Detour to History.

= Newport News.
- From Florida to Newport, R.I

- I drove 1800 Miles. This is the USA for you! It takes a notion of distances to realize how big this country is. Glad I came through in a car rather than on a Cattle Wagon. The detour involves traveling from Norfolk to Newport News. Clearly, I am drawn to the name Newport, from Nieuwport in Belgium to Newport Beach, California, and Newport, Vermont, as well as Newport Beach, CA, and so on. The list is long for a remembering sailor.



- My interest in the detour was partly dictated by my daughter; Daddy, you have to go to see the Maritime Museum. She is the same, when as a very young child and driving along the harbor shore of Newport R. I to the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, and while strapped into her chair in the back of the car, she would say in a loud voice;
" Daddy, look, look, Daddy. Boats. Look, Daddy boats! " So dutifully, I inclined my direction to Newport News, giving the opportunity.

- Well, it tended to be a quick Tour. Running out of time, I had to go around rather fast to be on the road again. But, very worthwhile for the one hour spent there. The exhibits are a superclass, the extent attributed to Maritime History, Technology, and the Future are shown in very well-balanced and distributed Rooms.

- In particular, I retain for the sake of remembrance to show you a couple of things that stuck in my attention. Maybe you know, maybe you do not, but I am always attracted to reduce time to build anything. Maybe spending too much of my own time to figure it out. Anyway, the caption "100 days to build a warship. was intriguing. Only to be followed by the building of a Liberty Ship, the Lego boat. I read somewhere that the record for building one of those was 17 days. Man, we cannot do anything anymore in seventeen days!

- Now fast forward. I was surprised because not aware that the Catamaran Oracle, winner of the America's Cup, is part of a very large display. Of course, the sheer size of the boat takes up some space to accommodate. Being interested in foiling, looking straight at the appendages brought to me a few conclusions: they are there to stay, and stay indeed in our future on and in the water.