To view the photos that Frank took of our passage from Colón, Panama to Galveston, Texas, click here. Thanks Frank!

Below are a couple, small videos that I took with Frank's digital SLR camera during our sail from Panama to Galveston, Texas. Frank, of course, took numerous pictures throughout the trip. He plans to publish the ones he wants to share on Flickr in the next few days at which point I'll link to them from here so that you can view them as well. Enjoy!

The above photo is Frank and I celebrating our landfall on Thursday in Galveston, Texas, after being 11 days and change at sea on a 1,600 NM (1,800 miles), non-stop passage from Colon, Panama. It was particularly joyful because Galveston was where we were aiming and we finished with the same number of crew as we started. That, and I don't even like scotch!

Frank happily headed home yesterday (Friday) morning on a flight out of Houston. I spent most of the day just resting, stowing a few pieces of gear after rinsing off the deck with fresh water, and resting some more. Today, I'll most likely be doing more of the same.

Our passage from Panama to Galveston was a great, overall success and very enjoyable sail. Naturally we could have benefited from better winds and seas at times, such as more east to southeast wind, better navigation, for example heading more toward the east when entering the Gulf of Mexico as opposed to the west, or fewer mechanical problems, like the fresh water system issue, but these are all part of the pleasure of sailing as well. It is all part of the same package--it's all good. The key to successful passage making is to make the best of the conditions in which you find yourself because you almost never get the conditions you desire most. Those "ideal conditions" are in reality and practice few and far between. This, in turn, becomes the source of your satisfaction instead. Knowing that you did the best you could do under the circumstances and learning to be content and joyful with that. You may say to yourself that you will do better next time to be sure. True. The fact is you may. But don't forget. Next time is, after all, a hypothetical, not reality.

There are several people I want to thank. First and foremost is Frank who I cannot begin to thank enough. This project required a great deal of time and effort on his part; that is, time away from his family, friends, and many other responsibilities, plus some, well, hard work. As many of you already know, he is a fantastic cook who, with every few ingredients, can turn nearly anything edible into a fine dining experience, even on a sailboat beating upwind in choppy conditions while heeled over 15 degrees or more and suffering from fatigue. But his companionship on this voyage was much more than that however. Because he is a longtime sailor--his longest passage on another boat was from California to Hawaii--and fellow cruising boat owner, I could bounce ideas off him and rely on his experience to make rightful judgments while he is on watch alone. Admittedly, it is hard to destroy a sailboat singlehandedly, especially so far from land, but it is not so difficult, say, to break a piece of gear, which can be problematic when hundreds of miles from shore, or make a bad call regarding a traffic situation. With Frank aboard, I had few worries when off watch which made the trip all the more enjoyable.

Secondly, and equally as much, I want to thank Irene de Bruijn, Frank's significant other, for her willingness to agree to the voyage. Her continued encouragement and support throughout contributed as much to the success of this passage as anything else. Undertaking a multiday, offshore passage can be very worrisome for loved ones ashore. She did an exceedingly admirable job of not letting the stress involved detract from the work that needed to be done. ¡Muchísimas gracias Irene!

Lastly, I want to thank all those who shared vicariously this experience with Frank and me via the various text email messages sent in route, blog posts, and comments on this page. Due to bandwidth limitations, I do not forward automatically the comments on this site to the boat while underway. Sorry about that. For those text email messages that we did receive from the outside, they provided many hours of comical relief and helped pass the time considerably. This was especially true during the slow times. I understand that some of you wish the voyage was longer. However, there is only so much fun one can take! Besides, even on this relatively short voyage I fear undoing all the rumors may take even longer and prove more difficult than the passage itself!

Hey Frank, you forgot to pack your bottle of Single Malt Scotch. But don't you worry, my friend. I have already put it to good use. I found that it works great for taking out fish blood stains in the gelcoat. This is especially true when you "cut it", as you would say, with a little Windex, as opposed to using it "neat". Ha!