Final Final ...

The boat is in the box and clothes are in the bag.
I have had a really great time here and enjoyed some awesome Etchell sailing.
I am looking forward to the next season of Etchell sailing back in the Bay after a little winter sailing in San Diego and Florida.

Yesterday I was also fortunate enough to catch up with 3 great mates that I grew up with in Perth. Richard came by and picked me up at noon. Then with nothing more than an address and a road map we went on a hunt to track down the other guys who I had not seen in many many years. First stop was John's. "Surprise..." "here have a beer" We spent so time catching up and met his lovely wife then kidnapped John, jumped into the front seat of the Ute and drove accross town off to find Nigel " Surprise..." "here have a beer" Nigel is now married and has three great kids. A little catch up and as most Aussie's do we started an impromtu game of cricket in the back yard and peppered the neighbors home with lots of tennis balls. As good mates do, we compressed about 15 years of past time, hung out and enjoyed one another's company like no time had passed at all. We are all a little older, have a few more grey hairs but are all just the same as we were 15 years ago. I had waited a long time to reunite with these good friends and I am really glad that I was able to do so on this trip to Perth. It made the trip here all that more special.

Liz, Jim, Deb and I are flying home via Sydney to break up the trip home and to see some of the famous sights of Sydney. I should be back in L.A. later this week and looking forward to sleeping many hours in my own bed. It has been a fantastic trip and I take home many great memories of this regatta and the time we have spent in Perth. My sincere thanks go out to Jim and Deb, JC and Susu and of course Liz for making up "Team Down Under USA 1283". I couldn't have hoped for better team mates on this trip.

Thanks !