THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 3, 1995 TAG: 9506030291
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
John Paterson has spent the last several months picturing his 32-foot sailboat upside-down in rough seas.
He's had to. It might happen.
Paterson, who has worked in Elizabeth City for several years and lived here for the past 18 months, is embarking Sunday for Bermuda in his beloved ``La Vie Dansante.'' It's the first trip of this kind the 36-year-old has attempted.
``You have to imagine the boat in a completely different way,'' Paterson said in an Elizabeth City boat slip as he made final preparations for his voyage. ``When you go 650 miles across open ocean, you don't have a port, and you can't choose.''
Paterson and six other boats that will form his group met at a marina in Hampton on Thursday. They are scheduled to set sail for Bermuda around noon Sunday. His crew of four includes two Colington Island residents, George Kendall and Hans Falkenberg.
Paterson says he's the youngest sailor in the flotilla, which also includes five boats from the Chesapeake Bay and one from New Jersey. When fellow travelers learned his age at an organizational meeting, ``They all got quiet,'' Paterson said.
Then, one of the older sailors said, ``I wish to hell I'd done it 20 years ago.''
Originally from New Jersey, Paterson has been sailing most of his life. His longest trip to date, however, has only been about 24 hours.
``It's something I've always wanted to do,'' he said of the Bermuda voyage. ``I just thought, what the heck, I'll do it. Right now I'm making my own schedule and calling my own shots, and it may be irresponsible, but tough.''
Paterson says he scrapped and saved for the boat, which he has had for about two years.
``I guess we all make choices,'' said Paterson, who is single. ``Some people spend that money on family and kids. Other people spend their money on a boat. I can take this boat anywhere in the world.''
A stockbroker once told him he was a fool for buying the boat because it will depreciate. Then Paterson showed him the vessel. ``He kind of fell for it real fast,'' the sailor said.
Securing the vessel for the voyage has required preparations Paterson didn't dream of when he signed on to the trip and began planning in February.
Everything on board has to be secured and locked down. Paterson had to find materials to cover portholes and hatches in case the glass gets ripped off in a storm. The boat has extra fuel tanks and bilge pumps, a life raft, safety harnesses and more than twice the food he's estimated he'll need.
``These are things you'll never use, hopefully,'' Paterson said. ``But you've got to have them.''
Paterson, who works in business consulting, used to commute between New Jersey and Elizabeth City.
He started falling in love with the Albemarle area when ``I stopped working so much. I got out, I saw the town, I met the people.
``You can go to Mulligan's here and meet everybody and anybody. You go down to the town dock and meet people from all over the world,'' Paterson said.
``Right now, I'm looking for an opportunity in the area so I can stay.''
But for about three weeks, Paterson's home will be the sea. His boat's name, by the way, is French for ``the dance of life.''
``For me, this is the dance of life - being on the water, sailing,'' Paterson said. ``I always feel a bit more alive when I'm on the boat.'' by CNB