We’re so excited to celebrate with you!

We race to Waukegan from Belmont Harbor The wind is blowing 14 knots out of the West We start with a jib, then code 0, jib, code 0, and finally jib. When I fly the 0, I stand on top of the world, a raging bull in my hands, easing at the first feel of a roundup We race from 10am to 1pm At the harbor we jockey for the diesel dock, the yelling is not over. Then comes the tent, dark and stormys, sandwiches and laughter. Relief I bring out the spinnakers and make a bed on the bow, music, the clatter of ice in a solo cup, and chatter wafts through my ears as the sun beats down on me. Above me runs all the brag flags tracing the history of our boat up the forestay, reminding me of how lucky I am to sail with Paradigm. We all gather for a picture and head to the yacht club You trace your fingers through my Jell-O shot. We all drink and talk and laugh and smile You and I walk up and down the docks talking about life, philosophizing about tug boats, You’re close to me while we stand, I feel your pull as the wind dances through my hair. Dozens of people are around, the dj is blasting music, but it all fades before me You’re cold and I give you my new race shirt Patrick buys us gin and red bulls that had a heavy pour. It’s ceremony time and a hundred of us all file into the awards room, a band is set up playing music. “In third Place, section three, Paradigm Shift!” The band starts up again, many begin to drift out of the room, someone brings brownies, you make sure I’ve had enough food to soak up the drinks, I can’t take my eyes off you. Shawn and I begin to swing dance to the rhythm of the music. You and Joanna join and we split into pairs spinning around. It’s late now and we make our way back to the boat. Doug comes back from chatting with the jello girls. It’s you and I sitting on the port bench under a sleeping bag. We kiss We make a bed on the cockpit floor with the seat cushions and sleeping bags, it’s smaller than a twin bed. In the morning you trace your fingers through my hair. We sip coffee together on the porch. I meet John, your crew mate on Heartbreaker. He spent the night in a hotel and laugh about how nice it must have been. I want to tell you, I wouldn’t trade the cockpit floor for the Ritz. I buy ice and we set sail, no wind, we motor home. You drive me home in your car, I miss all the street directions. I’ve never felt more direction in my life.

In March of 2025, we chartered a catamaran with eight of our friends. This was our third year of a sailing adventure. The previous two years, we went to the BVIs. This year, the crew decided to go to St Lucia. The trip would be filled with many unforgettable adventures. We went horseback riding in the water on the island of Mustique (just down the street from Mick Jagger's house), sailed with a pod of dolphins after a storm out on the high seas, caught a blackfin tuna while trawling, and swam under a waterfall. However, the most important adventure happened on the third night. After sailing into Soufriere, we caught a mooring ball to anchor for the evening and poured our drinks. We had a massive, Dionysian cooler filled with ice, Pitons, Mt Gay Rum, and Ting. After settling in, we called a local water taxi to come pick us up. We had dinner reservations at Treetop Restaurant and Bar. While everyone got ready, I stood on the sugar scoop and shaved while the sun bounced off the blue water. I missed a couple spots and Bart was kind enough to even out my shave. Just two men standing on the back of a boat, one oblivious and the other with shaking hands. I went down into my cabin, put on my clothes, and took out the ring. I was staring at it like Sméagol, heart hammering in my chest. "Will get out here the taxi pulled up to our boat!", someone yelled. I put the ring in the box and stuffed it into my pocket. "This shit is absolutely ridiculous", I thought. The ring box was so massive, it looked like I had a log of Zyn in my pocket. There is no way Ivy is not going to notice. I decided to ditch the box and put the ring loose in my pocket. We get to the restaurant and the name couldn't describe it better…it was a restaurant built into the trees on a hilltop overlooking the Pitons. The maître d welcomed us and we all had a glass of rum punch. While we sipped our rum punch in the welcome villa, we went over a man overboard procedure. I was in charge of leading the discussion, but I couldn't stammer out anything, my mind was completely filled. Before sitting down at our table, we all went up to the top deck and looked out at a view that Steven Spielberg would have liked to have put in Jurassic Park. After a quick head break, Ivy got called back up to the deck since we "forgot to take photos with Doug and Shayna". Ivy and I walked over to the corner overlook and took in the view together. I got down on my knee, forgot everything I was going to say, and stammered out the four words. Dinner and celebration. We got back to the boat blasted 'Saint Lucia We Love' by Mongstar, danced, and drank Champagne into the night.