Alan has been sailing with the SSS off and on since 1994, with a several year, no-boat hiatus from late 1996 to 2000. He sailed the course from San Francisco to Hanalei in 1996 but didn't do the race. An aborted SHTP in 2004 aboard his last boat provides great incentive to finish this one. Alan bought Ankle Biter in February 2007 specifically to do the race.

 

Alan says his goals are A. to finish, and B. to get himself a SHTP belt buckle. It would also really be nice if it was fun!

 

Navigation equipment aboard Ankle Biter consists of three handheld GPS's and a Davis Mark 25 sextant with reduction tables. "Maybe I can download a couple of GRIB files during the race, if I can figure out how to get my ancient laptop to talk to the satellite phone."

Self-steering consists of two Autohelm ST 2000 tiller pilots and a Navik windvane. Alan plans to rely heavily on the windvane during the reaching legs of the race and when he's not flying a spinnaker or a kiteship kite in the later stages. Electrical juice is supplied by two 40-watt and two 30-watt rigid solar panels and a gasoline powered Coleman generator. Communications will be via SSB radio, but he'll call back to shore every couple of days, and maybe send e-mail using an Iridium satellite phone. Food will be fresh fruits and raw vegetables for the first 4-5 days, progressing into gulps of Mountain Dew, gnawing on Cliff Bars and staring at unheated cans of Dinty Moore stew by day 10. Sleep is the usual singlehanders 20-25 minutes on, then stick your head up and look around. That gets supplemented with lots of mid-day naps. That's how it works for the first and last 300 miles. In the middle Alan hopes to get a bit more uninterrupted sleep when he's beyond the main traffic lanes. If the budget and boat-prep time allow for an AIS receiver, that should help with the sleep.

 

Alan is not bringing the boat back from Hawaii this time, so if anybody wants to buy a really prepped Santa Cruz 27 in the islands, contact him! (alanhsails at that yahoo place).