Karma Sailing Group-USA 55367

The two blips in this photo are Free Radical and Program, Further inshore is Legacy. (Program and Legacy are in the DH division). They worked their way up on us via the inshore route. We've got everyone on the low side and are putting the accelerator down. Glassy conditions are less than optimal. More soon. 1622 hrs CDT 7-20-09 ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

Manitou Passage- 5kts on 7 kts of WS HDG 39 Degrees. The fleet has closed the gap a bit on us. Had the DH- Legacy in shore of us for part of the am. Breeze is getting light. Working to maintain Boat speed. It's looking like a Tuesday finish unless the breeze picks up. ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

Sunrise at Pt. Betsie (Photo credit L. Sandoval/ Scott Seifert trims in the approach to Pt. Betsie) Team Karma spent a great evening and night off the coast of Michigan. A Spectacular sunset led the way to a starry night where optimal boat speed was the objective. With many faster boats in eyeshot of our position, the team remains focused on the completion of "leg 1" of the race. At the writing of this brief- the early morning watch is enjoying the start of a great sunrise and bidding farewell to the crescent moon. Until later.... ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

Big Sable in site. Crossing tacks with the lead two 40.7s, SeaLark , and a 395 in our plan to clear Big Sable point. Offshore of us we have a couple of multis. Nice afternoon heat- time to peel off some layers. ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

Big Sable in site. Crossing tacks with the lead two 40.7s, SeaLark , and a 395 in our plan to clear Big Sable point. Offshore of us we have a couple of multis. Nice afternoon heat- time to peel off some layers. ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

Sunny MI Coast- We have Raven a beam of us and have had her as such for much of today. M32,Farr 40's all around. Sunny afternoon helps keep the chill off from last night. Spent much of last night with Split Decision in shore of us. Great wind to which we were able to maintain good boat speed. When the lights came on this am- We noted her to have fallen back significantly. Visible- but a speck in the horizon. Crew is in good spirits compliments of the Eggs & Sausage Breakfast from Chez Marty. Good Boat speed now- have to go. ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

------Original Message------ From: Lou Sandoval To: Lou Sandoval ReplyTo: lou@karmayachtsales.com Subject: Rail Time Sent: Jul 19, 2009 2:21 PM Well it's been a bit of an up winmd race. We've all been getting our share of the port side rail. As the sun came up today. We got some good news- but there is so much work to do. As of 1413 CDT- the Sandy coast of Michigan welcomes us. The sun is out to warm us up from a chilly night. More Soon. ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

Smiles from the Team as We prepare to leave DuSable. ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

We've had light and variable winds working our way up the West coast of the Lake. Nice view of the North Shore for most of the afternoon. Chez Marty's menu had Turkey brst Sandwiches for lunch. It's been ALL ABOUT weight to leeward side. We may get to see the Sat night Fireworks in the Southern Horizon. The lights will be going down soon- time to get movin! ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

Pomp & Circumstance: HDG 019 1.32 kts. Oscillating breeze. Just changed from #1 to 1.5 to 0.5oz and back in the first bit of time. Wind is very light. Split D and the rest of the gang are just offshore of us. ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

The Warning Gun Party was held last night at CYC. As luck would have it- Mother nature threw us an interesting curve ball- a storm front that moved through just as everyone was arriving- Imagine that- not this spring? How can that be? Well- after it got everyone's 'Sunday best' a bit damp- it proceeded through - dropped the temp quite a few degrees and left a very comfortable evening in her wake. The afternoon- was a bit of a hodgepodge of stuff today- As "Mr. Murphy" (and his silly law) had his say- there were a series of 'character building bumps in the day' on many fronts. Thanks goes out to the KSG 'ground team' Jason "Flying V' Veatch and Mac Team member 'Scooter' Seifert for being available to head down to the harbor and help with an instrument calibration on the Big K. A few more things to check off the list. Chez Marty will be busy working on the meals for the Team as the rest of the team works on the list of things left...

The Karma MAC Team did their MAC- Man overboard drills this evening in prep for the race. The above photo serves as the reminder of what this race is all about for KSG. Going North FAST! A pleasant night with much accomplished. One of the team's last great views of our fair city. Gotta love the view. G'night Chi-town! ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

First 36.7 Section Start in the 100th Running of the Race to Mackinac (2008) It's a bit over one week away. On July 18, 2009 at 12:40pm Central time, the Beneteau First 36.7 Section will cross the start line for the 101st Running of the Race to Mackinac. For a fleet that has been in existence since 2002 in Lake Michigan, the twenty boat section for the 2009 Mac Race will once again be competing for the Mackinac Cup. While many other brands have tried to lay claim to being easy to sail or one of the fastest growing on Lake Michigan, they pale in comparison the First 36.7 Fleet . Having grown from just an eight boat fleet it's first year of launch, The 36.7's have have maintained a consistent growth rate over the past eight seasons. Even this year, amidst all the economic challenges in the country, they have added to the fleet where other fleets have lost members or been flat in growth. I'd like to think that it is due in part to the camradrie in the fleet, the competit...

Team KSG sits in 1st at the MAC break for the BC series. In what was probably the nicest sailing evening of the season, KSG got around the course in very fine form. Adding a new bottle of MGR to the cabinet, The team got it together tonight. Outside of a minor "tactical kink" in week 4, the team has had a good Wednesday night series. Team KSG named Jason Veatch as " player of the month" for his stellar performance in the Chicago Nood. He has become quite the bowperson and commands the pointy end. Mid- Season BC STATS (Weeks 1-7) 2-2-1-18DNC*-2-4-1 ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

Winn Shown here validating the merits of foul weather gear when it rains. The winner of the essay contest for the 8th man spot on Karma for this year's MAC has been selected. Karma Sailing Group is proud to announce that Winn Soldani has been selected from a deep and talented pool of applicants. This year's pool had former Nobel Prize winners, prominent sports figures and (of course) your token local politicians. Winn's essay stood out amongst the collective pool of applicants, because of the sensitivity and moxy that he showed in his curt but direct essay. Winn will be a valuable addition to this year's MAC team as he brings with him a lengthy list of skills of which 'sandwich maker' was NOT on the list. (hmmm). His experience in racing and understanding of meteorology compliments the skills of the 2009 MAC team. Winn joins Steve Mathias, Christina Cordero-Chadwick, Scott Seifert, Seth Morrell, Jack Buoscio, Martin Sandoval and Lou Sandoval as the 8th...

We've often heard the media use the term, 'things are tough all over' to describe the existing economic climate in our country. Sailing is not immune. One of our more 'sartorially challenged owners' forwarded this as an example of how we plan on maximizing the Karma dollar for the 2009 MAC. These spiffy shirts and sailing regallia are being modeled by some goofy Sailors out East. We found a great set at the Salvation Army depot on Clybourn avenue for very little $. I particularly like the boots on the guy closest the bow.. Sweet! Coming soon to a Mac Crew dearest to you.

Oh, The Joy this Holiday weekend will be. Family, Fireworks and our Slip Neighbors, Nice big yellow sign. Port & Starboard! WOW! ____________________________________ Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T Wireless

Team Karma is to the halfway mark. After two brutal back-to-back, glassy, light wind Wednesdays- the Rum meter is showing 1/4 full. Our carry over tally from the 2008 season was one bottle and we have successfully garnered one for the 2009 season. Situation critical. Next Wednesday is our last BC before MAC prep- Si Se Puede! (We can do it!)- How about putting a few more in the tank?