myblog

George Accepts His Trans-Pac Belt Buckle Trophy

At Skippers Gala Dinner tonight, George was officially declared 3rd in his class. Yeah George!!!!

photo.jpg

Kelsey Arrives

However happy George was to see the 14 of us, the person he wanted to see most was daughter Kelsey, who arrived from SF today.

photo.jpg

George Surveys the Harbor, Sees Pakele

photo.jpg

July 7 -- George's Notes From Before the Finish

George wrote this longhand after calling in on the 6th, hours before he finished.  We are giggling now because neither he nor I can read his handwriting very well!

"23.4 miles to go.  It's 8:40 California time and I just saw land.  I can't take my eyes off of it.  Kauai is a gray mass with her peaks shrouded in clouds.  It's raining between Kauai and me.  It is a dark, jagged silhouette on the horizon.  I found it!  I've always had the fear of missing it and having to track back.  Small seabirds are showing up.  A sense of completion is beginning to set in. 

I had been becalmed from about 11am until about 3pm, dashing my hopes of crossing the finish line in daylight.  It seemed cruel.  The sun was hot and with little or no wind I was sweating.  Now, I've got 15 knots true, and I'm making 6.7 knots running about 20 degrees from DDW.

As I approach Kauai, now 12 miles off, I'm feeling uneasy.  For the past 18 days there was nothing to hit or run into.  Now there's this huge island covered in clouds and even the ocean feels different.  Land mass affects the ocean that way.  Waves bounce off the land and meet waves still coming in, causing confused seas. 

George is featured in 'Lectronic Latitude again

George is featured in 'Lectronic Latitude again

http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/l...

It was a busy holiday weekend for the Singlehanded TransPac Race Committee. Not only did they enjoy fireworks on the beach of Hanalei Bay, but they also finished nine of the fourteen boats entered in the race, which started off Corinthian YC on June 19. Starting with Jeff Lebesch's Hecla around 1 p.m. (local time) on Friday, the racers considerately finished every 24 hours or so until yesterday when four roared across the line in a 12-hour period. Here's the order in which boats anchored in idyllic Hanalei Bay:

George Gets His Lobster

photo.jpg

George is at the Tree

photo.jpg

July 7, 2010 -- George Gets Back to Taz!!

[From Jeannie] His first day on land after last night's fabulous celebration, George wanted to get back to Taz!! to see her clean, shipshape and tidy in the harbor, maybe to sail her around the harbor once.  He could see her anchored in the harbor from our lanai and really didn't like the way her sail was wrapped.  So I drove him down to the beach.  After a while and after talking with Ben and Lucy, he decided that he wanted to rent a kayak to get out to TAZ!!  So, we did that, got it strapped to the top of the jeep, then carried it down to the water's edge.  I watched him get going, began walking away, turned around to see if he was making headway and saw him going in an entirely different direction ! I thought I heard a voice calling "George." He was making a beeline for another boat -- I suspect he came across a fellow skipper in the harbor.  He'll kayak back to shore for the "Tree" gathering and we'll bring him some clothes for the lobster dinner at CJ's which follows.

July 7, 2010 -- The Morning After

Since the last post (last night), George hung out with folks till about 1am, showered (in his boat shoes!), slept, ate a big breakfast, and spent much of the morning and early afternoon with assorted fam and friends. He will go to his first "Tree Time" on Hanalei beach at 5pm today to see his fellow sailors. And then we're off to the lobster dinner at CJs, 7pm.

photo.jpg

July 7 -- Friends Write In

In addition to the many comments posted to the blog since George's arrival, here are a few that came in via email:

"[From Dave Curtis] George looks great and the smile is vintage ! Please tell him that I am so proud of him and that’s a big hero in my house.All the best to your great clan and enjoy your time with George.Won’t you be shocked if he announced he was sailing on to China..........fabulous lobster recipes come out of Shanghai!!!!!!!!!All the best, Dave Curtis."

"[From Javier and Christine Lopez] "Thank you" for creating such an amazing blog - it truly became our own virtual Taz!! It's evident that followers was tuning in daily and enjoying more than a hot summer "best seller". Christine told me the great news this morning - "George finished last night at 10:30 - there's a picture of him!". He looked great! Clean shaven too! We look forward to enjoying the reunion pictures & stories over the next few days - once George has rested (which we know will only be 6-7 hours - that's George!). One thing for sure - you should all get a ride on TAZ!! around that scenic Hanalei Bay before you say Aloha! Love, Javier and Christine"