Major Contributions

Last week I posted a link to this blog here on the Sailing Anarchy forums, along with some details about the campaign. I got some suggestions for the blog, words of encouragement, the usual SA flak, and an offer from a total stranger to let me borrow his safety equipment for the race.

Sailing Anarchy member "Wash" posted (#9) in the thread and offered to let us borrow his safety equipment for the race. In 2007 he prepped his boat for the TransPac, but ultimately did not start the race. He has offered to loan us a life raft, EPIRB, parachute flares, storm sails, and various things like life jackets, harnesses, headlamps, etc. This took a huge weight off our shoulders, as safety equipment can be the most expensive part of boat prep for a DH Pacific Cup entry, and Cody and I are extremely grateful for he generous offer. Wash has also raced in 6 TransPacs and has offered his advice if we have any questions.

"stinky", a Santa Cruz Sails sailmaker, offered to make us a spinnaker if we could get him the materials. Brian is helping me source some Airx 700 for the kite and Santa Cruz Sails are fast and durable; I have no doubt that "stinky" will make us a great sail. We really appreciate this, as "stinky" is also sailing in the 2010 Pac Cup as a double-handed entry on the Express 27 Tule Fog and depending on the class splits, we may be racing against them.

"dog house" offered to lend us a satellite phone with all the accesories, as well as buy me shoes if I'll wear them. A Sat phone will be our primary communication tool; the Race Committee is experimenting with the double-handers next year, allowing us to call in our position report on the satellite phone. The positions will be typed in by the RC, then emailed to the communication boat, who will read them off before proceeding with roll call on the Single Side Band radio for the rest of the fleet. This is a huge benefit for the smaller boats, an SSB is heavy and uses a huge amount of power. Sat phones are very efficient, easy to use, reliable, and lightweight.

Marc, an experienced local J/24 sailor and offshore sport fisherman, has also offered to let us borrow his life raft, EPIRB, and satellite phone for the race. I am amazed by the volume of these generous offers and may even have to turn some down. Thank you all for your contributions, they will all help us get to the starting line and race to Hawaii with speed and confidence.

There are also a great deal of people helping us with advice and knowledge. "Mr. Clean" of Sailing Anarchy gave me a lot of advice on creating a website and how to find sponsorship. "War Dog" sailed in the 2004 Pacific Cup on a DH Santa Cruz 27 and is making a list of notes about the race and boat prep. While there have been some negative comments in the thread, the positive response has been overwhelming and it is helping us make great strides in our effort to be the youngest crew to sail the Pacific Cup double-handed.