Entry # 23 – To view my blog’s first entry scroll down to ‘Entry # 1’. Sorry for the inconvenience, I will eventually figure out how to reverse entry order.
With spring weather breaking, I spent Wednesday working on the boat with the help of a colleague. We removed the shrink wrap; assembled the radar defector and discussed the best location for it; and, talked through the head system and how was I going to secure the holding tank. Finally, we drilled the hole to secure Poseidon to the bow. We both thought the bow to be a structural support area. However, we were surprised to find that the fiberglass was only about a ½” thick in the area I planned to bolt Poseidon. I had thought it would be much thicker. I found the hull thickness where I installed the new transducer was over 1 ½”. I decided to purchase ‘steel’ reinforcement plates for either side of the fiberglass and then bolt Poseidon to the bow. I will be attaching a picture when completed.
That evening I went to the Great Lakes Yacht Club to attend the GLSS Safety presentation and met Dan Pavlat. Dan is a member of the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society and, he and Mike Spence have been mentoring me in preparation for the Trans-Superior. Dan introduced me to a number of GLSS Board members and sailors. In addition to Michigan, attendees came from Ohio, Illinois and Ontario. One presentator had successfully completed over 41 solo distance challenges! Another presenter had completed every Port Huron to Mackinaw Race singlehandedly since the 80’s! Both very impressive. I met one sailor who had recently set the singlehanded record for sailing non-stop from Chicago to Buffalo. For some reason he seemed very interested in my attempt this summer. Hmm…please Guinness approve my application. In the end, the people I met where very knowledgeable and competitive in a good way. I found the meeting very informative. When I got home, I made additions to my ‘Moose Be Done’ list. All in all what a great group of people.
Never Too Late For 