CRUISING ITINERARY > ICW
JOIN A FATHER & SON TRIP UP THE ICW
BY PAUL KEKALOS
With lessons learned along the way
“Might as well get going” said my dad as we stood on the dock, fresh out of things to prepare. I laughed to myself and replied, “Yeah, I guess we might as well.”That conversation plays out in my head every time I set out on a boat — a sign that all preparations are complete, and it’s time to start the trip. When my father asked me to help him deliver his Hatteras 40 from Charleston to Cape May via the ICW, I jumped at the chance to return to a special place in my life (I spent my summers in Cape May growing up) and spend bonding time with my dad. But I was not without apprehension. It would be my first trip on the ICW, his first in years, and the first on a new-to-him vessel. While I spend a lot of time on the water as a sailor, the twin diesels of the Hatteras were new to me. As we were about to push off, dolphins showed up, easing the inevitable start-of-voyage jitters that accompany any trip. As we turned into Charleston Harbor and pointed toward the markers at the entrance to the first portion of the waterway heading north, our three dolphin friends escorted us through the channel markers. I took it as a good sign.
Paul Kekalos and his father
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