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American Spirit II - Day 481; The Last Day , We See Something We've Never Seen Before, the Welcome Home Party & the Last Log; Saturday, May 2, 2015



Up at 6:00 AM. Darlene is next up at 7:20 AM, followed by Joel at 7:30 AM.

Breakfast at 8:00 AM consists of bacon, 3 eggs, chilled pear halves and multi-grain bread. This is the last meal on the boat Joel and I will have after 483 days on the boat.

After breakfast Joel and I finish up the pictures for the media that we expect will be at the Boca Ciega Yacht Club today. Then Joel 'dresses' the boat; meaning we put up a lot of signal flags on halyards at the front of the boat and the stern. It was something we did a lot of in our trip in foreign ports.

I've received some more emails from around the country. Thank you for your thoughts, Bill from Texas; and Bob from Ohio. I also received an email from Kathleen and Marc from Toronto. I have to post their email here because they've written their email in the same laborious and humorous fashion that I have tried the last 16 months. This email is a hoot. I won't list their last names or email address because I know those of you in Hollywood would be hounding them to write movie scripts it you could track them down. Here goes:

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Up at 8:30 AM. I can hardly sleep! I have been reading Brian Fox's, American Spirit II Logs for over a year. Their circumnavigation is coming to an end today. I am excited to actually meet Brian and his friend, The Fixer, Joel Heyne. What will I do to replace my daily read about their adventures? Kathy is better adjusted and awakens at 8:45 AM.

Breakfast at 9:15 AM consists of Orange Juice and Cheerio's with walnuts. Kathy has 4 slices of bacon on an English Muffin.

We depart the complex known as On Top of the World in Clearwater at 10:40 AM heading southbound. We Travel from Clearwater to Gulfport to the Boca Ciega Yacht
Club. Because we slept in we didn't see a green flash today. In fact, we have NEVER seen a green flash in our combined 121 years! Go figure.

At 10:45 AM we are on US-19 South heading towards Tampa.

At 10:52 AM we take the ramp onto FL-694E/Gandy.

At 10:56 AM we are on I-275 South heading to St Petersburg. We are traveling at 55 mph over the land and have no helping breeze. Kathy spots a squirrel out the right front passenger window. I am always amazed that she can see these critters before I can.

At 11:20 AM we are parked at the Boca Ciega Yacht Club. Thank you Janet for sending us the invitation.

At 11:22 AM we are warmly greeted by one of Brian's friends, Chuck Levin, a lawyer. Somehow he knows who we are! Go figure! Chuck is extremely warm, gregarious and interesting.

At 11:35 am Chuck introduces us to Janet Fox who was kind enough to include us in the Welcoming Home Party for Brian and Joel.

At 11:40 AM Chuck also introduces us to Brian's older (by 4 minutes) twin brother,David from Chicago. David tells us that he had partaken in 3 legs of the rally. He has come in from Chicago just for this party.

At 11:45 AM we head to the docks to await the arrival.

At 12:00 PM we glimpse American Spirit II for the first time as she turns the corner to make her way to the BCYC. No med mooring today as their Beneteau 40 fully dressed comes alongside without putting out a single fender. Go figure!

From 12:09 PM to 12:55 PM we speak to Captain Brian, Joel the Fixer and Joel's lovely wife, Darlene who has also accompanied them on parts of their voyage. We are happy to get an invite to go on board. For those of you unfamiliar with boat etiquette, it is respectful to only come aboard someone else's boat when asked. Thank you Brian and Joel for showing us around American Spirit.

From 1:03 PM to 1:30 PM we enjoy a lovely lunch at the club. I have a burger and Kathy the same. Just delicious and the best we have had since leaving Canada.

We are back in Clearwater around 3:30 PM lying by the pool and thinking about the fantastic and wonderful experiences that were had by all aboard American Spirit in a once in a lifetime adventure only dreamed of by many.

At 11:05 PM we watch Joel and Brian on Fox 13 News.

Tomorrow we head back to Toronto, a distance of 1360 statute miles which is different from nautical miles. We will have to stop at Canadian customs before entering Canada.
Unlike a boat we do not have to clear out of USA customs when leaving the United States. Go figure!

Kathy is in bed by 11:12 PM. I stay up to download a GRIB file to check out the weather for our trip north and then type this log.

Thank you Janet and Brian, Darlene and Joel, David, and Chuck for being so friendly and gracious. We look forward to crossing paths again, especially if you should ever find yourself in Toronto, on of the five Great Lakes. We would love to host you in return.

Congratulations again on the joyous completion of your excellent adventure!

Best to everyone.

Kathleen and Marc

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We weigh anchor at 10:25 AM and start 'crawling' to the Structure C bridge, which is a tall bridge so it is neither timed or on demand. Our mast height is 58 feet above the water, and the bridge is 65 feet high.

At 10:56 AM Darlene and I see something that I have never, ever seen in my life before. A dolphin tail slapping as we motored by along the bridge. I've seen Humpback Whales 'tail slap' off the coast of South Africa, but I didn't even know that dolphins were capable of such behavior. When a whale does it, its either to signal other whales in a friendly sort of way, or its an aggressive sign of behavior that says 'watch out.' Maybe the dolphin was slapping its tail in recognition of our completing our circumnavigation? Only in 'Brian's World.'

We arrive at the Structure C bridge at 11:00 AM, as scheduled; and are met by 22 sailboats from the Boca Ciega Yacht Club (BCYC), most dressed with flags like we are. We're in the head of the line, leading the 22 boats the 3 or 4 miles across Boca Ciega Bay to the yacht club. Our pace is slow, at 2.8 knots; and we arrive at the dock in the BCYC at exactly 12 noon, our scheduled arrival time. Many are lining the docks with noise makers and horns; two TV stations, ABC News Channel 10 and Fox News Channel 13; along with The Tampa Tribune, are there to film and take pictures of our arrival. The boats following us enter the yacht basin right after us.

As we tie up, my wife Janet, daughters Elizabeth and Angela, granddaughter Kayden, brothers David and Andy and their wives Janet and Patti; two of my cousins who flew in from Philadelphia, Honey and Elie; and Joel's daughters Heather and Heidi and husbands Jeremy and Bernie plus 2 grandchildren, are there to meet us. Plus many other friends and yacht club members. As Joel and I step onto the dock, brother Andy hands us champagne glasses which he then fills with champagne. We toast our finish.

As Fox News Channel 13 is getting ready to interview me on the dock, a bird flies by and takes a giant poop, which lands on my cap and shirt. Crap! My daughter Angela gets the entire bombing run on video. The last time I was pooped on by a bird was over 45 years ago while in boarding high school when I was walking to class. Besides Fox, Joel and I are interviewed by ABC News Channel 10; and then by The Tampa Tribune reporter Josh Boatwright. I'm not kidding, that's his name. How appropriate!

Janet has put together a welcome home party for Joel and me, including hamburgers, hot dogs, beer and other items for 200 for lunch. After lunch, the BCYC Commodore, Shep Massar, gave a nice welcome home speech and presented Joel and me with very nice glass trophies that read: Circumnavigation 2014-2015, American Spirit II, and then our individual names. Following that presentation Joel had some thoughts to convey; and then I followed with a prepared speech that I had just written this morning. Though I ad-libbed a little, my remarks, as written. are as follow:

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"I would like to thank my beautiful wife, Janet, who organized this party, and the BCYC and friends for the warm reception.

It's good to finally, permanently, be home on terra firma after 483 days on a small sailboat. Joel and I have traveled over 28,000 nautical miles since leaving here on January 4, 2014 between two gales; visited 19 countries; and made 50-60 landfall's, many in places at night with charts that haven't been updated in 150-200 years - British Admiralty Charts, actually.

For those of you who have read the American Spirit II logs the last 16 months, I commend your endurance in doing so because it was probably harder to read, every day, what we had for breakfast than it was for me to write, type and send out via our SSB radio or satellite phone. We've seen some amazing things - transitted the Panama Canal over 2 days; seen Humpback Whales jumping (breaching) out of the water, even 2 at a time; stood on the rim of an active volcano; gone swimming with hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and Great White Sharks;gone on safari in Africa; ridden elephants in Bali; and for all the children in attendance, we even visited Christmas Island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Who knew?! People have asked us if we had to do it over, would we do it again, and the answer is a resounding 'yes!' And I've been asked, was it what you expected, and the answer is a definite 'no.' The trip was harder and more arduous from a physiological and endurance standpoint; especially in the Indian Ocean where for 12 days we thought the boat might founder.

With that, let me turn the podium over to Joel, a friend for 35 years, and the best sailor I've ever had the pleasure to sail with in my lifetime."

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Janet passed out a 'fact sheet' with the following information on it for the party, on a sheet that had red, whit and blue borders:

Boat Name: American Spirit II

Boat Type: 2008 Beneteau 40 sloop

Dates of circumnavigation: January 4, 2014 to May 2, 2015.

Number of days of circumnavigation: 483.

Who: Brian Fox (age 63)from Odessa and Joel Heyne (63)from St. Petersburg; supplemented by a third crew member throughout the trip, such as daughters, son in laws, brothers and others.

Percentage of time under sail: 35% or approximately 168 days (5 1/2 months).

Countries visited: 19

Landfall's made to continents and islands: 50-60.

Miles sailed: 28,000 to 29,000 nautical miles or over 32,200 statute miles.

Who with: In the World ARC 2014/15 Rally with 43 other boats starting and 17 finishing; with crews representing over 17 countries.

Problems encountered on the trip:

Weather, such as encountering a 'near gale' and 2 'full gales;' and sailing the 'Wild Coast' of South Africa, some of the most dangerous waters in the world.

Losing an anchor in the Florida Keys.

Breaking our rudder tube on the way to Panama, which required the boat to be hauled out of the water and a new rudder tube put in.

Breaking the forestay, the wire that holds up the mast, in the Indian Ocean 1,451 nautical miles and 12 days from landfall. Another boat in the Rally, Merlyn of Poole, escorted American Spirit for 12 days and did so to lend assistance if the boat lost its mast and sank.

Breaking the mainsheet traveler car between the Galapagos Islands and Hiva Oa in French Polynesia.

Having a D1 and back-stay wire start to break. Both these wires are needed to keep the mast from falling.

Being 'pooped' many times in the Indian Ocean. (Pooped is when a wave breaks into your cockpit).

Having a rappelling line break in Port Vila, Vanuatu; when on a tour.

Trip highlights:

Standing on the rim of Mt. Yasir volcano in Tanna, Vanuatu; with lava shooting up and the mountain making a groaning noise. (In the morning the boat was covered with volcanic ash).

Sailing over a volcanic sea vent between Vanuatu and Australia, with the water temperature increasing to over a 100 degrees.

Having a current take the boat 17 knots sideways as they were traveling over a sea mount in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.

Transiting the Panama Canal over a 2 day period.

Swimming with a school of hammerhead sharks; plus hundreds of giant sea turtles, penguins, flightless comorants, marine iguanas and sea lions in the Galapagos Islands.

Being boarded by sea lions on the boat every day and night in the Galapagos Islands.

Seeing 45 green flash sun rises and sun sets, including 1 blue flash sun rise.

Swimming with hundreds of black-tipped sharks in French Polynesia.

Seeing humpback whales breach (jump out of the water), spy hop, tail slap and pectoral fin slap; dozens of times.

Having a humpback whale surface 20 feet behind the boat after swimming under the boat.

Having a humpback whale juvenile swim by on its back, with its white belly showing.

Taking an elephant ride in Bali, Indonesia.

Sailing alongside a giant sperm whale in whaling grounds in the South Atlantic referenced by Herman Melville in his classic book Moby Dick.

Going on safari in South Africa.

Swimming with whale sharks over 40 feet long in St. Helena in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Going to Carnival in Salvador, Brazil.

Seeing a meteor pressure wave just before a meteor impacted with the earth while entering Recife, Brazil.

Seeing a meteor break into 3 pieces inside of the Southern Cross constellation.

Seeing sea snakes in Niue, Tonga and Australia.

Seeing 5 foot lizards on Lizard Island inside of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Seeing 3-4 foot diameter giant clams, in 7 different colors, inside the Great Barrier Reef.

Visiting many places that almost no one in America will ever go to, like Suwarrow Atoll near American Samoa, the Tuomotos Atolls in French Polynesia, and Niue, north of New Zealand.

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A 'Captain Brian Welcome Home' poster was signed with comments from a score of people at the party. Among some of the comments were:

Welcome Home!
Congrats!
What a trip!
What will I read every morning now?
You are an inspiration!
Nice job!
Congratulations. So happy you achieved your dream!
Welcome back!
Well done!
What a feat of endurance. Welcome home!
Good sailing!
Eggs and bacon...glad you're back home!
What a year!
Inspiring!
We've been waiting. Welcome home!
Great accomplishment!
You made it...26,000 miles. Congrats!
Welcome home world traveler. Hope you get back to the tennis courts!
Good job!
What's next?!
Welcome back skipper!
To our heroes!
Brian, thanks for a great sail!

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Almost, finally, following are the links for 2 local TV stations and The Tampa Tribune so you can see the video they aired about our arrival and the articles that appeared online and in the Tampa Tribune newspaper on Sunday, May 3:

Video from Fox 13 news Saturday, May 2, 2015:
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/clip/11453618/sailors-finish-world-trip

News article Fox 13 Saturday, May 2, 2015:
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/28961235/two-bay-area-men-successfully-sail-around-the-world

Tampa Tribune article Sunday, May 3, 2015
http://tbo.com/pinellas-county/, sailors-arrive-at-home-port-after-around-the-world-voyage-20150502/?page=1&utm_content=buffer98432&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=buffer

Video and article from ABC news - half way point
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/bay-area-sailors-hit-half-way-point-in-round-the-world-journey

Video and article from ABC news - preparing to leave
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pinellas/retirees-prepare-to-embark-on-lifelong-dream-to-sail-around-the-world

The ABC news video aired tonight isn't listed on their web page yet, unfortunately.

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Finally, this really is my last log. There will be no more, except that I WILL write a book. Give me 6 months and then check the World Cruising Club web sight to see if its listed there. I'll try to make that happen. The listing., Or email me at [email protected] to see if the book is done yet, in 6 months. I hope that those of you who have read my log, what I really call a daily journal, for the last 16 months; I hope that I have been informative in what's its like to pound thru the seas, day after day, sometimes for weeks at a time, on a small sailboat; and to see sights and visit locations that up until now I could only dream or wonder about. There is no greater honor, and appreciation, by a writer than to have his or her words read. For that I thank you. For the sailors amongst you, and I've been told that some of you are not, may your winds be fair and your seas tolerable.

Brian Fox
American Spirit II

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