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The first of many episodes of daytime sleep for Patrick.
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More boats amassing.
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To pass the time at the windless start, Sam unveils a squeeze box and proceeds to play classic sea shanties such as "Silent Night." Julie feigns a smile.
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Skippers Sam and Mike consult.
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Bryan finds a comfortable spot to wait for wind.
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As does Patrick.
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More waiting (the boat has many lounging options).
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I was also a fan of this little spot.
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An attempt at communicating the glory of night sailing. Darkness on deck, the nearly full moon high above, and no other lights or sounds except the occaisonal stern light of a boat we're passing or the whistle of an oil rig.
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Another night shot attempt. The wind actually picked up terrifically around nightfall, and we spent most of the rest of the night at near full speed (about 8 mph).
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Julie at the helm.
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A gas/oil pipe in the foreground, and a rig off in the distance. This is what we had to stay up all night watching out for.
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A bird that miraculously managed to get miles and miles off shore stops for a rest on our boat. He seemed tame but was probably just too exhausted to hop away.
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Look at the ease with which Bryan steers.
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After a good nights sleep and a shower, we spent the next day lazing around Port Aransas. Here, Bryan has convinced Julie and Doug that despite the dead fish on the Beach, a swim is in order given the nice waves and relative warmth of the water (compared at least to norcal standards).
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swim swim swim
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Julie negotiates a wave.
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After being stung by a couple of (tiny) jellyfish, the swimmers emerge to dry.
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Julie drying off.
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Bryan's ocean-styled do.
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Have a free bottle of rum for finishing the race, but please don't take it around to 5 bars drinking it.
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To show their appreciation for being taken out on the boat, Julie and Bryan by a liter of Woodford Reserve for Sam. Chambord is both an inferior liquor *and* a boat we bested in our class. Get it?!?
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Some crews had even better get ups than our pink-orange crew shirts.
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Texas barbecue awaited us for the dinner party on Saturday! What bliss. Bryan consumes roughly 1.5 lbs brisket and several rum drinks.
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People eagerly await the announcement of winners.
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Julie makes full use of the free West Marine hat and West Marine light-up plastic ice cube.