The Foundation of a Campaign
As we near the end of 2020, this campaign is just heating up. The foundation is laid and continues to be built upon as we focus on preparing for the 2021 Mini Transat.
Earlier this week, the race organizing authority launched their new website with the most up to date information for the race itself, to include the notice of race! Make sure to check it all out and the new intro video here: https://minitransat.fr/en/
What are we currently focused on? Now that much of the framework is complete to make this a serious campaign, the following projects are currently planned for the upcoming month. While this is a solo race, I will continue to say "we" due to the incredible support throughout this process by friends and family.
Electronics: This boat requires serious electronics to support navigating across an ocean and control the autopilot. The more we sailed the boat earlier this fall, the more we discovered the wiring is just not up to an acceptable standard to safely race offshore. Therefore, we are going to replace all of the wiring completely. To increase the amount of electricity produced to run the systems, we will add a set of external solar panels and install a hydrogen fuel cell. Luckily, Yankee Marine has agreed to contribute to this campaign with the installation...certainly more to follow on this project! Until then, if you need any marine electronics support (for both sail and power boats), make sure to check out their website here: https://yankee-marine.com/
Class Requirements: The RG650 is a production boat that must adhere to strict Class Mini rules. However, parts of the boat were modified to optimize the performance for a previous race to Bermuda. This includes aspects such as a carbon mast, boom, and bow sprit that will be converted to aluminum spars.
Storage and Transport: The boat is currently dry sailed in Annapolis, which means it is hauled out of the water when not being sailed and stored on a trailer. The initial plan is to ship the boat over to France in the spring on its current trailer. This will require reinforcing the trailer cradle and adding padding to better protect the hull. The boat will continue to be dry sailed in France this summer.
Sponsorship Outreach: We are just about finished with developing the sponsorship outreach plan. This campaign will require financial support to get to the race course and is shaping up to be an excellent opportunity for interested businesses. Please contact me if you are interested in supporting or willing to introduce someone you think might be interested in supporting this campaign.
Thank you for showing your interest in this campaign, and if you are curious about how you can help right now, please spread the word and share the website link with all of your family and friends!
