Location: Phuket, Thailand
Today was a big day for the Argo crew and all of Thailand. It was the beloved King’s birthday. Therefore, the majority of the people were sporting bright yellow shirts in his honor, and each boat showed respect for the King before the race started by lining up in a procession before the Royal Thai Navy boat. Afterward, the race began with a bang; we lined up Argo perfectly and charged through the starting line at exactly the right moment, dominating all other boats in our path shadowing them with our sails. The next big moment came as we rounded the first marker, wondering for a few uncertain moments whether we would glide smoothly around the mark or be pushed into it by the current and penalized. Luckily, we made it around just in time and proceeded towards the end to a first-place finish! To make things even better, all the action on board was caught on tape by an ESPN reporter who had taken an interest in Argo and her crew and joined us for the day. After the race, we enjoyed a great Thai dinner on shore and had fun celebrating our victory.