July 10, 2010.  Saturday.  Delicate Balance crew members arrived at a Sausalito Marina at around 5:30 m PST and took another three hours  to clean up and travel by taxi to nearby Oakland to clear US Customs.  It was not till 9:00 pm before they reach the Larkspur Hotel in Mill Valley for their hot showers.

Three Sainted Sailor Wives arranged hotel rooms for the weary sailors and a celebratory dinner at the Frantoio Restaurant – famous for its stone olive press.  Frantoio claims to be the only restaurant in the United States with a state-of-the-art certified organic olive oil production facility on site.   The restaurant normally closed at 10 pm,  but the Sainted Sailor Wives made a special arrangement with the restaurant which extended its hours till 11:00 pm for the crew of Delicate Balance.

Three of the spouses joined the crew members, while two sent their love messages through the telephone.  A feast of ribeye steak with porcini mushrooms and sauteed asparagus, along with red and white wine and plenty of laughter as the Delicate Balance crew talked about their adventures.

The crew members reassured everyone that:

1.  NEVER FOR ONE MOMENT WERE THEY IN FEAR OF THEIR LIVES.
2.  THERE WAS NO MUTINY ON THE BOAT, NOR ANY DISAGREEMENT.
3.  NO FINGERS WERE MISSING, NO RIBS WERE CRACKED, NO SPINNAKERS TORN, NO FEELINGS HURT, NO EGOS BRUISED.
4.  EVERYONE RETURNED IN ONE PIECE, EVERYONE SMARTER, AND MORE APPRECIATIVE OF LIFE.
5. IT WAS ENTIRELY THE CAPTAIN’S DECISION TO WITHDRAW FROM THE RACE, FOR THE SAFETY AND COMFORT OF THE CREW.

Kudos to the Captain.

The luxury of a warm bed, hot showers and hot meals was a complete surprise to the weary crew.  Only a team of SAINTED SAILOR WIVES could have made this possible.  Tonight, the sailors will have a full night sleep.