10/15/2004 - We made it to Catalina!

Just wanted to let everybody know we made it to Catalina on Monday, October 11th. Monday was Columbus Day and how appropriate that it was the first day we saw land in 4 days! We could not have done it without our valiant crew: Jake, Cathy, Mike, Drew and Will! Highlights of the trip... the brightest stars and Milky Way we have ever seen, sailing alongside the dolphins as they were covered in phosphorescence, whales breaching, fishing, relaxing and light winds the first day and a half. Downside, we ran into gale force winds on Saturday morning... weather forecast predicted 25-30 knots, we saw worse than that, probably 35-40 knots and seas as high as 20 feet every ten seconds. The high winds lasted for 36 hours straight. The boat nearly capsized several times. I have to be honest, we did not know if we were going to make it here alive and we never, ever want to see weather like that again. Again, we could not have done it without our brave crew. Everybody did an outstanding job standing at the helm and encouraging eachother on. We will be here in beautiful Avalon on the island of Catalina for at least a few more weeks before venturing onto San Diego. Take care everybody! --cathy