In 1996 when I tagged along but didn't do the race, the SSB wasn't a requirement. You could have either an SSB OR a 406 epirb. That year, I bought no new sails, went with an engine I couldn't run for more than fifteen minutes without overheating, and had new standing rigging put on my Ranger 29. I didn't have an autopilot, but I had a Navik windvane. I maxxed out a credit card at $10K.
With Ankle Biter in 2008 I went *extremely* cheap and spent about $8K but I had a lot of gear left over from my Santana 3030, including one autotiller and the SSB and the EPIRB and another Navik. I didn't really much use the nifty new spinnaker I bought from Synthia and in retrospect I wish I'd gotten two 110% headsails stitched together instead. Not that Synthias chute wasn't nice, I just didn't happen to use it that much. That would have brought it down to $6500.
If you add in the flights, the house that Joan and I stayed in, the meals over there, etc. etc it would be at least another $2500 more.
1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"