Heading off to cruise in French Polynesia has to be just about every sailor’s dream. Bil Biewenga was lucky enough to get invited to Tahiti for an all expanses paid charter vacation.
It was a while ago. Perhaps it’s been too long since the sight of jagged tropical mountains and the smell of freshly baked baguettes pierced the morning. Now, through a dreamlike haze of time, I can almost see myself, sitting in my apartment office overlooking Rhode Island Sound. The phone rang. A woman I had never met was putting together a team to race in the upcoming Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Hawaii. “Would I be interested and available to participate with them?”
“Certainly!” I responded. It is, after all, the sort of thing that I do.
A brilliant woman, used to running companies and leading people, she had determined that it would be best to have the key individuals get to know each other well before the race by sailing together on a week-long charter in French Polynesia. This was sounding better all the time. But as good as it sounded, reality would greatly exceed even those high expectations. Read more.
