This was the leg that Cat in the Hat was determined to finish after what happened last year. I spoke with Larry shortly after orienting their capsized boat in the sand / surf while they swam back in - he said they were going to try one more time.

Frank and I had decided that after two attempts and the breeze getting a little more unpredictable that we would pack up the boat and motor north so we could have time to make the repairs. Considering the wave that took us out, we don't have much to do. Three broken battens and one punched through the sail. The jib travler pulled a screw out of the self tacker traveler track bending the track and losing the bearings in the car. That's pretty much it.

We were SO CLOSE to getting through through on the second attempt. We were reaching down trying to get speed to punch through the big ones and eating up beach quickly. We made it through several monsters and got out to a second break. Frank was on the hull forward of then main beam hanging on like you wouldn't believe. I was wrestling to keep the main sheet tension appropriate to the heading and helm and having to drop rudders after the big waves would lift the rudder arm and pop them up (that was really starting to drain my energy). I felt like the one wave we had coming was going to be the last one and powered up turning hard to charge at it. The weight placement with Frank so far forward was working very very well (I don't know HOW he was hanging on up there). We started up that wave when I caught motion out the corner of my eye and saw an equally sized wave traveling at 45 degrees to the beach colliding with the one just getting to our bow. The boat just exploded into the air and we went over. Frank was thrown into the main above the spreaders and I went clear off the back. I held onto the mainsheet until I thought my drag was making the boat turn with the mast down in the break - so I let go. I did the back stroke back into the beach (where a life guard was thankfully watching me closely) and our shore team (Tim and Daryl) had already reached the boat and with Frank were getting things sorted out.

I don't regret the attempts we made.

Bonnie should have a teamseacats update uploaded soon with some great photos. I think i might have some video too but haven't been able to check until Bonnie gets through.