The day finally arrived. Cliff and Michael had taken a couple of days off and were going to crew with me. I’d checked everything I could. Surface ocean currents in the Gulf looked good, prevailing winds were in our favor, and the weather man predicted happy sailing days. Cliff had raced with me many times, so I had complete trust in his capabilities. Michael was a born athlete, so I knew he’d take to his tasks easily. We were going to take it easy down to Port Isabel. I would lose my crew aft...