Hey Everyone!!

Hope you’re all having as great a time as we are.. so how does damp, tired, and 2200 miles till we see land become a great time?  Well, for Matt, Mark and I, this will be our first Atlantic crossing and that keep us moving!!  This is Emma’s second – her first one was on her mini-a 21 foot class of solo sailors!!  You can imagine how her energy keeps us all going. I’m curious how its going to feel the last day or so coming into European waters and nearing the end of this race.

Matt’s written you much about life onboard.  Pretty clear perspective though maybe a bit understated. Dampness is everywhere and the engine charging hours are a clamor to lay as much wet clothing on or around it to get it dry again.

The racing has been great. These competitors are really tenacious. We’ve been through our ups and downs and have been able to move ahead, as we continue to look for opportunities to climb up the standings even more.  The boat’s taken a lot of punishment the last 5 days and I’m happy to say we’ve only broken a few things…a boom vang line, an inexpensive harken shackle and few other very minor things. I’m sure we could have broken much more if we didn’t have such a top crew onboard when we got the boat racing along at 23 knots with water everywhere and wind increasing, as Matt told you, taking down the spinnaker….whew….could have been ugly if it weren’t for the band – Matt on point, Emma on the helm and Z on the “piano” (the pit where all the lines come into 16 jammers).

So hang in there….more to come soon.

– Dave