On October 19, 2009, my sixteenth birthday, Wild Eyes officially became mine! Now it was really happening.

The open ocean often takes you past your physical limits and when it does, sailing becomes a mental game.

When I saw the plane, I was absolutely astonished! Two emotions crashed over me: surging joy and crazy fear.

Slowly, my brain let me in on the fact that I had just come this close to dying.

If a big wave came at the wrong moment, it would sweep me off into forty-eight-degree water, where I might last twenty minutes. Drowning quickly might be better.

Being at sea is like watching the whole world in high-definition.

On October 19, 2009, my sixteenth birthday, Wild Eyes officially became mine! Now it was really happening.