Quality Time

Blaine's dad aboard 'Charbonneau'

Our early morning Bluefish catch

Blaine's dad fillets the Bluefish

We all enjoy cold beers after our arrival at Bald Head Island

Bald Head Harbor sunset

'Old Baldy'

I vaguely remember heading out with my father to watch the Baltimore Orioles play baseball when I was just a young boy. Those memories are followed with ones from my first family camping experience at the base of Iceland’s glaciers. While we lived in Hawaii, my dad taught me to snorkel. Later, when it seemed impossible, my parents arranged to have my first surfboard delivered to the Philippines -- it came across the oceans on a Navy ship. And of course, who could forget meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time. Those are only a few things that my parents did for me. Things I experienced for the first time with their help. After almost 37 years, I got the chance to reverse roles and help my dad experience something for the first time. I took him sailing --- offshore sailing.

My father was a career Navy man. He’d certainly spent his share of time aboard large ships, but he’d never had the opportunity to sail offshore on a small sailboat. He’s also an avid fisherman, but has never had much of a chance to try his luck in the deeper offshore waters. All that changed on May 12^th as ‘Charbonneau’ passed Charleston Inlet’s outermost markers. The wind filled in from the southeast and soon we had the sails up making our way eastward. It had finally come full circle. I, the son, was showing the father, my father, something he had never experienced. It was a very magical time for me.

We left Charleston bound for Bald Head Island, North Carolina. The trip would take us just over 24 hours. The weather was perfect; warm sunshine, light winds, and reasonable seas. Our fishing lines were in the water as soon as we cleared the inlet. This was the first time I had ever fished with my father and actually been interested in fishing. I’d gone along a few times as a youngster to spend time with him, but I never really took an interest in the fishing. As I checked our course and rechecked our lines, I wondered if my dad was having similar feelings about sailing.

We got our first bite on the lines around 5:30pm. It was my rod that began reeling off the line. Janet maneuvered the boat to slow her down as I attempted to set the hook. The line went limp immediately. We’d lost the first one. Then just before nightfall, we got another bite. This time I set the hook and we landed our first fish of the trip – a good size King Mackerel. We finished our cleaning and filleting just in time for sunset. With the sun setting beyond the horizon, we all put on our harnesses, connected our tethers, and prepared for another night offshore.

Janet and I maintained our normal watch schedule throughout the night - three hours on, three off. My dad was free to sit up with us or sleep; whichever he was in the mood for. He and I spent several hours talking through the night. It was the first time I can remember us talking for hours in a very long time. He came up in the cockpit for a few minutes around 4:30am – it was my watch. We had made good time and were beginning to enter the shallow waters off the North Carolina coast. I had been watching our fish-finder for the last hour – it was showing fish everywhere under us. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I very quietly let out my hand line. I explained to my dad that Janet hates for me to fish at night while we’re underway. We had to be very quiet! Fifteen minutes later, we were pulling in an 8-pound Bluefish. We left him hooked and swinging over the swim platform until daylight. Sleep is precious on an offshore passage and I didn’t want to wake Janet before her 6am watch. My dad and I had a good laugh over our catch before he left me to my watch and headed for some more sleep.

Daybreak brought an incredible sunrise and a low-lying landmass off our bow. Our trip was coming to an end. Within a few hours we had made our way up the Cape Fear Inlet and then entered the small harbor at Bald Head Island. As we slid ‘Charbonneau’ into the transient slip at Bald Head Marina, I tried to read my father’s emotions. Did he have a good time? Were the last 24 hours as special for him? The smile on his face said it all.

We spent two more days together before my dad rented a car and made his way back to Charleston. We did a little sightseeing, enjoyed some cold beers, laughed a lot, and just took pleasure in each other’s company. A day after his return to Charleston, Janet and I got an email from him. It said, “I am here in body but my mind is not. Please forward the spirit that was intentionally left on board! Love Dad.” I replied that his spirit refused to leave, but he could return anytime. After all these years, several of them spent not seeing eye-to-eye, my dad and I were sharing ‘first’ experiences again. I can assure you that we won’t wait as many years before we do it again.

Editor’s Note: The trip offshore with my father was Janet’s idea. It just reminds me, again, why she’s the Admiral – and my wife.