On the Road Again - Sunday, November 9th at 10:00 am

With respect to Willie Nelson I am to be "on the road again."

Three international offshore yacht races, two of which I gained line honors (first to finish) and a third in which I was the first two handed home, left me feeling confident personally and about the boat's ability. But it was not to be. Fifty days into the solo circumnavigation and the boat had developed too many breakages - some of my responsibility but the most major being a under specking of the pins that attached the rigging to the deck. All has been repaired and corrected. Additional winches installed, latest chart plotter, more safety hand grips and a better sense of the challenge leave me feeling more confident that we (the boat and I) are ready but aware that unlike in running a marathon where success is say 95% up to the runner, in my case it may be only 20-30% up to me as the boat and luck will play a big hand. I am aware that only one attempt in three have succeeded and that this is my second and final attempt. Final because life is short and Google only gives me 9.2 more years.

Once again I must point out that I am going solo which means me alone, no crew. It is also to be non-stop by which is meant I cannot go to port and re supply - everything I need, food, spare parts, repair materials must be on board. Any help, even a newspaper or cookie would disqualify me. Those are the rules. Also I have added the challenge of wishing to be the first to do it green - and by green means that I shall not use any diesel or gasoline, propane or butane. I shall only use electrical power generated from solar, wind and water.

In just finishing non-stop I will at 77 years be the oldest to have done so. Hopefully I will break the Bermuda and back to Bermuda record of 150 days set by Dodge Morgan at age 56 in 1986, and will have set a St. Augustine to St. Augustine record in the process as well as broke the now fastest record of Yuan Chang from China back to China which he did last year in137 days.

Projected departure from St. Augustine, Sunday, November 9th at 10:00 am. Stay tuned and follow my progress on Yellow Brick from my web page at www.stanleyparis.com.