Those words sum up every one of our crew's thoughts on this incredible race. Five months of long distance and sprint racing with two months of co-ordinating travel plans all paid off the moment we hit the beach Saturday morning at Newport Dunes. For all of us, the most memorable moment came when dolphins broke out off the bow as we were nearing Catalina! Freddy our steersman burst out into Hawaiian song as our crew picked up the rate from our average of 5.6 knots to 6.4 knots per hour! But, the channel had more in store for us before we could celebrate...

Conditions were to change markedly from the calm waters inside the Newport channel. Light swells stayed with us for most of the race but then the fun started! Five to six foot swells with breaking white caps. Seats four and five were most prone to the breaking waves while seats one and two hung on dearly as the boat would drop suddenly off the back of a passing wave.

We settled in for an average pace of 5.6 nautical miles per hour according to the onboard GPS. It was strapped to the iaku so that seat three could keep us in the groove. The GPS also kept us on course for Avalon and helped us avoid following wayward canoes. While KOA rules do not allow for mechanical devices on board, we knew we would not be in contention for a top three finish so we used it anyway. Next year we'll do it right and forget the GPS and use wooden paddles too!