Here is my top 10 list for the first leg of the Great Texas:
1) Team Chums is First to the Beach: A BIG first to the beach Lee Wicklund and David Cerdes of Team Chums. They were able to beat all the F18's to the beach in a big 100 mile downwind run today. You know these guys absolutely had to love that.
2) First Woman Skipper makes the first leg: Ingrid Bakker made started and finished the first leg of the GT. The starting part was actually harder than the finishing. Late yesterday, a serious crack was found in a hull of their boat - so serious that the boat was a no-go for the race. Ingrid had come all the way from the Netherlands so we need to find a new boat. Shannon Galway volunteered up his boat but it was in Houston. 7 hours later it was in South Padre and there was a made rush this morning to get the boat together. The sails went up with minutes to and they made the start!
3) New Venue in South Padre: I think everyone is in agreement that both Clayton's and the Hilton Garden Inn worked fantastic as race headquarters for the event. Everyone at both locations were so nice and helpful. We will be back!
4) Great Wind: We had big air from start to finish today. We started out on high speed spin reach and eventually ended up on a big downwind run. The waves were not to large which really allowed everyone to push the pace. It was a really great day out on the water. We were almost always running 16-20 knots the whole day. I want to keep going - it was that much fun!
5) 2 Wire Sailing in First: John and Ian did not take line honors but they did take first place in corrected time. Team Chums sits in second with Yo Baby in third.
6) Yo gets the Monkey and the Frog: Yo Baby, Monkey Business and Quiksilver battled it out over the 100 mile course finishing within 3 minutes of each other. Yo Baby initially had the lead but Monkey Business got past them about a third of the way through the race. Monkey Business and Quiksilver jibbed early and Yo Baby got some good off shore breeze and was able to sneak past the other teams. It was a great day!
7) BBQ: Thanks so much to Andrew and Stephanie for serving up some fantastic brisket and pulled pork at the finish line at Mustang Island. What great food after a run up the beach!
8) Team Ki-Hara Part 2: Once Ingrid and Aaron hit the water, they ran into few problems. Some rudder problems and a flip with a turtle slowed them down. Given that it was a new boat to both of them, they did fair good. They were the last ones to arrive but they made it. The first woman to ever finish a leg of the Great Texas as a skipper!
9) Jet Ski Video: To improve coverage of the race, Stephen Cooley was sent out on Jet Ski to chase after the boats. He followed the fleet to Mansfield Cut and then head up the cut to Port A. We are waiting to see the video.
10) Sponsors: Thanks to the many, many sponsors that make this event possible
On to Matagorda tomorrow!
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