"The next month took us to Vigo and Bayona in Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Casablanca and finally to the Canary Islands. Seeing a new side of Europe was thrilling, but the real excitement for us was life at sea aboard Pathfinder. She was a kind and patient teacher, taking our clumsy handling in stride. We brutalized her every time we tacked; we manhandled the wheel, and sent the boom and sails flying across the cockpit to bash over to the other side, sending shudders through the rigging. We overtrimmed the sails and she'd heel so far onto her side that the rolling sea would come sloshing over the deck. We'd scream and uncleat all the sails in a panic, the sheets would whir thrugh the mainsheet block and she'd round upright again, in irons, ready for the next exercise, while we tore around like the Keystone Cops trying to figure out what we were doing wrong. My father spent the lion's share of his time down below in the cabin, fiddling around with the navigation equipment, trying to figure out exactly where we were, while Tony, Jade and I rotated watches, trying to keep Pathfinder on course."