By Gregg Hoffmann Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published May 07, 2003 at 5:12 AM

Elm Grove's Tim Kent sailed into Newport at 11:50.47 Eastern Time Monday to complete the Around Alone sailing competition.

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Kent was surrounded by a flotilla of media boats and well-wishers as he finished the around the world race, which started late last summer. He was running in third place in his division.

His family also was in Newport to greet him. Kent and his boat, Everest Horizontal, captured the fancy of sailing fans because of their "underdog" status. Unlike the other sailors in the race, Kent did not have a major corporate sponsor.

Kent also garnered media attention, and helped raise funds to complete the journey, by sending regular emails from sea to fans and reporters.

OMC columnist Gregg Hoffmann was one of those reporters and regularly presented updates of Kent's progress in The State Sports Buzz column. A final comment on Kent's incredible journey will run in this Friday's column.
Gregg Hoffmann Special to OnMilwaukee.com
Gregg Hoffmann is a veteran journalist, author and publisher of Midwest Diamond Report and Old School Collectibles Web sites. Hoffmann, a retired senior lecturer in journalism at UWM, writes The State Sports Buzz and Beyond Milwaukee on a monthly basis for OMC.