11-15-10

Meet Andy

Andy arrived in Las Palmas last Thursday and so it has given me a few days to get reacquainted with him. I first met Andy last February at the Seattle Boat Show. He had inquired about the crew slot I had advertised on the ARC forum. Andy lives in Vancouver, BC and when he learned I would be home for the boat show, he offered to come down to the show and meet with me. That was a big plus. When you are going to be living in close quarters with total strangers, meeting one of them beforehand is a huge luxury. We had a great meeting last Feb. and the rest, as they say, is history.

Andy is about my age and is either retired or semi-retired (I am not really sure which!). He has a very relaxed approach to life...which I find common among a good many retired folk once they get away from the pressures and hustle and bustle of business life. Andy also has a very infectious smile. He would NOT make a good poker player! When he smiles his whole face, head, and body get into the action. I can just see him now sitting across a poker table from me with a pair of aces for hole cards!! An easy read - at least when he is happy, which around here has been pretty much all the time!

He wasn't able to make the delivery because of some medical emergencies within his family. But he got those straightened out and now he is with us. He has had his own medical challenges - having survived a couple of heart attacks and a stroke as recently as just a few years back.

Andy has the dubious distinction of having been here before. I say 'dubious' because last year the boat he signed on with ran into a number of unlucky situations, including a collision with a spectator boat that was going the wrong way in the starting area. Andy eventually had to retire from the race.

(For the record, I am planning on being way, way far away from any boats during the prestart. We've got 3 weeks to trip across the ocean. So starting a few minutes -- or even an hour -- late reallly isn't going to change things significantly!) The fact that Andy was here last year has been a real bonus for us because he has gone through the ARC Las Palmas program last year so he can give us tips to maximize our experience.

He and his wife, Kris, own a Bavaria 38 in Vancouver which they keep in charter when they are not using it. Andy also knows how to fly an asymmetrical spinnaker, so that is cool. Finally, he also races on a C&C 34. So all of those will help Andy come up to speed on the boat. Elise has the time on the boat, but not necessarily the experience with the big boats. Andy has the time with the big boats and just needs some time to come up to speed on this one. Tim (who flies in on Tuesday and I'll be introducing to you shortly) has the time on the big boats, and won't be too far behind Andy with this boat since we aren't probably leaving the harbor till hours before the start next Sunday.

I chose Andy as part of the crew because he brings a real stabilizing influence to the whole chemistry aboard. Nothing really rocks his boat, so to speak. I am excited to have him aboard, and excited to stand some watches with him and do some fun sailing with him. And finally, three weeks should give us plenty of time to become good friends!!