At 09:02 AM 7/6/01 -0700, you wrote:
>Well done Bill!
>Story well told, photos nicely laid out. Made me jealous as ..... heck! One 
>of these days .......

There is an interesting side story to those photos of me on the trap. Note
that they are pretty close up. That's because I had the camera at arms
length taking "self portraits".

Just before this, I was on the trap snapping pictures of Gary. 

Gary says, "Do you want me to get a picture of you?"

"Sure!", I reply as I start handing him the camera.

So we are 15 miles out, charging through the swells, double trapped, flying
a hull on a broad reach with the chuter out, and I am handing the skipper a
camera. He's fumbling around trying to get the main sheet and the tiller
stick into one hand, and telling me, "Man... You've got real balls....".

"NEVER MIND!!! NEVER MIND!! I'LL TAKE THE PICTURES!", I tell him, snatching
the camera back to my chest.

Related story: Earlier in the day, we had just started the trip back, and
were stuck in fickle winds on the leeward side of the island. So until we
got into real wind, Gary decides to have a beer. So while he's sipping his
beer, the wind finally comes up. Up goes the hull. He's handing me the
beer, while he makes adjustments to the main, then taking his beer again. 

We start going through this routine as the hull is coming up and down. 

"I'm going to need help with this beer.", he says. "Go ahead and have some."

So we both start gulping down this beer, so we can start concentrating on
sailing before the wind really gets going.

Can't dump the beer, of course. 

True cat sailor style, I must say.

Bill