synthia called me at 2:30am to report he's 25 miles offshore so i met her at the pier about 3am. mitchell jr. took us out in the d inghy to await jim crossing the finish line which took him a while since the winds died down just after he dropped the jibes. the four of us sat in the dinghy, synthia, rich (videotaping the arrivals), mitchell and me looking at the stars and listening to the swells slap the sides of the dinghy. diesel smell floated behind us. small red arcs of light bounced around in the darkness from their headlamps as synthia read the coordinates on the gps. we got word he crossed the line and he came on the radio loud and clear "i have to clean up the carnage on the foredeck and then i'll sail over to you". it took a while, not much wind but a beautiful early morning with an occasional shearwater flying by. eventually he made his way over to us and we climbed aboard and passed out hugs all around. he was presented with his lei of tea leaves (for men), a cup of mai tai and a fragrance-scented hot washcloth. then he served synthia and rich a big bowl of chocolate mint ice cream he'd carried all the way from berkeley. i'm sure some of the fleet still out there with many days to go would give their jib sheet for some.
we off loaded the trash and recycling (new requirement this year to sail green and recycle) along with the computer, camera and clothes. jim and i had breakfast at a local place and now we're at the condo. he's showered and relaxing into a long well-earned nap.
the only plan for the day is showing up at the tree at 5pm to be greeted by the increasing number of supporters. as for me, i plan on reading and napping at the beach until he's ready to play. needless to say it's good to have him back.
1 comment:
Yay! Hi five!!
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