- IMG_2267
The skipper and matriarch of the longhawk celebrate a 3rd place finish. - IMG_2268
Doug and Patrick with trophy. - IMG_2236
Noble captain at the helm. - IMG_2238
As the wind dies late in the morning on the second day, we bust out the "whisker pole," a pole to hold out the jib (sail at the front of the boat) perpendicular to the boat and allow us to sail with the light wind at our backs. - IMG_2239
Bryan doing some random sailoring. - IMG_2241
More fun with the whisker pole. - IMG_2242
Doug sailoring. - IMG_2243
Bryan pulls on some lines. - IMG_2244
A view from the deck up at the mainsail and jib. - IMG_2246
Our happy family: Julie, Mike, Patrick, Sam, Doug. - IMG_2247
One of many offshore oil/gas rigs with a boat alarmingly close to it. - IMG_2250
Bryan at the helm. - IMG_2256
Doug at the helm. - IMG_2261
The finish line! We got in about 12:30am on Saturday morning, squeaking in ahead of at least on boat in our class. Sorry for the poor quality, camera operation was a tall order given my mental state at this point. - IMG_2264
Cleaned up for the party the next day, the crew of the Longhawk celebrate with pink-orange shirts and rum drinks courtesy Bacardi. - 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_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_2201
In the boredom that was the race start, I caught this boat whose name I thought Leslie would appreciate. - 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_2225
Sunrise on day 2. Notice the surface of the water: we have wind! At about 9pm the night before the wind slowly picked up and we had a good 6-7 hours at near-top-speed for the boat (7 knots, which is a bit more than 7 mph). - IMG_2235
A noticeably happier if scruffier crew. - 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.