Sailing In The America Cup Races – For Real!!!

Good Morning Everybody,

We  finally spotted land – St. Maarten's in the distance on Day #9 of our crossing.  I think everyone was really ready to burn off lots of their pent up energies from the long crossing. Don't get me wrong, I love the crossing.  There is plenty to do on the ship and for many it's the perfect place to enjoy a totally relaxing experience.  Nevertheless, many of us were "chomping at the bit" to get ashore and get our feet on solid, non-moving ground.  As we departed, we got a photograph with Captain Dimitrios Manetas, the Master of our ship, the Celebrity Eclipse.

Off To The Races

Today LaDawn and I had scheduled an unusual shore excursion.  We were planning to be crew members on the yacht, Stars and Stripes.  This was Dennis Conner's famous $80,000,0000 yacht that recaptured the America's Cup from the Australians in 1987.  Yes, the ship was the real McCoy. 

We along with 10 other shipmates didn't know quite what to expect as we climbed aboard this magnificent vessel, listened to our instructions from Captain Morgan and his 3 man team, and prepared to do racing battle with True North, Canada's entry in that same race so many years ago.

We hit the starting point and the race was on.  The captain was shouting orders to his new crew of winch wenches, primary and secondary grinders, and time keepers.  Everyone sprang into action making the necessary adjustments to the sails as we raced across the waters. What a thrill!  

The winds were a brisk 17 knots that day making the sailing experience about the best it could have been.  Yes, these racing yachts do lean over at those perverse angles you see in Sports Illustrated but this time we were IN the racing yacht experiencing that racing excitement as we manned those sails speeding through the waters and clipping the tops of the six to eight foot waves before us.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We hit the Bahamas early tomorrow morning and finally arrive back in the good ol USA early Saturday morning. I'll try to check in next week so have a great weekend and I'll see you soon,

David

p.s. Hey gang, I broke this post into two separate posts.  Please be sure to read the “Crazy” posy following this post – it’s a good read.  David