JC and Jay say there's no way they're going another 500 miles. Steve Lohmayer is off the boat with an injured hand and Brian Lambert is taking the helm of Team Tybee for the OBX half. Everyone's headed to the bar.

For the record, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who called me and who took my calls this week. The whole "up-the-East-Coast" thing has been a real family affair and I've gotten some great friends out of the deal. I wish I could have been there to buy the fleet a round at the end of the day! The network of knowledge is more extensive than some people realize, I think. Four calls to and from four people who know one little thing each begins to paint a pretty complete picture of what's going on, and it's that spirit of "let's all get to the finish" that makes this thing so special.

Great coverage and pictures from Catsailor, SeaCats and the Tybee web sites. As one of the major sponsors of the events and of several of the teams, Harken has added some coverage of the event on their web page, and there's a surprise planned for Monday, so check with them after the start of the OBX.

Whew... I'm not even there and I'm whuped. Everyone's in, safe and sound and the boats are put to bed for the evening - some will be pulled out tomorrow, and others are being rolled down to the beach. The baton is passed, and the second half of the Atlantic 1000 is on the launch pad!



ps - got a note from Mike Krantz today. His knee surgery went well. They removed some torn meniscus and some damaged cartilage. The injury was more extensive than expected, but Mike hopes to be back on the water after 4 weeks of rehab. Send him your well-wishes - he coulda been a contenda!