NORFOLK, Va. — Six Lewisburg-area sailors are back in central Pennsylvania after completing the 2,000-mile round-trip trek known as the Bermuda Ocean Race.
"Our sail to Bermuda was exciting. Some periods were extraordinarily dull with no wind, but we had plenty of adventures," skipper Dr. David Lightman said from aboard "Promise" Friday as he and his crew made their way from the Atlantic Ocean into the Chesapeake Bay.
Lightman set sail for Bermuda on June 11, along with his crew of five that included East Buffalo Township Supervisor Henry "Hank" Baylor, Lightman's teenage sons, Taylor, 17, and Jacob, 15, as well as Brian Gockley and his son, David, both of Lewisburg.
"Promise," a 49-foot Taswell cutter rigged sailboat, crossed the finish line in St. George's, Bermuda, to cheering family, Lightman said, including his wife and older children.
"It was a great feeling getting to Bermuda and having family greet you," Jacob said. "The fish fry helped too."
The teenager was ready for a good meal, his older brother explained, after the boat's generator failed, leaving them with no refrigeration.
That night, the crew piled all of their perishables into some Uncle Ben's rice packets and feasted.
"That worked out surprisingly well," said Taylor, who acted as chef for the voyage.
Lightman said they encountered severe weather as they hit the open ocean, and on their way back to the states Thursday night.
"I was awoken by jerking around and yelling and I went up on deck and was startled to find the storm," Taylor said.
As Taylor steered the boat, his younger brother took in the sails, because, Jacob said, "It was getting pretty gnarly."
Despite wind gusts of up to 40 knots, Taylor wasn't scared.
"I've sailed a lot and I know this boat in and out and I'm very comfortable on this boat and I know what it can handle," Taylor said. "I also know if something were to happen we have all the equipment to address any emergency situation."
That's not to say their equipment was infallible. In fact, Baylor said, the crew experiences several equipment failures with its chart plotter, radar, generator and even its sails, and Lightman recalled finding his deck covered in oil after the boat apparently sailed through an oil slick.
"It took me over two hours to clean it off," Lightman said, adding he did not believe it came from the Gulf Coast.
Each challenge, Baylor said, was met by teamwork from the crew.
"The crew performed so well against what nature had to throw at us," Baylor said. "Those things are expected, but what's key is everyone worked together."
Sleep was kept to little more than three-hour stretched, Taylor said, and evenings were spent watching porpoises race through the ocean's phosphorescence.
"It was like electric streaks going alongside the boat," Baylor said.
Though "Promise" finished toward the back of the pack, other boats didn't finish at all, Lightman said, with some dropping out due to equipment failures or injuries.
That fact alone, he said, illustrates his crew's accomplishment in finishing the race.
"We really didn't expect to come home with any silver," Lightman said. "We're just glad that we finished the course."
Said Baylor: "There's not too many people that would take a boat like this with three teenagers and an old man like me to Bermuda on a race and pull it off, but it was an epic event.
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