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Created: 19 March 2014

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1:  Prologue

Why I sailed the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race (MBR) in 2013

After some prodding from a couple of YC sailing buddies I decided it was time to check-off one my bucket list items and sail the Marion to Bermuda race. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

I had sailed to Bermuda in the past but never on my boat and never as skipper. It was something I really wanted to do but, as with most working professionals, there was never enough time. Lots of folks substitute money for time by having a yard manage and maintain their boat so all they have to do is hop aboard and slip the mooring. Not for me. I'm a hands-on guy and would need to be intimately involved in every aspect of every maintenance item and upgrade. Plus, I wanted to do it all myself to ensure that I had full knowledge of every detail. You can't call the yard to fix something when you're 300 miles from shore. And while the fecal matter is hitting the oscillating ventilator there is no time to begin reading the manuals. I was determined to know every aspect of my boat prior to setting sail. That translates into huge time committment for a project of this size.

So, I set out to make the June 14, 2013 MBR start. I had nearly 2 years to prepare my boat, myself, and my crew. The race organizers require that participating yachts comply with the ISAF Special Regulations Governing Offshore Racing for a Category 1 race. A Category 1 race is one sailed "long distance and well offshore, where yachts must be completely self-sufficient for extended periods of time, capable of withstanding heavy storms and prepared to meet serious emergencies without the expectation of outside assistance" according to ISAF (Published by ISAF (UK) Ltd., Southampton, UK © ORC Ltd. 2002, all amendments from 2003 © International Sailing Federation, (IOM) Ltd). The regulation goes on for many pages defining in painstaking detail what gear, systems, and characteristics a qualifying yacht must and must not have. Some of the requirements were obvious, some not so much, but, taken together there were certainly a lot of them. This was going to be a major project with lots of moving parts requiring plenty of time, organization, and money. In the end I would have one to-do off the bucket list and a boat that was fully prepared for sea and ready to fulfill my cruising dreams.

Through the remainder of the blogs on this topic I will describe how I

• managed the upgrade workload
• solved ongoing crew requirements
• Sailed the race
• sailed nearly 300 males back to the east coast without a rudder

I will spend some time describing, perhaps in tedious detail, the process of working through the first 3 topics. I will try to make it a roadmap for anyone intending to do the race the way I did: that is to say, without yard interference. The final topic deals with our return. This may be of interest to a broader audience as it speaks to general preparation, dealing with cascading challenges, and being creative under pressure. It's a pretty good yarn that's gotten me plenty of drinks at the YC bar.

I sincerely hope you'll enjoy reading these articles. If you have any questions or would like additional information please don't hesitate to drop me a line. All my contact information is on the top banner of my home page (www.proteusyachtservices.com).

Regards,
Wayne Gillikin