Yesterday, while everyone else was tuning in to watch the America’s Cup finals, David was on a flight somewhere over Newfoundland. Earlier in the day, he had tied up Gyatso alongside the ship that would carry our beloved boat home and was rushed to the airport in Palma de Mallorca, Spain just in time to catch a flight home.

A last-minute delay prevented him from being there to watch Gyatso get hoisted up onto the deck of the freighter, along with about ten other boats and regular freight. Over the weekend we learned from Sevenstar Yacht Transport, the shipping company we’re using to ship Gyatso home from the Med, that the ship would not arrive until the evening of Tuesday the 24th. The new loading time would not be until 2:00 p.m. on the 25th, but David’s flight was booked for noon on the same day.

Toni Horrach, our very helpful shipping agent with Miguel Puigserver S.A in Palma, arranged for Gyatso to lie alongside the ship for the day, so David wouldn’t have to change his nonrefundable flight (again). I was already back in Annapolis, so Toni also helped him move the boat and arranged a ride to the airport.

The first either of us knew that the entire plan had come together was when David logged into email after a breakfast of bagels this morning. Tony sent a message with the above photo attached to say the loading had gone well.

Gyatso is now aboard the m/v NOMADIC HJELLESTAD steaming at about 11.5 knots toward Florida and is expected to arrive in Palm Beach on about the 8th of October. Lisa is busy with work-related projects the next few months, so David is now making plans with a friend to return Gyatso to the Chesapeake Bay. Stay tuned…

Here’s a photo gallery of Gyatso being loaded onto the ship: