Log Entry: July 4 Atlantic Crossing Reflections: Part I Boundless is a great boat! She took us, we didn't take her, across a huge body of water with some formidable conditions. Highest winds were 45 kts and seas of 15, maybe 20 ft. I had expected an easier sail than we actually experienced because I was mesmerized by the averages during planning. The North Atlantic is changeable and always requires vigilance. The weather is always strange or unusual. It is never average. Faith has been a wonder. I don't know how she can stay below and cook wonderful meals for everybody in almost all conditions. She always did more than expected and tried to help with everything that was going on. She was always ready to go the extra inch to get things done. She always tried to make things easier for us all. If it weren t for her, we wouldn't be in Portugal today! Her support and enthusiasm for this venture made it all happen. My cousin Dick for the first leg and my brother Kenny for the last two legs were, each, everything I could have hoped for. They are both real sailors and came ready for a passage. We showed many of the other boats what we could do thanks to their help and guidance. They were also great company and huge support and help for all of the things that need to be done during any passage. Most of all they were friends! I would take them anywhere with me! The race was always on my mind. While I would have liked to say it didn't mean anything, the truth is that it did. Getting to Portugal first did mean something to me. I am still competitive and that will probably never change. In fact, it was fun to care about where the other boats were and how/what they were all doing. We all were involved in the race! I know several of the other boats felt the same way. Getting to Portugal first was great, but we did run the engine for 3 1/2 days and we did not have the highest engine hours. One boat had less than 20 hours of engine time. I think the best run we had was the 140 miles between St. Jorge and San Miguel in the Azores. We did beat everybody without using the engine. The winds were perfect for Boundless. We did place third to Bermuda and we did get an award for doing 180 miles in 24 hrs. Not bad overall! Traveling with a group was fun. We will have friends all over Europe for the next several years and we will probably travel with others from our group. The support that a group provides and sharing the experience with others made it worthwhile. I do not know if we will join a group for our trip back, but I would do it again for another trip to Europe. The Azores were a highlight of our crossing. I feel privileged to have spent some time in a group of islands in the middle of the Atlantic. I hope to return! The World Cruising organization did a good job of organizing and running the event. Everything wasn't always right and mistakes were made but the various hosts did very well to accommodate everybody and eliminate problems. Each one of us had ways to make things better and do things better but that is normal from a group of almost 100 people. The reality is they did well with a limited budget, a spread of several thousand miles, several countries and more islands, a group of 30 complex machines in a potentially dangerous environment and thousands more trying to follow and keep track of their loved ones and friends. Everybody will never be happy and groups of strong-minded captains and skippers are less likely to be satisfied than most. They earned their money and made the crossing easier, more safe and more fun. Future logs will probably be done every couple of weeks as we travel through Europe. Faith and I both hope you will continue to join us on our journey. We really appreciate your support and encouragement and look forward to future communications and visits. We almost always have room, so if you are ever near us, let's make it a point to get together. Stay in touch. Reflections: Part Two. Rudy is my HERO! He praises everyone around him, but he held the boat together by his thoroughness and thoughtfulness. Although, we sometimes gave him a hard time, we all love Rudy (not as much as ME)! Although he always wanted to be first, he never put us in danger or in an unsafe situation! He knows how to fix about everything on this boat and he is always ready to help out anyone who is in need! We had a great and safe voyage mainly due to Rudy. Many landlubbers ask me ?????WHY????? I never had a great answer and sometimes when I was cooking or trying to sleep in washing machine like seas, I asked the very same question! But then I looked at a beautiful sunrise or sunset, saw the millions of stars at night, watched the moon rise and set, felt the power and the majesty of the ocean or saw a pod of 50 dolphin jumping, surfing and gliding through the water. I KNEW! There is always good with the bad and we sure had our share on this voyage, but just like childbirth, you only remember the good! Now the problems and worries we had are either funny or lost in memory. I learned a great deal which is too much to put here, but the biggest thing I learned was not to worry! Things always seem to work out for the best! When we were stuck in different ports for boat repair, I was at first upset. Then I realized I was stuck in Paradise.... and that AIN'T BAD! If I couldn't find a food item, we ate something different! It forced me to try the local foods from the ports we visited. But most and best of all, I learned that not only the boating world, but our family and friends back home showed their stuff too. The notes we received on board were extremely appreciated. I saved my favorite messages, but they all were dear and close to my heart. The seas weren't as lonely when YOU were on board! Thank you one and all. I Love You. Log Entry: July 7 On July 1st (Rudy's birthday) we celebrated his birthday as well as Kathy's birthday (July 2nd) on Kathy s boat, Gitana, an 80 foot steel hull sailing vessel. All of the crew on the six boats that came to Portugal were there along with a few others. Ken and Rudy were late because they went to see Gibraltar by car. It was a five hour trip, each way! The next night the Arc gave us a dinner and we partied again!!! The next morning at 4 am, Ken left to go home to Rochester. Later that day, Mike and Kathy, on Gitana, and I sat by the pool and had champagne cocktails that Mike brought to us in honor of Kathy's birthday and Rudy brought us grilled sardines (a Portuguese specialty). The next couple of days we ran errands and reorganized and cleaned the boat. We have eaten out again every night and our favorite restaurants so far have been Dom Sebastian's and O Alberto's. Rudy rented a car and we went sightseeing and errand hopping all over the surrounding towns. We even found a mall with a movie theater. The movies have Portuguese subtitles! Here you buy a ticket not only for a particular movie, but also for a particular seat and then they escort you to that seat. On July 6th, we went to a beer fest in the neighboring town. We had a buffet and the difference here was that you are served ALL OF THE FOOD from the buffet, family style, and they keep bringing MORE!!! We waited till after 10 PM for the shows to start. First, they had a light show which was projected onto the fort above. They played Star Wars music and had images of the cast and space ships. It was very well done. Next came my favorite. It was a light show again, but this time in the water fountains. The laser light was projected on the spray as the fountains danced. They played an original Portuguese musical piece, Classical, American, German music and show tunes all beautifully choreographed using the lights and water. Last came the band from Cuba. It was a great night and much more than we expected!! I drove back to the boats. On July 7th, we visited the neighboring towns and went as far west as Sagres, just east of Cape St. Vincent. We had lunch at Luz and dinner with the crew from Persistence (Will and Diane). Tomorrow we leave on a train to visit Lisbon for four days.