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Around Alone Report May 25   

No Barriers solves Around Alone

Please consult The Around Alone Report Users Guide for an explanation of this report. 

At 1251 Charleston time, 1651 GMT Monday Neal Petersen sailed the 40 foot boat he built himself across the Around Alone finish line.  www.no-barriers.com  finishes 7th overall in the 1998-99 Around Alone.

No Barriers finished Leg 4 in 44 days 1 hour 51 minutes and 24 seconds an average of 5.44.  For the 27,000 mile Around Alone No Barriers time was 195 days 17 hours 29 minutes and 11 seconds.

For a man whose motto is: "In life there are no barriers just solutions" a successful Around Alone race is very positive proof that he says what he means and means what he says. 

Before the race it was widely assumed that Neal and No Barriers were not capable of finishing Around Alone.  However, Neal prepared No Barriers for this race in thorough fashion.  This was show as on Leg 1 No Barrriers sailed this leg 16 days faster than in 1994. 

After Leg 1 Neal Petersen said: "Four years ago I made the commitment to do the 1998-99 Around Alone. I started preparing as soon as I got back to Charleston, fundraising and putting all these things in place."    This preperation showed as Neal sailed one of the smoothest races of the entire fleet. 

This is not to say that Neal's race was entirely smooth. In mid March in the Southern Ocean No Barriers was knocked down 12 times.   Despite sailing under bare poles to 40 footer surfed at up to 15 knots.  Neal e-mailed this report on the knockdowns, " Last night frightened me. Even though I was harnessed on, the waves were trying to drown me in the cockpit."

Neal also suffered signifigan sail damage that night.   However, he found solutions and sailed onto Punta Del Este.  Neal would face another barrier on Leg 4.

In early May Neal found that "A food crate somehow broke, containing the supplies. All the rice and pasta for the rest of the trip was destroyed. I have a little left from this week's supply. The next two weeks of chocolate, biscuits and cereal [are gone]. I have eaten the last of my fresh fruit. The food that has survived are a few cans and 4 of Gwen's meals."  Neal was able to overcome this potential disaster by reducing his rations.  He finished with just enough food.

Upon his finish Neal said: "This journey, 27,000 miles around the Earth, proves that anyone, no matter who you are or where you were born, can do anything they set their mind to do."  Having just completed a solid Around Alone performance can the youth he works with doubt Neal?

Fleet Round Up:

Shuten Dojhi II shows 243 miles from a finish which is estimated to occur this Thursday. Minoru Saito reports: "I had great one day, maybe drinking a lots of SAKE, whiskey, beer, and good sleeping, and only mainsails sailing beter than it."

Paladin 2 is 469 miles from the finish.   Paladin2's ETA is 28 May.

What does it all mean ?

A large crowd greeted  No Barriers.  One wonders if in the crowd is a potential Around Alone sailor inspired by Neal's example.

Cumulative Standings Table

Last Updated: 15-Feb-05 08:40