On board the yacht Gypsy in the...

On board the yacht Gypsy in the Tommy Bahama Newport to Ensenada

race, the crew was busy adjusting the sails, pulling on ropes and

evaluating the course. They were serious about the race. And I was

serious about my job. I ran back and forth on deck, shooting photos

and jotting notes.

“One hand on the boat,” they repeatedly warned me.

In one hand, I had my camera, and in the other, a notebook and a

pen. I think sometimes I just gave them one more thing to worry

about.

I was an honorary member of the team. Skipper Steve Washburn had

gathered some of the best sailors from across the country to crew his

boat, and my sailing experience certainly didn’t qualify me to be on

board.

(Once, with the tiller in hand, I was slammed onto a sharp set of

boat-eating rocks by a crashing tide. And all the ropes just confuse

me.)

It was a long, but beautiful night, racing across the dark ocean

and arriving with the sunrise at Ensenada. But as the fatigued crew

lay down to nap, my work was just beginning.

Through my writing and photography, I imagined inviting the many

Daily Pilot readers who couldn’t come along to share in the journey.

The story and the photos eventually appeared on different days.

-- Coral Wilson