Transpac 2011: Day 8. So close.

Hey everyone. I hope by now you've all checked out the website I sent yesterday and are in the process of uploading your videos. Again. This is very important to me and it should also be of importance to you...

The Peligroso Racing Team has been doing so well in the last couple days that some of us will not even be able to make it on time to Honolulu to greet them at Diamond's Head Lighthouse... This is quite a bummer... I guess that the Peligrosos will be the ones throwing the Hawaiian welcome party for us... The good thing is that at least I am sure that Rocio will be there at the finish line, right on time. Their updated ETA is between 1:00 and 3:00PM local time... A little over 8 complete days out at sea.... Wow!

Remember that by the time you wake up on Saturday, the Peligrosos will be less than 100NM from the finish line and as soon as that happens the livetrack.com will no longer be six-hours delayed, it will actually be LIVE! Don't miss the exciting ending... With the bigger boats already in Honolulu, everybody is just waiting to see how Peligroso finishes the race to determine who the winner will be! Best of luck to our brave sailors!

I had a short telephone call with the crew earlier today followed by a pair of emails a few hours ago. The crew is incredibly excited. In the last few hours they have found a few squalls. Peligroso took advantage of most of them, although not without some exciting and tough moments. Earlier today, while trying to pull a gybe at 25 knots (that weird word basically means a turn when going downwind, because otherwise it would be a tack... makes sense right?), Piet had to choose between his lucky watch and letting go of the sheet. Tough one.... The sheet went overboard but they were still able to quickly manage and gain lots of distance with that squall. Later on, they found another squall in which they weren't as lucky, the spinnaker sheet dropped off the bow sprit and went under the boat. This is not good. It took 4 of them up in the bow to recover the sheet, fighting against 20 knots of water pressure pressing the sheet against the keel. Despite all this, they were able to recover and "gybe" back to find the better winds. The good news is, this will be great material for the movie (finally some action)!

With regards to the race, our sailors are still moving up on the tables and appear second in their division. Nevertheless, other boats behind them are trying really hard to recover... COME ON PELIGROSO, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

The crew is doing great and the winds are blowing strong. I can only imagine the look in their faces when they see land for the first time in a 8 days. That feeling must be very unique. If I make it on time, I promise to take pictures, and share them along with an email letting everyone know that the 14 sailors have arrived sane, safe, and sound...

Tomorrow will probably be my last email to this group. It has been a great pleasure for me to participate in the Transpac in this way. I have felt as if I was on the boat without having to sleep in moving bunk beds! I hope you have enjoyed reading these accounts as much as I've enjoyed writing them. I appreciate the emails that you have been sending me, your descriptions, and your love and support for Dani and the 13 sailors that have been taking good care of her during the past week.

For tonight I have only Alex Camet's description to share, courtesy of his wife Diane... Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to include the description of our last Peligroso, Patrick, which I haven't yet received. Good night everyone and think PRIMER LUGAR!!!!! (That means first place Steve).

Alex moved to San Diego from Buenos Aires, Argentina with his family when he was six years old and started sailing immediately. He excelled and quickly started racking up the trophies left and right, winning all the local, state and national and international regattas, Youth Champs, did an Olympic campaign, became an Olympic sailing coach, placed at the top of many "worlds" and has called tactics for some of the world's top sailors including our own Dennis Connor. If you ever get a chance to stroll through the San Diego Yacht Club, take a look at all the trophies in the cases, you'll see "Alex Camet" on just about very single one.

Al and I both sailed collegiate and met training for Thistle Nationals, fourteen years ago. We have been married for almost thirteen years and have three young children who absolutely adore their Daddy (me too!). He's the best daddy and husband in the world and we all couldn't be more proud of who he is and all his accomplishments both on and off the water. What you may not know is Alex has had quite a distinguished career in the field of sales and marketing, he's so great at bringing people together and bringing out their strengths, he's supportive, kind, and you can…as many of you have found out on this incredible journey across the ocean, trust him with your life. You can't say that about many people these days but you sure can with Alex. He's someone to love, someone to appreciate, someone to treasure. We do every chance we get.