Introduction

Introduction
This adventure began with a back-slap in a bar in the spring of 2011. I ran into a sailing friend Harry Krum at the Channel Islands Yacht Club (CIYC) bar. I congratulated Harry for his impressive first place finish in the recent Newport to Ensenada race aboard a sailboat named Second Chance. Harry beamed with pride and introduced me to Phil, the boat’s new owner. When they mentioned that Second Chance was a 1979 Swan 44, my eyes lit up.

I explained why: back in 1981 I met my wife LeeAnne on a blind date aboard a Catalina 38. LeeAnne and I hit it off and, being active sailors, we dreamed of owning our own boat someday. That year, a Swan 44 was the queen of the Long Beach boat show. As we toured the Swan we instantly fell in love it and dreamed of cruising the oceans on her. Flush with the confidence of the young, and perhaps thinking I needed a little push to propose, LeeAnne promised that if we got married she would buy me a Swan 44 on my 44th birthday. I actually believed her since, as a recent college graduate, I was just starting my career and she made considerably more money than I did…and 44 seemed an awfully long way away. Life, mortgages, kids, and career shifts sidetracked some of our youthful dreams, and when my 44th birthday rolled around, she took one look at the bank account – and bought me a tie. Although age 44 has receded into the misty past, and we now own a fine Islander Freeport 36 sloop, I never stopped yearning for the dream boat of my youth.

After hearing my story, Phil gave me a tour of Second Chance. Her graceful lines, teak decks, robust racing rigging, and rich oiled-teak interior brought back great memories, and a familiar yearning to sail such a splendid vessel.

Back at the CIYC bar Harry told me that they were entering Second Chance in the Transpac 2011 race from LA to Honolulu in July. I mentioned that I’d love to join his crew if he needed an extra hand, although I never thought that he’d actually ask me. I was surprised, and a little intimidated, when in late June Harry told me that he might be short a crew member for the Transpac and asked if I was still interested. I quickly cleared my calendar. After joining the Second Chance crew for a couple of local races to familiarize myself with the boat and meet the crew, Harry offered me a crew position at the mast.

The Second Chance crew consisted of the following nine people: Phil Sauer - Owner (lives in Hawai’i); Harry Krum - Captain; Randy Alcorn - Watch Captain, Cook, and Commodore at Anacapa Yacht Club; Curt Ingram - Watch Captain and in charge of water maker; Mary Howard - Curt’s wife and trimmer; Tom Andrews - Medical officer, rigger, and bowman (lives in New York); Ed Atwell - friend of Curt’s, trimmer, Communications Officer (lives in Reno); Graham Paine - main trimmer; Charlie Clark - Mastman, blogger.

So as it turned out, this Transpac adventure was my Second Chance to realize an old dream of sailing the seas aboard a Swan 44. And as it also turned out, this would not be the last time that Second Chance’s name was prophetic.

[The following text was compiled from my notes taken during the race and messages sent to LeeAnne via SailMail using the single side band radio.]