A lot of people want to know how I got this crazy idea (no one asks why anymore) and where the name
Darwind came from. Well the
Darwind part is easy, the boat is named after my son, Darwin. We aren't together all the time so this is my way of having him with me when he isn't. The how I got this idea is basically my grandfathers fault. When he heard I got into sailing, he emptied a dusty library of sailing literature on me. I soaked up everything I could get my hands and shortly there after, the seed of a dream was planted. It has grown very large!
If I could offer one bit of advice to everyone. Dream. Dream really big and then ACT! We all have Dreams. What is yours? If you could do anything what would you do? What have you done today to achieve that goal?
Everyday is a series of choices and you can either make the choice to make something happen of you can sit back and let life pass you by. I try to grab each day and make it count because it could be my last.
I was talking to my grandfather today and he asked me if I was still ok with doing this trip. I told him I can't really think about the trip in its entirety. That I look at what has to be done today, and maybe this month. That I am prepping for the 2012 Transpac June 30th. In 2013, I will do what I have to do to get away from my slip that first morning of October, then under the gate, to the equator, around the Horn, pass Tristan, round New Zealand, skirt Hawaii and finally home. Its just a series of steps any one of which is doable. Even if I fail, I will have failed fulfilling my dream.
Sailing
Sailing is my life. I started sailing late in life and from the first time I stepped on a boat I knew I had been missing something. I have been through a few boats now and crossed the Pacific Ocean double handed, took second place in the 2011 Great Pacific Longitudinal Race single handed and took second place in the 2011 Offshore Yacht Racing Association Short Handed Division. I have completed dozens of single handed offshore races and have sailed about 10,000 ocean miles since I started.
My next big test is the single handed Transpac (San Francisco to Hawaii) coming up June 30th 2012 and then finally the RTW in 2013. Its safe to say I love sailing and "have it bad".