"You are clear to Hamilton and Godspeed!"

For some reason, my fascination has been grabbed by the Charleston to Bermuda (C2B) race that started from the Charleston Harbor yesterday. Five sailboats along with the 140' schooner, The Spirit of South Carolina, are expected to arrive in Bermuda in five or six days -- so Wednesday or Thursday.

The Spirit of South Carolina, sailing in an exhibition category, is going to participate in a tall ship event in Bermuda next week, so it is just going along for show. This is the7th run of the bi-annual race, and apparently, participation is down because of the economy -- 20 - 30 boats is what they hope for. The idea is to highlight the historical connection between the two places and boost tourism.

The racing boats are: Nova, a 56' Swan (pictured in front of the Ravenel Bridge and in the other picture, to the right of The Spirit of SC), Cadence, a 51' Able Apogee 50 (to the left of The Spirit of SC), The Spray, a 63' Little Harbor, Tohidu, a 43' Beneteau from Charleston, and Grateful Red, a 40' Tartan C&C. Pictures are from the Post & Courier.

The coarse is 777 miles. After a day on the water, the C2B website shows Nova with a nice lead.

In other news. Spoleto is in town, Jay Leno did his last Tonight Show last night, Duncan and I will be celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary on Wednesday night and they really need a stoplight at the intersection of Henry Tecklenburg and Savage.