Seven days, 12 hours and 13 minutes!!!! We passed by Red Buoy 2 at the entrance to Narragansett Bay, R.I., at 2:27 a.m. today, completing – entirely under sail – the return leg of the Bermuda One-Two! What a terrific three weeks it has been.

It is 7:37 a.m. on Saturday, June 30, and we’re rafted up beside Frog Kiss, the Freedom 44 of Tristan Mouligne which won the first leg of the race. We’re at the dock of the New York Yacht Club, waiting for the Customs inspector. We’ve had two hours sleep, but with the boats on moorings around us sparkling like polished silver under a brilliant morning sun, and with the thrill of the voyage fresh in our hearts, we’re ready for the day to begin.

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Frog Kiss lost her carbon fiber mainmast last Saturday and limped back to Newport, arriving five hours ahead of us. Tristan, who was obviously grieving the damage to his beloved cat ketch, was gracious and a typical One-Two participant when he heard us last night talking with a Coast Guard patrol boat on the radio. His invitation to raft with Frog Kiss was representative of the behavior – the camaraderie – among the competitors in the race. Here we had struggled into port dead last, but there was no humiliation, only support from the other sailors who respected our effort. To me, that was one of the many qualities that will remain imprinted in my thoughts when, in a year and a half, we begin again to consider a trip to Bermuda.

I suspect that what will have dissipated by then is any of the negative thoughts I or Monica may have experienced during this race. (The loneliness of Day 2 of the solo race comes to my mind.) We have not yet had a chance to read many of the blog responses that readers have made during the last eight days. We will do that tonight or tomorrow. But before I forget, I want to thank all those who have logged onto the blog and especially those who have made comments. You have given this whole experience a wonderful added dimension. Knowing that we could share our adventure, and that you were interested, made us all like family. What a gift from you that has been.

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We were met at the Newport Yacht Club dock, where we tied Robin after clearing customs, by family members from Massachusetts. It is Tall Ships weekend in Newport, so after breakfast at the Seaman’s Church Institute and a tour of the Spirit of Bermuda tall ship, we sat in the cockpit and watched the parade of boats – an endless stream of craft that circled the Newport Harbor for most of the daylight hours. After lunch, it was the Bermuda One-Two awards ceremony. Several of our new friends were among those collecting hardware. Peter McCrea and his son John cleaned up in our class of boats, winning in all categories. Dan Stadtlander on Mirari got third in class overall. And Lindsay Lowe, in Class 3, came in third in her class, among others. Their achievements fill us with pride.

We missed out on the only hardware for which we might have  been eligible, but only barely. Despite a respectable finish in the double-handed leg, John Van Slyke Jr. aboard Bugaboo, who had mechanical problems and finished the solo leg two days after Robin, had an overall corrected time worse than Robin’s and snatched another victory for the boat that, on the whole, spent the most time sailing. I can’t say that I was disappointed, although I lost a chance to give a planned victory speech.

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Now the sun is setting on Newport. I think Monica and I feel that it has finally risen on our sailing careers. We have emerged from a sort of nautical adolescence. We’re like graduating seniors, with no credentials yet in the real world of seamanship, but with a diploma that says we have the tools to become productive adults, sailors who may be worthy of respect. Now our actions at sea and in ports will have to substantiate that potential.

I hope that this blog will have been a downpayment toward that future reputation. Writing it has been an invaluable means for me to analyze for myself the whole experience and to grow from it. If you have been in some way enlightened about boating, that is rewarding. If perhaps, at times, you have been entertained, so much the better. I have been enriched by your participation. If in any way you have found value, too, I invite you to follow the next blog on the Soundings Magazine Web page as Robin heads north to the Coast of Maine for a relaxing cruise on a special coastline.

Once again, thanks for being there. We’ll be talking.