port tack poetry

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in-one in golf or a grand slam in base¬ ball, a perfect port-tack start in sailboat racing is something you just don't see everyday. Ittakes timingand guts topull beauty. Steve Jeppesen and crew Ken Maring did it perfectly in last month's Joe Logan Regatta for Mercuries, cross¬ ing the fleet with a boatlength to kpare.

Mercurial performance far left, Jeppesen/Logan (#584) approach onds to go. Near left, hitting th< and clear. Is that nice or what? the starting line with just secan inch to spare. Above, free

The November issue ofMen'sJournal ran an article titled "Sixty Things a Man Must Do in His Life." Number 40 was — we're not making this up — "Captain a Yacht." Perhaps #40 should have read "port-tack the fleet." Captaining ayacht is easy, port-tackingthe fleet is not. Hats offto Steve and Ken — obviouslyacouple of real men — for showing us how it's done.