It said:09 Circumnavigators RendezvousAHOY!Im ___[your name]____of ___[your boats name]_____This was at the Oakland Yacht Club, six weeks ago, and I was there partly to see what Id gotten myself into, and partly to see a presentation by Concord replica watches John Guzzwell, a sailor of legendary repute.In 1957, Guzzwell saved the day (to say the least) when a 46-foot boat called the Tzu Hang pitchpoled (i.e. went ass-over-teakettle) and was dismasted in the Southern Ocean, 1000 miles from Cape Horn. (The story is chronicled in the classic, Once is Enough, by Miles Smeeton.)
It was then the smallest boat ever to have gone around the world. Since then, hes designed custom boats, cruised all over the world with his family, raced from L.A. to Osaka, and twice raced singlehanded to Hawaii in the TransPac, once when he was 71 years old. The 2nd floor of the Oakland Yacht Club was lined with framed photos of big IWC replica watches sailboats, and flags -- lots of flags. There was a large wooden yacht wheel, as obligatory as a horseshoe over the door of a barn. These things Id expected. Just past the door, I found a poster-sized document that I didnt expect, and couldnt stop examining. It was the Official West Coast Circumnavigator List, courtesy of Latitude 38, the local SF-Bay-area sailing magazine.
It listed all of the boats, from ABV Amro One to Zoom, that had circumnavigated from the west coast. There were 270 of them since 1950 -- about five a year. There were six members of the Valiant cult on the list -- Valiant 40s the most Corum replica watches common boat on the list. There was a 12-footer (thats like sailing a toilet!), a 72-foot Challenger, and a 180-foot barque. A few had done it engineless, and only a few had done it in boats less than 25-feet long. The list included Sohcahtoa (our pals in Seattle), Awahnee (Bob and Nancy Griffith), Dove (Robin Lee Graham), and Seraffyn (Lin and Larry Pardey) -- and it felt sorta funny -- wonderful and crazy -- to be following a path forged by such badasses. Going on a hike with Lewis and Clark, or getting a tour of the Whitehouse from Obama, would compare. I moved on.
