We hope that everyone is still interested in the preparations we are making for our trip. This winter we have made great progress in simplifying this very complicated vessel.

It seems that the prior owner had added system after system without removing any of the old wiring and plumbing. We have removed over 5 BIG boxes of wires and tubing that ran from here to there without being attached to anything. Along the way we have found that we can actually have access to important things like the oil filter on the drive engine and such.

We have decided to do the Chicago- Mac this year on our boat. We are actually surprised that the boat being a cruising boat still have virtually all of the safety gear required for off-shore racing. Merely by adding a life buoy and throwing sock we have all the required gear. We would suggest that anyone that is preparing for extended cruising that they review the ISRF Category 1 requirements. They are well-researched, established minimum requirements for safe passage.

The reason for the doing the Mac in the first place is to learn the boat. We want to push the boat and learn how it performs in all conditions. Also going offshore for multiple days allow us to determine overnight power consumption and other system usage that day sails do not provide.