We enjoyed the Easter weekend sailing Tampa bay. It is surprisingly large, over 400 square miles and is rich with marine life—we certainly saw plenty of dolphins. The bay has a long history, dating back over 10,000 years. It will be quite a few more books in The Runners series before my first humans find their way that far!
The sailing was great, with lots of wind, especially on Monday, where we were double reefed in 20 to 30 knot winds all day. Very exciting. We sailed some out in the gulf, and experienced an amazing thunderstorm. I love to sail, to feel the power of the wind, and to be quite at the mercy of the seas. It is a special feeling, to use the forces of nature to get around, but only as far as she will let you. Many of my books involve boats and sailing. Even at the dawn of civilization, boats were the easiest way to get around, and are not hard to build, even with the most primitive tools.
The earliest record of prehistoric humans being involved with the sea dates back to around 130,000 years ago, during the Middle Paleolithic period. Archaeological evidence suggests that Homo erectus, an early human ancestor, may have used boats to cross open water in order to colonize islands in Southeast Asia. In addition to the Indonesian islands, evidence of early seafaring has also been found in other parts of the world, surprising many. For example, in South Africa, archaeologists have found evidence of seafaring by early human ancestors around 164,000 years ago. This evidence includes shellfish remains and stone tools that were likely used for fishing.
It is clear that human ancestors were involved in the sea before modern humans even came on the scene, so it seems a safe bet that the first humans were as well. We know little about what kinds of boats or rafts were used. Unfortunately, little would remain of a simple skin covered kayak even 100 years later so little archeological evidence has been found but I am sure their use would have been widespread.
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