March SITREP
What a month March was for this campaign! It began with a full trailer repair, included fund raising events, continued with boat projects, and consisted of incredible support from excellent sponsors. Make sure you follow PGN Ocean Racing on both Instagram and Facebook for more videos, photos and updates.
Trailer Repair: March started out like so many months before with more boat work. The initial focus of the first ten days in March was repairing the trailer to get it road worthy for the Mini’s upcoming trip eastward across the Atlantic on a ship then down to La Trinite-sur-Mer. Syd Millman, Jane’s father, drove up from Florida to help rebuild the trailer cradles. We battled freezing cold March days that kept the epoxy resin from quickly curing but with help from space heaters, the job slowly came along. Thanks to his help and the use of my cousins’ garage (thank you Amy and David!), we were able to rebuild the trailer cradles. The boat now confidently sits back on the trailer, ready for her road journey up to the Port of Baltimore.
CYCOP Presentation: I had the pleasure of presenting this campaign at The Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia, my home town club where I grew up sailing. CYCOP was founded in 1892 and the club has a rich history of sailing. My father, Peter Gibbons-Neff Sr., once served as Commodore of CYCOP and my mother Debbie remains an active member. For this event, I presented to the membership both in person and virtually online, sharing my story about why I am sailing in the Mini Transat and what it takes to get to the starting line. With thoughtful questions and loads of encouragement, the members were extremely supportive of this upcoming adventure. Thank you to The Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia for hosting me and for the amazing support from the membership!
Forward Brewing: It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon when Terminal Leave rolled up in front of Forward Brewing on 4th St in Eastport, Annapolis. This marked the first Open House fundraiser for the PGN Ocean Racing campaign!
Big thank you to Cam and Claire Bowdren, the founders and owners of Forward Brewing! A new brewery in the heart of Eastport that hosts a great list of tasty and unique beers, they hosted us and Terminal Leave for an open house to show the boat, PGN Ocean Racing and raise awareness for U.S. Patriot Sailing in the Annapolis community.
We had an incredible response from family and friends, both new and old. Positioning Terminal Leave directly in front of Forward allowed for anyone to stop by and ask questions. She was also visible from both ends of the street and quite the sight to see when driving towards her! We are very thankful for Cam and Claire’s support for hosting us!
Boat Projects: Lots of work has been taking place this month getting the boat ready for France. Projects included finishing the electronics re-wire, installing the new rudders, and the application of sponsors’ decals on the boat. We will dive into some of these projects more through additional blog posts after the boat ships.
Sponsorship Update: This month we had amazing sponsors who believe in this campaign sign on to support this campaign. As you saw in my previous blog post, we are proud to have Fawcett Boat Supplies as our main sponsor for this campaign, providing crucial sailing gear and safety equipment.
Switlik, family owned marine, aviation, and military survival gear company, has provided specific survival gear that is required and hopefully not needed while racing across the ocean.
Gill Marine has out fitted me with all my foul weather gear and base layers, as well as incredible socks.
As I prepare to put thousands of miles on the boat resilient line is absolutely required and New England Ropes has stepped up to the challenge and provided all new line for the boat.
The boat currently has a mix of well-worn blocks and cleats, so Harken has supported with outfitting most of the boat.
Yankee Marine has supported the campaign by completing an entire re-wire of the boat’s electronics and power supplies.
And finally, the Annapolis Yacht Club Foundation has chosen to provide a generous financial contribution to this campaign!
On Monday we drive Terminal Leave up to the Port of Baltimore to have her loaded and shipped to France! Make sure to sign up for email updates and share this campaign with your friends and family.
Thank you for your continued support!
