THE RESORT TOWN OF CORONADO HAD settled down for the evening. A strand jutting just across the bay from San Diego, Calif., Coronado was the ultimate in exclusivity. All week, yachts competing in the ...

I was slouched over a stack of pancakes in the BUD/S chow hall, quietly experiencing the thousands of microabrasions that come with 48 hours of being wet and sandy. It was Tuesday night of Hell Week, ...