Skippers log #14
22 25N 46 00W at 21:15Z It has been a light air day. The wind has been hard on the nose, but we have stayed moving at 5+ kn. I made 129 miles progress in the last 24hr. We did manage to close the gap a bit with Saito and Davis. They were earlier in the day less than 30 miles ahead of me in the same area. That is good news as it means they have the same conditions. The highlight of the day was a phone call from Les Phillips, of Phillips Industrial Services and the man who made the discion to become my main sponsor. When Les and I met, we were not planning to discuss sponsorship. I had called his company for a quote on sandblasting my deck. Mike Philley who took my call did not know what to do with my as it was a small project on a vessel where the liabilty is very high. He decided the president better handle this in person. So Les arrived at the SC Ports terminal to look at the job. I showed him what I needed done and what additionally I would like done if it was affordable. He then delivered the bad news that it was a very expensive undertaking and would involve several weeks of labor. When I quizzed him on expensive, he saw my expression and knew it was way out of my non-existant budget. But instantly Les recognized an opportunity. He was one of the sharpest businessmen I met at seeing a win-win solution. Within minutes he had switch the conversation to what could I do for him if he could do this for me. Three days later we had an agreement in place and a week later the work began. He put his three best people on the job. I was not needed. I hung arround in case there were questions, and every now and again there were. But the team was great. They had intiative and knew what they were doing. What impressed me most about Les was that he daily stopped by to measure the progress. He did not just direct affairs, he got involved and got others involved. I was working 7 days a week, and some times he would stop and bring me something to drink or eat. His management team did the same thing. I got well into the project and had moved on to a phase that I did not need his crew for. It was a Sunday late morning when Les stopped by in working cloths. He had come to help. For hours he and I were on our hands and knees with sanders fairing the deck. It was hard work and he did not shy away. The only other company president ever to get his hads dirty like that was John Killeen in Ireland when I was re-fitting the boat. The seeds John had sown in me have finally grown into a young oak tree. Not many sponsors get this involved in a project. Bernie Groseclose, President of the SC Ports would frequently stop by to see what else they could do. As a result of these efforts, tonight I am at sea 2 weeks into this race, eating burnt potato. They had a lot to do with my being in this race, but nothing to do with me burning the potatoes. I was making potato salard and forgot to check if there was enough water in the pot. I got the burn cut off and added brie cheese to the dish. Bad idea. It made it too salty. But I ate it. I had to ditch 3 oranges today that had gone bad. I ate the last yogurt. I wish I had refrigeration so that I could have had more yogurts and cheese. I am getting board with my music. I want to hear U2's Achtung Baby, some Inexcess, Queen's Rapsody in Blue, Madonna, Van Morrison and the James Bond sountracks. If anybody has some of these and can get them to me, my sanity would be better. One of the things Les and I discussed and are planning is for me to do a management pep talk on the radio with his team. It keeps them involve in what I am doing, and I get to use my motivational skills to help with productivity. This part of services I offer my sponsors. When I get back on the speaking circuit, I will have some stories! Neal

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