Voyage of the Myrina

Her hair was sun bleached and her skin was golden. All she could hear was the sound of the gentle waves from the bay washing shells and sea glass onto the white sand. Kai had spent the first two months since she moved to the Shore lying on the beach healing her soul from the unfulfilled life she had been living back home.

The desire to move to the Shore wasn’t entirely based on the fact that it was a land between two waters. The Chesapeake Bay was on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. There are a handful of places on the east coast where the sun sets over the water and this was one of the best. To top that, one could get up in the morning and drive a few miles to the seaside and watch the sun rise over the water. It was a deep connection she felt to her very core. Kai was puzzled by it, but shrugged her shoulders each time she pondered it, pushing it back on the shelf for another time.

While on vacation on the Shore, Kai connected with an eccentric gentleman, Randall, who dealt in antiques and historical documents. They had so much in common and spoke the same language when it came to historical items. He had the most amazing collection Kai had ever seen.

Occasionally, Kai would sit in Randall’s shop and look through old paper documents he had for sale. A couple hours would pass and he would say “what is it that you are looking for?” Kai always replied, “I’m not sure” She would purchase 1800s documents and leave feeling puzzled. She was fascinated by the history of the area.

Kai had been researching and writing articles about the forgotten history of the Shore since she arrived, some had gotten quite a bit of attention.

Kai and her friend, Sally went to a dinner invitation at a house that was once a tavern in the 1800s. The tavern catered to sailors and travelers. The caretaker invited Kai to tour the old tavern and Kai discovered a door latch that was manufactured from 1740 to 1840. She was consumed with the quest to know more. She had researched two schooners that frequented the boat landing near the tavern and heard about a female schooner Captain, but dismissed it as folklore. How could that even be possible? It was the 1800s after all.

Kai went down to Randall’s shop to look for any documents for her book research. She wasn’t finding anything. Then Randall said “oh, you might want to look through this box. It has been buried for the last 25 years or so, I just uncovered it”. Kai was ready to leave, but said “sure, I’ll take a look through the box”. She couldn`t pass up the opportunity to be first to dig through it.

Kai was a bit disappointed at not finding anything interesting. The last thing she pulled out was a ledger. It was so old and crusty. Kai was tired and decided to just buy it without even opening it. “What do you want for this old ledger, Randall?“ Kai asked. She was anxious to get back home. “ I’ll take $20 for it”, Randall said.. “Alright, I’ll take it”, Kai said as she stood up and pulled a 20 dollar bill out of her pocket. She drove home and almost left the ledger in her van. “This book is really dirty” she thought. “I can’t open this until I clean it off” she told the porch kitty as she walked into the house.. Dinner was done and Kai went to bed forgetting all about the ledger.

Morning came and Kai remembered the ledger. After it was clean enough to handle, Kai opened the cover. “This thing is water damaged. I hope I’m going to be able to read it” she thought as she began to examine the pages. “Huh, looks like a ship ledger” Kai said, reaching for the magnifying glass. “Looks like it may be from a schooner, last date is September 1842.” It was difficult to read even though Kai was used to 1800s documents. “Captain who?” She blurted out. “Captain Kennedy”. Kai examined a few pages for more information. “The name of the schooner is Myrina,”. Kai stopped to look it up in 1800s ship register. The owner was the Captain, L. Kennedy. Home port of the schooner, Queenstown, MD. Entries covered trips to local ports and the West Indies. “Wow, I can’t imagine being a schooner Captain sailing to the West Indies in the 1830s”, Kai exclaimed as she grabbed her pirate hat and plopped it on her head. Kai loved costumes, they always helped her connect with what she was researching. Towards the end, there was some writing and a map. It was almost impossible to read. She pulled up an old Coastal Survey map of the Shore on her computer. Kai photographed the ledger page and made an overlay on her computer. “Well, that looks a little familiar” Kai said as she pushed her pirate hat back to get a closer look. She was pretty sure she knew the area the map referred to. Now if she could just make out the words.

It was Castle Ridge. “That’s out from Red Bank Creek” Kai said as she scoured the Coastal Survey Map. The ledger gave crude coordinates. “Am I really going to fall for this nonsense?” Kai asked herself. Tapping a pencil on the desk, she thought about what it would entail. She had a cheap underwater metal detector, Davy had a shallow boat. “Okay, why not, what have I got to lose? It will be fun, I’m ready for an adventure!” she said. “It’s the middle of May so it can’t be that bad out there”.

Two days later, Kai and Davy left in his boat from Red Bank Landing about an hour before low tide. “There wasn’t much to Castle Ridge now. It was pretty small”, Davy said as he threw an anchor out. They got out of the boat into the water which was only about 18 inches deep at the moment. Kai put the metal detector in the water at the shore line. After 30 minutes, she decided she really did not care what happened because she was having so much fun playing “treasure hunt”.

When Kai was a child, she, her brother and two cousins used to play a homemade game they called “ship wreck”. She loved that game so much and was lost in dreamy memories when the beeping startled her back into reality. “What ya got there?” Davy asked. “I don’t know, hand me the shovel”, Kai said as she laid the metal detector on the sand. She dug about a foot down in the sand and marsh grass and hit something. They both dug and pulled up a small wooden cask amazingly intact. “Those Coopers really did good work back then” Davy said as he struggled to pry it open. The inside of the lid had the name Myrina burned in the wood. “The schooner!” Kai said as she reached inside and pulled out a black whiskey bottle. Davy spoke up “we should get back to the landing. The tide is almost too low for my boat”.

Once back at the boat landing, Davy said, “Looks like you got yourself a $400 whiskey bottle from the 1830s, not bad, not bad. You owe me lunch soon”. He got in his truck and left.

Kai put everything into her van. She stared at the bottle. She couldn`t see through it, but heard something inside. Kai shook the empty bottle and pulled the cork out and a key came out. She could see something else inside and got tweezers out of her bag. Out came a rolled paper, tied with leather . Kai was beside herself with excitement, her heart was pounding. Kai read, “Take this letter and key to the courthouse clerk, Capt. Kennedy”.

The only “courthouse” she knew was in Eastville, built in 1731. Kai drove there, went inside and asked for the clerk. “May I help you” the clerk said as they walked back to the office. Kai said, “I’ve been instructed to bring this letter and key to the clerk”. The clerk took the letter and key, excusing herself. “Now I’m really nervous, hope I’m not going to be thrown in jail. Did I pay my property tax this year?” Kai said.

The clerk appeared and said, “Follow me”. They entered a storage room and the clerk said, “we’ve been waiting for you for about 180 years”. She unlocked an old metal trunk. Kai’s eyes got as big as saucers. The trunk was filled with gold coins. The clerk handed a little black notebook to Kai who read, “I have left my trunk of belongings at the courthouse for safe keeping in case I do not return from this, my last voyage. I must sail once more to the West Indies and I will have enough gold to live out the rest of my days. My only son David and his wife were both killed within months of each other. David carries my name as his father was a privateer from England and I never saw him again after that last night we spent in Queenstown. He taught me how to sail and bought me a schooner. The sea was in my blood.

Should I not return, may the court find my son’s children and give them my trunk. Capt. Lauriana Kennedy, September 18, 1842

Kai had to sit down. She was in shock. Kennedy was her Mother’s maiden name. Kai remembered the genealogy research her cousin had been doing for years. “She had run into a brick wall at my 5th Great Grandfather” Kai said out loud. There was no male Kennedy DNA match and she speculated that he was born out of wedlock. “His name was David Kennedy, he went to the Carolinas on business and was killed and buried there. His wife was shot and killed a few months later by a neighbor. Their deaths are shrouded in mystery even today. My full name is Lauriana Kai Smythe, I’ve never used my first name, Kai said.”

The clerk told her that Capt. Lauriana Kennedy was known to stay in the tavern near the boat landing when she was sailing out of Red Bank. Her home was in Queensville, MD. She was a independent woman for her time and quite adventurous. I was told there was a man living around 1900 that remembered her. She set sail for the West Indies right after she had the trunk brought here. She was lost at sea in a bad storm. The court was unable to find her son’s children and here sits the trunk.

“She must have buried the cask with the key before she set sail” the clerk told her.

Kai had never given her own first name much thought, her own parents preferred her middle name. When Kai got home, she looked up the meaning of the name Lauriana and found this:

“Lauriana, You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.

New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best be controlled by choosing the field of work that meets your demand for action and adventure”.

Kai smiled and said “that`s me! I have found the key to my past which has opened the door to my future. I have truly found the treasure called my soul here on the Shore”.

Kai now had $20,000, thanks to the little black notebook.