and week out. Its tough not to be able to see

SAN DIEGO -- Always eager for a challenge, two-time Americas Cup champion skipper Jimmy Spithill and his crew of five on a high-performance, 46-foot catamaran hooked into a strong breeze off New York and headed toward Bermuda, hoping to ride above the waves on hydrofoils for all 662 nautical miles.The weather turned nasty about halfway there, forcing them at one point to drop their sails and switch from performance mode to survival mode.Team Falcon made it to Bermuda in one piece, leaving Spithill excited about the future of offshore foiling while respecting Mother Nature.It got pretty bad, the Australian said in a phone interview from Japan, where hell lead Oracle Team USA in the final stop of the Americas Cup World Series this weekend. The first 24 hours were awesome. We put down some awesome miles and got to the Gulf Stream pretty quickly. Then it started to turn for the worse.Waves that had been 6 1/2 feet grew as big as 20 to 25 feet as the wind rose from 20 knots up to 40 to 45 knots.Anytime you have to go offshore, you have to be prepared for the worst, Spithill said. Its like mountain climbing. Anyone who goes up Everest or any other decent mountain, you have to be prepared for the weather to change and you have to have a plan. We were always prepared for the worst. In that situation you usually learn something about yourself and the team around you. It was impressive to see how everyone responded and got through it.The boat sailed at more than 30 knots a few times during the 66-hour trip, Spithill said.Down to bare poles at one point in strong wind, the cat was still going 20 knots down waves. We had a hard time slowing the boat up, Spithill said. Thats what youve got to be able to face when youre on the ocean, especially the Gulf Stream, which can be pretty notorious water. It was pretty crazy.It was some of the best sailing Ive done of my life offshore. It proves this is the next step in the offshore world, Spithill said.The trip was the idea of Shannon Falcone of Antigua, a former Oracle Team USA crewmember, and backed by Red Bull, which sponsors both OTUSA and the Red Bull Youth Americas Cup. The F4, built in the Netherlands, is the first foiling catamaran specifically built for the open ocean.Foiling has become the rage in sailing. While the concept has been around for years, it went mainstream during the 2013 Americas Cup on San Francisco Bay in a duel between 72-foot catamarans. Its continued to develop leading up to the 2017 Americas Cup, which will be contested in 50-foot foiling cats in Bermuda.When the Americas Cup catamarans reach a certain speed, they rise up on foils, lifting the hulls out of the water and allowing faster speeds.Its just pure performance, said Spithill, who steered Oracles giant trimaran to victory in the 2010 Americas Cup and then helped rally the American-backed team to victory over Emirates Team New Zealand in 2013. Once you can sort of get that drag gone and get that boat out of the water, its like a turbo boost.One challenge of offshore foiling will be at night. Spithill said foiling requires the crew to anticipate and look around, and the crew had to rely only on instruments during three moonless nights.While Spithill said he got a real test, physically and mentally, from the trip, the worst offshore conditions hed been in were in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart race, when six sailors died and five yachts sank during a fierce storm.Spithill also was at the wheel of Oracles 72-foot catamaran when it capsized in rough conditions on San Francisco Bay in October 2012.Joining Spithill and Falcone on Team Falcon were Oracle Team USAs Rome Kirby of Newport, Rhode Island; Tommy Loughborough of Singapore; Olympic sailor Cy Thompson of the Virgin Islands and Emily Nagel, a member of Team Bermuda in the Red Bull Youth Americas Cup.Matt Knighton, who won the Onboard Reporter Award for the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race, was the onboard cameraman, even using a drone to capture video footage during daylight hours.The voyage proved that foiling is the next step in offshore performance, Spithill said.But theres a limit. 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He has been undergoing regular evaluations at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program and is being treated for issues related to balance and focusing on objects that are at a distance while moving his head.I wish I could return to the No. 88 team this season, Earnhardt, who has not been medically cleared to compete, said in a statement. To say Im disappointed doesnt begin to describe how I feel, but I know this is the right thing for my long-term health and career. Im 100 percent focused on my recovery, and I will continue to follow everything the doctors tell me. Theyre seeing good progress in my test results, and Im feeling that progress physically. I plan to be healthy and ready to compete at Daytona in February. Im working toward that.The support from both inside and outside the race team has been overwhelming. Everyone has been so encouraging and positive, from my teammates and sponsors to my family, friends and fans. Its motivating and humbling at the same time.Hendrick Motorsports said Jeff Gordon, who is again driving for Earnhardt this weekend at Darlington, and Alex Bowman will continue to fill in for the remaining 12 races on the Sprint Cup schedule.I know how hard Dale has worked and how frustrating this is for him, team owner Rick Hendrick said in a statement. He wants to be back, and we want him back, but we want it to be for the long haul. Weve had incredible support from everyone involved with the team, including all of our sponsors. Theyve put Dales health first every step of the way.From a competition standpoint, missing the remainder of the season should not hurt Earnhardt. The only way he would have made the Chase for the Sprint Cup is if he came back next week at Richmond and won the race. The NASCAR car specifications also will change for 2017, meaning the cars will drive differently next season than they will the remainder of this year.I look up to him for what hes doing. I know how hard that is to look out and want to be inside that racecar, Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano said. Your life and your health is not worth risking for the sport.Speaking Aug. 5 at Watkins Glen, Earnhardt stressed he wanted to continue racing. His contract with Hendrick runs through 2017.As soon as I can get healthy and get confident in how I feel and feel like I can drive a car and be great driving it, thenn I want to drive, said Earnhardt, who missed two races in 2012 after suffering two concussions in six weeks.ddddddddddddI want to race. I miss the competition. I miss being here.I miss the people and, as Rick [Hendrick] likes to say, Weve got unfinished business. Im not ready to stop racing. Im not ready to quit. Its a slower process. I wish it wasnt.Earnhardt crew chief Greg Ives said he talked to each of his team members Friday. He said the fact Earnhardt has been interacting with the team -- coming to the shop as well as the appearance at Watkins Glen -- has had a calming effect and keeps them from constantly speculating about Earnhardts long-term status.Theyre disappointed that Dale is not going to be in the car, but they also know what is best, Ives said. Time is best to heal this situation. Nobody wanted to rush things just to get into a race car just to try to prove something. Were going to go forward. We know that the way to recovery is to put your best foot forward, to have positive thoughts and to have fast race cars.In addition to Sundays race, Gordon will be behind the wheel of the No. 88 for races at Richmond (Sept. 10), Dover (Oct. 2) and Martinsville (Oct. 30). Bowman will drive at Chicagoland (Sept. 18), New Hampshire (Sept. 25), Charlotte (Oct. 8), Kansas (Oct. 16), Talladega (Oct. 23), Texas (Nov. 6), Phoenix (Nov. 13) and the series finale at Homestead (Nov. 20).Earnhardt, who turns 42 in October, has 26 victories -- including two Daytona 500 wins -- in 595 career Sprint Cup starts. He has finished in the top-10 in 42 percent of his races.The son of seven-time Sprint Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, Earnhardt Jr. has never won a Cup title, with a best finish in the season standings of third in 2003. After missing the Chase for two consecutive seasons, he has enjoyed a career resurgence with five consecutive Chase appearances from 2011 to 2015.Its sad to see that hes not going to be able to get back in the car in 2016 because, as a race-car driver, thats where you want to be, said Elliott Sadler, who drives for Earnhardt in the Xfinity Series. You want to be in your race car competing week in and week out. Its tough not to be able to see him in his famed No. 88 ca