Brad Van Liew, the only American still competing in the Class II of the Around Alone race, battled vicious weather for the past 48 hours, with raging seas of 30 foot waves and winds topping 70 knots. He filed this report from the Southern Ocean on Feb. 28: "I lived and so did Balance Bar by some miracle! The weather we confronted, that has now eased for a relaxed rounding of the infamous Horn, was the worst I could imagine. The winds were so high that bare poles (with all sails down) was way too much sail area. I don't know how to judge seas that big but they were the size of buildings with whitewater tubes significantly bigger than the boat. We were knocked down dozens of times... I felt like I was given an opportunity to see exactly what has killed so many sailors and crushed so many boats and (was) permitted to move through it. I am now enjoying a relaxing evening in preparation of rounding Cape Horn and feel like life is wonderful!"

In sharp contrast to Brad's experiences, the leader in Class II, J.P. Mouligne was making very little progress due to lack of wind. Fearing that the race committee might think something awful had happened to him, Mouligne sent this e-mail at 0940 GMT on Feb. 28: "1.6 knots (over last) six hours. I am right-side up, just no wind..." Marc Thiercelin, the French Class I skipper, with limited maneuvering ability due to his jury rig, was fog-bound just off the rocky coastline near Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. He was forced to radio authorities on land for help, and, at last report, a boat was sent to rescue him.

Vito Dumas, who rounded Cape Horn in 1943 on his 31 foot Legh II wrote: "How full of meaning and menace is the sound of those two words: Cape Horn! What a vast and terrible cemetery of seaman lies under that eternally boiling sea!... Lives there a sailor, who would not have made a Cape Horn passage in his own small vessel rather than any other voyage in the world?" God speed to all the sailors in leg three of the Around Alone as they sail the dangerous waters of "The Cape."

Paul Caynard, skipper of AmericaOne, and the recipient of the 1998 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Award, is in Auckland, New Zealand for a two-month training program in preparation for the America's Cup 2000. He and several of his crew flew to Queenstown on the South Island to participate in the "AmericaOne Discover New Zealand Junior Cup Regatta," held on Feb. 27. Four teams of juniors, each with a guest skipper from AmericaOne, sailed Etchells 22s. The youths manned the mainsail and jib sheets, and a few took the helm, during the second race. Learning how to negotiate the shifty winds that were encountered that day was a great lesson for the sailors. Paul recounts "it was great to see the look in the eyes of these youths. It reminded me of myself when I learned to sail..." Imagine the fun these kids must have had! Kudos to Paul and his crew for taking the time to participate in the regatta and giving these kids a memory they will never forget.

Corrections for 2/25 Manhasset Press:

Captions for the two photos were switched. I-C FUN was sailed by Warren Darress in 1991 on lake Wallenpaupack, PA. El Pampers was sailed by him off MBYC in 1936.

John Thomson's name was misspelled. It is not Thompson.

* This reporter has found extremely interesting the accounts by Barbara Lloyd about the "Around Alone" race. They appear in The New York Times.

* And I want to express deep appreciation for Andrea Watson's fine contributions to On the Bay.

* Around noon on Sunday, Feb. 28, it was announced that Frostbiting had to be canceled for that day.