. Anybody who takes the time to look that up will discover what I mean by that.”
And that’s the report from Ocean Springs, the Intracoastal Waterway, and soon Pirate’s Cove at Pensacola.

Post script by n8, follow the progress of the Valkyrie and know that I am nearby, they have a SPOT device that updates their GPS positin via the innernets, also I have posted more photos