Yesterday's halfway party and Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Contest was a bit different this year. After the 2006 version, people understood that this was not an event to take casually and the competition was fierce!
There were initially a couple of sad stories told by our "new guys". One said something about his girlfriend giving his shirt away to a friend because she found it in the closet and it was "too ugly" for him to wear. (sure!) Another told a sad story of normally dependable FedEx suddenly unable to find his home. (right!) Both came to understand the importance of this contest during the first half of the race. One created his own using an old T-shirt and a variety of food and galley supplies. The other borrowed what he could.
We added a couple of new "scoring categories" this year that included "presentation" and "music". Things got a bit interesting!!
How else do you describe moments like Jonathan with his face covered in war paint and fruit dangling from his ears rocking out to Eminem? Or, Drake prancing around the cabin top showing off his very excellent ugly shirt to the sounds of MC Hammer's, You Can't Touch This!! Or Rob, dressed like a background singer at a Jimmy Buffet concert??
Others will remember the wonderful sunsets, the fantastic sailing, etc. These are the moments that we will be stuck with!! (And if they fade...I've got pictures and video!!!)
So...I'm sure you want to know the results.
1st Place Jonathan Livingston 117 points
2nd Place Jim Gregory 116 points
3rd Place Drake Sparkman 104 points
4th Place Rob Moore 98 points
Now it's back to sailing!! If we lost ground yesterday, we'll make it up today!!
-Jim
PS. I messed around with the transponder using the magnet provided when I picked it up. With any luck I managed to turn it off, and then back on. In any case, the second time I passed the magnet past the box, the green light came on for the first time in days. Let us know if it's working.
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