I was on the lee deck, wedged between the coach-roof and the lifelines, bracing myself against the swell, gripping an old plastic sextant and practicing my sun sights. Engaging in a method of navigation used for centuries is to truly become one with the universe, a sensation long lost among the lives of those on shore. After plotting my line of position that I obtained by calculating the angle of the sun on the horizon, I reckoned we were around 26 degrees North latitude, 65 degrees West longitude, just about halfway between Charleston, SC and our landfall in the Virgin Islands. We were seven days off the East Coast, another seven or so more to sail, and had finally adjusted to life at sea, the simple life of living in tune with the universe.