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- IMG 2121
victuals - IMG 2123
Oohhhh, the drunk lean. At this point he'd only fallen out of his chair and slid down the hill twice. (After the third time two guys carried him over to sleep it off on level ground.) - IMG 2132
halftime - IMG 2133
so many bands - IMG 2135
Bryan and Laurel - IMG 2136
Bryan, George, and Laurel - IMG 2145
Leslie: Go Bears. - IMG 2152
watching from the treehouse - IMG 2154
the road home - IMG_2165
Pre-dawn on the day of departure. The boat (a Catalina 350, which means it's 35 feet long) waits at the slip in Houston for her noble crew. - IMG_2166
The last picture you'll see of the whole boat... from here on out we're on it. - IMG_2171
Motoring out of Houston through a channel. - IMG_2176
Dawn on the first day (before the start of the race). - IMG_2178
From left to right: Sam (the skipper), Mike (the... uh... other skipper), Doug. - IMG_2180
Dolphins surf on the wakes of huge tankers, purely for pleasure. - IMG_2183
There were about 200 boats in the race... this is the line of boats in the channel behind us leaving Houston and heading to Galveston and the starting line. - IMG 5496
The first of many episodes of daytime sleep for Patrick. - IMG 5501
More boats amassing. - IMG_2196
The starting area. Normally a hectic time full of tacks and jockeying for position, the lack of wind made it pretty tame. - IMG_2199
The start! No wind at all. Notice doug holding out the jib hoping for some kind of action. - IMG 5511
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. - IMG 5513
Skippers Sam and Mike consult. - IMG 5514
Bryan finds a comfortable spot to wait for wind. - IMG 5515
As does Patrick. - IMG_2201
In the boredom that was the race start, I caught this boat whose name I thought Leslie would appreciate. - IMG 5519
More waiting (the boat has many lounging options). - IMG 5524
I was also a fan of this little spot. - IMG_2212
Sunset on the first day, after several hours of racing. Still no wind (notice the glassy surface of the water). - IMG_2217
Another sunset shot with a boat (not ours). - IMG 5532
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.