Introducing Gautam

Adventure calls: I have dreamed of sailing across an ocean for as long as I can remember. I grew up by the Arabian Sea (in Mumbai) and, as a boy, remember looking out at tiny vessels coming in from the horizon and wondered if they had crossed the ocean to smuggle goods into the city. My first ocean adventure was on an indigenous catamaran at Fisherman's Cove near Chennai (http://tinyurl.com/q7x2x9). And, I once waited 6 days to catch a Dhow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhow) from Mombasa to Zanzibar but it wasn't meant to be.

No Ka Oi, an elegant Gib’Sea 43, is returning home after having raced the Pacific Cup last year. It is a dream come true to sail back with her and our team of five including skipper. I can’t wait to get started on this adventure and to see the various shades of blue, the colors at sunset, and the clear starry skies.

How it came together:
Sailing is a lot of fun, it allows me to be in the moment, one with nature, and there's never a time when you don't learn something new no matter how often you go out. I have been learning to sail at Cal Sailing Club where, one day, Paul Kamen, an expert sailor and one of the club's gurus :) posted a crew request on the club's yahoo group on behalf of Phil. I couldn't believe my eyes and the rest is history.

Skipper and crew:
Our skipper, Phil, is not only experienced having rounded Cape Horn twice (and taken on a huge rogue wave), but also has a keen eye for team dynamics. No Ka Oi's motto "Safe, Fun, Fast" is similar to the one I believe in for climbing: "Safety, Friendship, Summit". Although we are just getting to know each other, the crew seems easy going and adventure loving. Mai and I started to sail at CSC around the same time and have continued to be friends since. Jared is an endurance athlete and has earned his chops on bike races and marathons and, I am sure, more. I have only recently met Gavin and at the drop of a hat he put in an epic effort to get the website map set up. By the way, it can take a GPS data feed from a Google doc and provide the boat's track day by day.

What I would like:
I would like to learn as much as possible, to have fun (even on the 2 am shift or when the seas are making us sick), to contribute to the team as best as I can, and to take in the magic of the ocean.