Details, details…

June 11, 2014 by HL

Bermuda Courtesy Flag….. Check

Great thing about the Newport-Bermuda Race is…

June 11, 2014 by HL

There are many great things about the Newport-Bermuda Race…but one particularly great thing as an owner is that the boat gets completely looked over from stem to stern and mast base to mast head…literally. In doing so the boat becomes safer for everyday cruising and racing…and projects to improve the boat have no more excuses for delay!…

After nearly 20 years (10 years of my ownership) HONAHLEE finally has main salon pipe berths! This is important for weather-side weight but also comfort as we are sailing with 12!

Last minute items

June 9, 2014 by HL

Anchor locker closure
Pole safety
Shorten pole out and mark out
Silver sharpie
Paperwork check
Emergency VHF
Simrad GPS relocate antenna!!!!!!!!
Heavy weather radar post strops
Hockey tape mainsheet block
Secret sauce
Keel plug check and caulk
Spare bilge pump
Flush aft holding tank
Check autopilot wiring
Re calibrate auto pilot.
Lock autopilot rudder indicator!!!!!!!!
Crew container bags
Wrap boat gear for container
Washers for grounding system in CPU from Helmut
Install 2nd computer monitor
Check garage freezer operation
Freeze cases of Poland spring
Call AYC again for lost gear bag
Find goggles and sleeve
Rum stash!!!!!!
Swim ladder!
Fuel up!
Water tanks flushed and refilled
Reread requirements and safety requirements
Computer printer
Rite in rain paper
Sail repair kit Glory

Late night pipe berth grommet installation

Fri. June 20th – Newport-Bermuda Race

June 6, 2014 by HL

GPS Transponder tracking for shoreside friends and family will be available at this link:
http://bermudarace.com/2014-race/race-tracking/

The service is being provided by http://www.yellowbrick-tracking.com/ YellowBrick will undoubtedly have a link on their site also.

Any shoreside friends or family should NOT be concerned if our tracker malfunctions or fails to report. They CAN call the boat satellite phone and let us know that our tracker is not functioning. IF we do not answer the Satellite Phone they SHOULD try to call again and if we do not answer again they SHOULD contact race officials to inform them. Even then malfunctions and battery issues can occur and no undue stress should be suffered.

Looking forward to the race!!!

P.S. – I decided not to post publicly the satellite phone number for the boat. I am going to presume that any friend or family will have received the number (and instructions NOT to call it unless emergency) or that they will know of family member to contact to inform…

Last minute pipe-berths!

June 5, 2014 by HL

Working hard to make some last minute pipe berths! Huge thanks to the guys at McMichaelYachtBrokers.com and Derecktor.com for all of their assistance…. and oh yeah… Jeff Jackson at Cove Canvas in Mamaroneck!

Shooting for hardware on the pipe berths like this!

June 6th, 2014 update…..~~Hardware to reproduce this determined and ordered!~~ SCRATCH THAT!!!! Switching to Harken! Smaller and less expensive!!!!!

Sorry Schaefer…but going with this instead:

Emails, emails and emails!!!!

June 5, 2014 by HL

I’ve been formally emailing the crew since December 24, 2013. I’m told the number of emails now totals OVER 950. It takes a lot of communication to organize and prep for this race. It can be “fun” to be communicating a lot and sharing a little humor but 950 is suffocating also. We’ve implemented the *IMPORTANT* – TOPIC subject line for important/critical communications and asked for no ‘reply-alls’ to these. I think it has made a nice difference to those that were feeling drowned in email. It seems hard to believe it has been 950…but of course when you a do a little math you realize it only takes one email to 12 crew members for which they each reply-all and that becomes a LOT of emails very quickly.

Looking forward to 4 days at sea with NO EMAIL!

Learning from the Cheeki Rafiki Tragedy

June 2, 2014 by HL

I like to ponder and learn from every “tragedy” to further my own personal preparedness and clear a mental path towards best heat-of-the-battle crisis decision making.

The tragedy of the Cheeki Rafiki is one that I have pondered (amongst many others) and I feel that I have learned something from one of their most obvious mistakes that is “hiding” within the story.

Yes there is the “obvious” mistake of not having the liferaft on deck…however the subtle “hidden” lesson is within the story and one I think in many ways we TRAIN many sailors to make! There is a saying, “You step UP into the liferaft”…and “ALWAYS stay with the boat (until it is gone)”… These lessons and training I think led to the Cheeki Rafiki disaster.

As the story goes, the crew called in via Satellite Phone and said they were taking on water, could not identify the source of the leak and were diverting to the Azores. I believe that most of them would be alive today had they not been reluctant to get the liferaft on deck and to pre-emptively inflate it. “Stepping up” into the raft doesn’t need to mean waiting to inflate it until you need it!

Upon an emergency happening 1) Any liferaft should be staged for inflation. At the skippers’ discretion and EARLY the raft should be inflated and towed astern or alongside. So what if they had towed their raft all the way to the Azores “unnecessarily”… They had an UNIDENTIFIED leak…and their raft was found below.

May we “learn” in their memory and not have their lives be in vane. Honahlee’s 6 man raft will be lashed onto the sea hood and the 10 man will be either below or lashed on the windward side of the cabin top. The 10-man stages nicely in the bottom of the cockpit or possibly from it’s position on the cabin top.

Again…please no unnecessary reply all’s to *IMPORTANT* subject line emails.

Thanks guys!

Link to story: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27553902