The History: Orville's personal diary and a letter Wilbur writes to his father tell us the Wright brothers "set sail" from Elizabeth City to kitty Hawk on Captain Franklin Midgett's schooner (a type of sail boat) the Lou Willis at 3:45 A.M. "... or rather we poled out, for the wind was too light to sail", Wilbur remarks. "At 6 o'clock we had nearly a mile. At noon we had gone about 6 miles."

Map Of Elizabeth City And Kitty Hawk, North Carolina Area

When the wind finally came up stronger, it was in the wrong direction. Wilbur estimated they traveled 1 1/3 miles an hour for eleven hours.

Captain Midgett soon realized they would not reach Kitty Hawk until after midnight. He anchored at 4 P.M. and the brothers slept on deck.