Handwritten letter from G. R. Starkey at “Island House” to Gertrude Starkey Pitcairn. No Date. Seal with several dome-topped buildings pressed into upper left corner, representing either the “National Hill” or perhaps the “National Mall.” G. R. Starkey was pleased to receive the first letter Gertrude has ever written him. Starkey recounts his maritime adventure of the previous day. He, along with four others from Island House, decided to borrow a sloop owned by the House and sail down to Cape May where they would stay overnight before returning the next day. Although there had been a breeze the day before, there was little wind when they departed, and they eventually found themselves in a dead calm. Starkey at his dinner and watched schools of menhaden, jellyfish, and sharks swimming through the water. At 6 o’clock, they called a formal meeting to discuss what they should do. Rather than continue to Cape May, they decided to head for the Absecon Lighthouse. They didn’t think they could make it in time to see the buoy marking the inlet, so they decided to drop anchor for the night. Starkey went to bed around 8 o’clock, after a supper of “cold tongue & bread.” Around 11, he was woken up by the boat “pitching fearfully” in the wind and the waves. After throwing up three times, he took an army blanket and lay on the deck for several hours watching the “fearfully grand” “contest raging between the elements.” In the morning, they sailed for the lighthouse, landing at Inlet House before wending their way home to Island House. Starkey is glad to have had the experience but would not voluntarily do it again. Names mentioned: Pil Gurlie (?) Places mentioned: Island House, Cape May, Absecon Lighthouse, Inlet House