THE SEAFARER

The stillness of late afternoon is fractured by the rumble of the boat's outboard motor revving up. The craft picks up speed, stern dipping into the estuarine waters of the Intracoastal Waterway and cutting deeper and deeper into the tranquil surface. A pair of pelicans looks down from overhead; the calls of cormorants sunning on the pilings are briefly stifled. The water is unzipped. Waves slap against the hull. Sometimes dolphins swim alongside, playing in the wake, following the vessel as it retraces a centuries-old course to the island—a path that is quickly swallowed by the waterway, restoring nature’s calm as the clamor fades. —tony rehagen