Hi all, I have been contacting all skippers and have not got ahold of everyone, so here is the scoop. All boats on the start line
will have Yellowbrick trackers aboard. The trackers we own will not work for a Hawaii race, and the last thing we need, with a big fleet and everyone watching so closely, is for a racer to go silent. Unfortunately, when I worked up the budget for the race (and lowered the entry fee), it didn't include trackers. Most of you probably don't know that the Singlehanded TransPac is financially separate from the SSS. Entry and sponsor fees have always supported the entire race. The trackers we're getting are $300 per boat and I'm asking the skippers to pick that up. I've had three very generous skippers who are so pro-tracker that they've offered to, between them, cover any shortfall from skippers who couldn't (or wouldn't) pay for the trackers, but I don't think it's fair to put the onus on these generous folks.
Please go to
www.yellowbrick-tracking.com to check out exactly what these things will be doing for us. It's a pretty awesome service. They'll be doing all of the web work for the online tracking page, so we won't have to have volunteers staying up all hours collating all the check-in data. Please note that check-in via SSB or sat phone will still be required.
We all know change is in the wind in regards to the Coast Guard's approval of ocean events. Being proactive to get these trackers will help them feel more comfortable in approving our permit, plus it has the added bonus of allowing friends and family to track the fleet more easily. Our group has always had a really good relationship with the Coast Guard because we've had good communication with them, and having trackers in our comm plan will go a long way to making them feel comfortable.
If you have any questions or concerns that you'd like to discuss with me privately, give me a call at 503-490-3305.