I had so much fun sailing the Singlehanded Transpac in 2004, I want to do it again. Unable to transmit on my SSB in 2004, this time, I have had a new radio installed and plan to talk to as many people as possible every day. Of course, I will still carry my GSC – and plan to rent a satphone, too.

In 2004, I kept a detailed list of all the improvements I would make to Islander for the next SHTP. I have made most of them – at least the most important ones.

I grew up sailing on reservoirs in Colorado. When I joined the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service, I moved with my husband Dean Crowell and our two daughters to Washington, D.C. In 1992, we bought Islander, a Bristol 34 sloop, and sailed in Chesapeake Bay. When I was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Paris, I took the opportunity to sail Islander double-handed across the Atlantic. After my tour ended, Dean and I took Islander through the rivers and canals of France to the Mediterranean. In 1998, I sailed Islander from France to Portugal, then to Barbados, and finally to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, all with crew. The 2004 Singlehanded TransPac was my first long-distance solo race.