Don Gray
Warriors Wish
Jutson 30
PHRF: 66
Club: SA, NRA, ODC
Homeport: Oriental, North Carolina
Occupation: Seals and Fasteners
Age: 60

I have been sailing 36 years. My first sailing experience came in England with an uncle at age 24 and I was hooked. I came back to the States finished college and headed to Florida to sail. 34 years later having sailed everything from Snipes to offshore racers I wanted another challenge. I have always enjoyed single handed deliveries. I had been reading about all of the single handed racing that was going on and decided that if I was ever going to do it I had to get going. I set a goal to do 3 major races Newport-Bermuda 1-2, Transpac Solo, and 2009 Transat.

I searched for a boat that met my needs and my budget. The Jutson 30 was orignally built to the Mt Gay 30 box rule. The design gave you a well built boat, clean lines and water ballast. The boat had been sitting in storage a while and was in good shape. In lieu of a 15' spinnaker pole I now have a 4' prod for assy kites and I have eliminated the sym kites. I replaced the running top mast stays with a permanent backstay. I have also reworked the electrical system to allow for offshore condtions and living off DC power for long periods. The only disapointment in the boat was it's 700lbs over designed displacement.

I competed in the Bermuda 1-2 in 2007. The top 3 boats in Division 2 were seperated by less than 6 mins overall after 1400 miles of racing. Great people, great race!

"Warriors Wish", is named after a program within Hope for the Warriors, a non profit. The mission of Hope for the Warriors is to enhance the quality of life for US Service Members and their families who have been adversly affected by injuries or death in the line of duty. As a Viet Nam era Marine this program means a lot to me and I am proud to be a board member. Since I have had to answer this question frequently lately Hope for the Warriors returns over 90% of its donations to the benefit of U.S Service Members and their families.

I am looking forward to sailing in the 2008 Transpac Solo. Having never experienced the unique weather and navigation challenges that this race provides, it should be quite an adventure.

Navigation: Furuno GPS, Garmin Handheld GPS, Laptop with dedicated GPS, Sextant

Steering: NKE instrumentation feeding Raymarine below decks linear drive and Raymarine GP 4000 tiller drive. 2 Autohelm 2000 tiller drives.

Communication: Iridium Sat Phone, Stephens SSB, VHF

Food: Freeze dried, canned and fresh fruit, protein bars

Special thanks: Wife and partner Sprae, she sails she understands. Great crew at work that allows me to dissappear for long periods of time. Geoff and Mark, my sounding boards.