Shark rounding Statue ofLiberty

On July fourth, we took our Shark on the road to Sandy Hook Catamaran Club in New Jersey. We arrived at what I can only describe as Catamaran Heaven.
We had a lot of interest in the Shark while setting it up- a lot of "I've heard about Sharks but never seen one before" also, one gentleman came up, with a melancolic tear in his eye, and said " I haven't seen one of those in thirty years!"
We then set off to join 45 other assorted catamarans for a 40 mile race to the Statue of Liberty and back. To put things in perspective, at most races we sail around little inflatable yellow triangles. At Sandy Hook, they sail around THE STATUE OF LIBERTY! A very cool and patriotic way to spend the 4th of July.
On the start line, I joked to other boats asking what the rounding mark looked like. They told me to look for a tall statue that speaks with a French accent.
The race was wonderful. The Shark was perceived as a novelty, but once we got sailing, many realized we had a contending boat! Five miles into it a Hobie Tiger caught up to us, gave us a shout that we were really screaming along- they were paying a little too much attention to us as the next wave knocked them both off the trapeeze!
I could not have been more proud as we brought the boat on shore and waited for the rest of the fleet. In the next hour or two I kept hearing people say they thought the Shark won!
I knew better, as a couple of H16s finished close to us, but it felt great earning their respect. 4th place for us this year- 23 seconds from third place- that's about the time we spent taking photos of the Statue. We will definitely be back to try again.

Rob and Dawn Turbett