Final Boat Prep

Yesterday we took the boat from its temporary home in Redwood City back to Alameda, going out the gate for a little while and stopping by the skippers meeting at SFYC on the way. The most important part of the skippers meeting were the satellite transponders, which are mandatory for all boats and will allow friends and family to track our progress. I've provided a link to the left to the FISTracking website. You'll find our boat in Division E.

A word about tracking
In past years FISTracking has had some problems and some of the transponders "crapped out" a few days into the race, creating a somewhat ominous looking map where boats just stayed put a few hundred miles out of gate and leaving friends and family wondering what had happened to the racers. FIST has assured us that they've worked out the kinks this year but you never know. If you find that the boat has stopped on the map you can always consult the pacific cup website for a second opinion. The likely scenario will be that the transponder has gone kaputt and the Recidivist crew will likely not even know about it.

back to the preparations
Our start is 5 days away and the only thing I'm doing is making final clothing preparations (more on that later), getting plenty of rest, and thinking about the race, non-stop. Visiting my parents helps calm things a bit as it allows me to get away from the hustle in San Francisco.

The first boats are starting Monday. Among them, our friends, Stephane and JP on Le Flying Fish. Today I can only imagine how anxious they must be feeling. On Wednesday night, I'll find out for myself.