The hour of 6am came early on October 25th 2007 . The fearless Captain, Terry Young, was not nervously waiting for his crew to arrive, he knew they would be there at the prescribed time. So he spent his time boiling water on a camp stove on the tailgate of his truck. This was to provide coffee for his crew and in keeping with his nature, fill thermoses with this hot liquid that would keep warm for several mornings, amazingly so. One by one the crew arrived and started the tasks of loading and stowing their gear aboard the sailing vessel Katana.

Katana and crew had been in preparations for months. This would be a voyage that would take the crew 5 to 6 days and nights to complete. Katana, a 34� Hunter sailboat, was meticulously gone over and burdened with all the safety and survival gear required for such a voyage. The crew comprised of Terry�the captain, Richard, Walter, Shawn, Ed, Mario and Tammy (the ONLY Female). They had trained and knew the boat inside and out. There were several trophies to be taken�and they were out for blood. Blood from all the boats in the race to Port Aransas�but there was a boat and the crew they really wanted to take out�the biggest one was �Big D� the boat that occupied the slip next to Katana and a boat that the crew knew all to well and wanted to best.

Katana, loaded and released from its moorings just after 7am . The mighty Captain Terry at the helm, but not for long he would relinquish the helm to one of the crew and take a place in history �asleep on the rail�.

The first leg of the trip consisted of getting to the starting line in Galveston . This would take several hours of motor sailing�motoring but still using the engine to help. The sight of that many sailboats headed to Galveston , all in the Houston Ship Channel, had many a Ships Captain worried, but they all arrived without incident on this first leg of this journey. Katana and crew arrived early so the Wise Captain Terry allowed the crew to dock the boat and put their feet on solid ground for an hour or two before the grueling race started. Of course the Captain (Terry) spent this time constructively �asleep on the rail�. This leg of the journey now complete the crew rested and they all put their game face on. It was time for the battle.

Katana and crew slipped from the dock in Galveston and headed out for the starting line. This is in no means a little feat. The starting line is a good twelve to fifteen miles by water�several hours is a sailboat traveling at 6 knots. This also includes going out threw the Galveston jetties�the roughest part of the journey, and out into the big expanse of the Gulf of Mexico . This is the first time any of this crew had been in the BIG water on Katana. This is something that is always exciting�at least to this story teller. Once the boat cleared the jetties it was time to get the sails up and trimmed. The wind was too much for Katana so the crew reefed the sails and brought Katana in line again. The captain�Terry was happily at the helm and headed for the starting line. It appeared that we would just make it with not a lot of time to spare.

The starting line consisted of about 260 sailing vessels ranging from 27 feet in length to over 50 feet. There was also sailing majestically close by, the Elissa, a tall ship of a bi-gone era, at over 100� and several masts she put on quite a show for everyone.

Starting time in closing in, Katana is jockeying for position with many other boats, but when it was over with Captain Terry had Katana in very good position. Katana was the second boat in the fleet to start, just seconds after the starting gun went off. The Race is now on. Port Aransas, some 153 nautical miles away, is now the destination. There are racers that started some 15 minutes ahead and Katana in full race form is gaining. As the start lines starts to disappear and the boats that started with Katana start to drift further back, Captain Terry takes his position ASLEEP ON THE RAIL. The wind starts to fall a little bit; the crew goes back to work shaking the reefs out the mainsail and jib and then job of trimming them so that the Katana feels right and keeps the best speed.

As night presses on there are other boats all around us, but all we can see are their navigation lights. Tammy assumes the helm, she is a mad woman when in control, she starts by setting eyes on other boats that she doesn�t want in front of her (just like in a line at the department store). One by one they go down; she keeps cutting in line and putting Katana and closer to the finish line. Several hours pass by�or at least it seems that long as the crew watches boats disappear behind. Well almost all the crew, Captain Terry is still asleep on the rail dreaming of accepting the winners� trophy no doubt. Around midnight that night the next major leg was taken, the rounding of the Freeport out marker, this is the first time that crew can see how they are progressing against the competition since the sun went down. It is required that all competitors call on the radio when they are rounding this mark. Katana was one of the first to call in on the radio, a clear sign of how well the crew is keeping the mainsail and jib full.

Once the full moon started to set and the first light of the morning sun started to fill the dark void, the crew could see the competition�most of it was in behind Katana with only a few competitors still in front. The wind is now starting to give its first indication of getting lighter�not a good sign for the good crew of Katana. This was only short lived as the wind never really died that day. At night however, once Captain Terry took his position �asleep on the rail�, the wind began to die. It would get lighter and lighter, the crew working hard to catch all the wind there was, but to no avail. There was just NO wind to be had. This lasted many hours and drug on out until daylight.

At daylight, Katana and crew found themselves drifting side by side another competitor. Both waiting for a hint of breeze, thankfully this would not take much longer. The breeze started to fill in, Katana started to move to the breeze. It was another day of sunshine and wind. Tammy the crazy helmswoman took control, the few remaining boats still ahead fell to this crazed women. The crew trying to stay just one step ahead kept the sails full of air and the boat moving.

Later, after the sun goes down, the wind goes down with it. Thankfully for not as long a period this time, it was during this time you could find the Great Captain Terry �asleep on the rail� the crew frantically trying everything to try and keep the boat moving. The wind starting to fill in Katana moving nicely, the next leg is coming quickly. This would be the turn down into Port Aransas. Katana is still fighting and passing the only few remaining boats in front.

The turn onto the last leg didn�t go by without a fight. There was a huge outbound vessel that Katana and crew would have to contend with. This vessel put out a huge wake that jarred the bones of the crew and shook the sails of Katana, but with the finish line just a mile in front of them the crew persevered toward the goal.

The goal came fast, Katana now almost flying towards the Goal. The Great Captain Terry, finally not �asleep on the rail� and with helm firmly in his grasp was grinning, and yelling for joy as Katana passed the milestone finish. Only to be followed by flurry of work by the crew and confusion on where Katana was to regain its slender grips to hard ground.

Once docked and Katana safely moored, the crew brought out the Rum and other intoxicants and started the merriment. Other surprises were in store for crew member, Walter�s wife, Marilyn had made journey to meet him. However, Walter was unaware of this, and it took him totally by surprise.

Later the next day the first of two trophies were given out to Katana and crew. More merriment went on�and on.

Written by Shawn Vail