When I stepped aboard the A.J. Meerwald, a restored Delaware Bay oyster schooner and New Jersey's official tall ship, I was not assaulted by the full weight of the past, present, and future of Mid-Atlantic maritime communities. I was struck, instead, with the thrill of cruising under sail on a beautiful historic vessel, all polished wood and coiled ropes. The day was gorgeous. The sails--hoisted with the help of some of the passengers, including my daughter--luffed gently in the breeze.

This trip on the A.J. Meerwald in July of 2000 was my maiden voyage on a journey across over 2,000 miles of shoreline in the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, with an occasional foray into Pennsylvania. To a water-loving person such as myself, much of it was pure pleasure. Visiting small and large maritime and waterfowl museums, enjoying choppy boat trips, crossing complexly engineered bridges, socializing on weathered docks, and helping haul in nets in hopes of fish, I learned a great deal.