I hope this board stays up a long time because it brings me great pleasure on a slow day at work in the middle of freezing February to look back on that day. At times I can still feel the power of the wind bursts, still see the waves breaking over the boat, still feel the chill of being in the water for 4 hours, still see my friends face smiling while sailing at crazy speeds, still feel the fatigue in my arms after righting the boat so many times I forgot to count, still feel my numb fingers after removing the wetsuit gloves to make a shackle repair, still remember my inner thoughts while securing a life line between my friend and I, still remember watching the sun disappear and thinking we may be spending the night in the drink, still remember the surrealism as the chopper arrived overhead and lit up our dark Atlantic ocean world, still remember the young rescue swimmer’s ear to ear grin as he made it to the boat, still remember him pulling me off the wrong side of the boat, still remember holding my breath going fully underwater through a wave while in the rescue basket, still remember feeling the tap from the airman on my head to signal I was in the chopper and to get out of the basket, still remember the hotel lights at the southend as the chopper made it’s way over land once again. So many more I could go on forever. Not one of my brightest days, not one of my darkest, but a hell of a day nonetheless. I wish you could have been there. Some days from this office chair, I long to be there again. Not one of my brightest thoughts, but not my darkest either.