Thanks Dirk!
Wishing you a happy holiday also...
Last night it came to me what needs to be discussed and that's the art of being a privateer in the world of commercial racing. I'm not sure if you're a motorcycle fan but check out the Isle of Man TT, one of the most prestigious motorcycle races and also remains the ultimate test of both riders and their machines. In this race, all the big teams compete but the beauty is that privateers still manage to compete by sheer ability alone. If you can, take a lap onboard one of the bikes by searching for Isle of Mann - you can rent the 2015 review for $4.99 on iTunes for a four hour show. If you love racing, you'll love the Isle of Man.
Ok how does this relate to racing boats?
Local racing is all about privateers. There are those who have resources and fancy boats and those who don't. My Etchells is a perfect example: in 2011 she was in the Etchells Worlds in San Diego, she fell off her trailer while being transported in southern California, was damaged and to make a long story short, wound up in Port Ludlow racing with Bondo repairs and lichen growing on her decks... she was still competitive in this anti-establishment form and her former owner took great pride in that fact (but he's a racer and competitive). If you're not familiar with the Etchells class, they're a three-person keel boat typically dry-stored and sailed all over the world by excellent sailors - America's Cup teams even used them for training.
Fast forward to a few months ago - I had a Laser sailboat that I had modified for me to be able to sail and a plan to race her in the R2AK. She was no longer class legal but was a sound boat after I finished with her. Because I don't have wrists any more, I had to cut and install large hatches in her decks fore and aft of the cockpit to repair a separated hull after testing her in 30-35 knot winds in Admiralty Inlet. The good news was that a) my prosthetics worked well enough for me to sail her in high winds, b) she broke with plenty of time to repair her before the 2016 R2AK and c) I now had below deck storage and an additional 200 kgs of buoyancy installed in a durable boat. She's not a pretty boat either but that doesn't matter when you're a privateer with limited resources and a drive to participate. All that was left to race the Laser was to continue saving for a dry suit ($500 to $1,100), purchase a spare practice sail ($200) and practice sailing as much as possible this winter. If I found the time, I even planned on fixing the gel coat to make her pretty again...
My friends thought I was crazy but they don't see the world like I do. To me it was a sound plan: sound tested vessel I know intimately, light weight (65 kg) able to be beached easily with my current limitations, and unsinkable. Sure I was going to be wet but I was prepared for that and I knew that she could be safely sailed in up to 40 knot winds. I had even figured out how to wire her with solar panel and small LiFePO4 battery so that I could recharge radios, have navigational lights, etc. The beauty was that everything had been accounted for including the development of an inflatable tube that could be deployed along side the 3.8 m boat; so that if necessary, I could safely sleep aboard while rafted up to bull kelp or anchored off shore using a 2 kg claw anchor.
One friend thought it was crazy enough that he gave me his boat - the Etchells.
Now back to being a privateer... As a privateer, you race with what you have. Sure you have to be class legal and all but you make do. When I raced cars and bikes it was about whether you invested in new tires for the weekend to be competitive or whether you held off and made do with what you had. If you're serious and want to win, you buy the tires and eat ramen with foraged protein for the next month - ah youth... Every once in a while you get lucky - when I raced bikes, some shops would give you a discount on parts and an annual set of tires if you remained competitive and flew their decal on your bike. That was great if you simply wanted to participate but you couldn't win races without more resources. How does this relate to sailboat racing you may ask? It's the same thing - you make do with what you have, try and stay within the rules and do the best you can - or - you go commercial.
The rules for the R2AK are simple: no motors, hit these two checkpoints and don't make the Northwest Maritime Center (organizers) consult their lawyers. There are however the rules of the sea. This is a race that crosses borders. U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards interpreting SOLAS and the ColRegs have a lot to say on the operation of a vessel including basic equipment... The bigger the boat the more expensive the equipment and here's the rub for the privateer - how do I meet the rules using my given resources?
Remember my Etchells? She was designed to be dry stored and sailed by Yacht Club types not taken offshore in British Columbia nor Alaska. Her buoyancy chambers fore and aft have penetrations in them (adjustable forestay and backstays, etc.) as help is always near for the intended racers. Navigation lights? Not present... You get the idea, so with less than six months left to go, I'm figuring out how to make her sailable to Alaska and am having to figure out how to pay for it. Fortunately, I'm able to make many of my own modifications. Some, like sails however, come at a price that is way beyond my means ($400 for a storm jib and $1,300 for modifications to my best racing mainsail to make it usable in heavy winds) when I live on less than $100/mo disposable income. So what's the privateer to do? Well, seek sponsors...
Sponsors come in all shapes and sizes. Eagle Pipe and Mechanical (a friend and neighbor (2.5 km away)) has offered to help with some of the sail repairs in exchange for flying their logo - done! The other day I was out sailing and realized that all my blocks were manufactured by Harken and looking at my tiller extension (repurposed off the Laser), also Harken but best of all, was the cam cleat screwed to the prosthetic on the back of my arm for me to be able to pull more than 10 kg on lines - Harken! Now here's my idea, I still need blocks to make the Etchells really work for me, how about writing Harken and see if they'll kick in a pair of 57mm< quad and triple blocks so that I can reduce the load on my mainsheet or a used winch (none on the Etchells) so I can safely raise my halyards without wrapping the halyard lines around my body and hula hooping back and forth to get that last little bit! I'd gladly speak highly of their product as I've assimilated them into my daily life... I'll be borrowing a life raft and immersion suit. New rigging came care of my brother Jeff and a spool of Amsteel Blue. By the way the D-splicer (
http://d-splicer.com) is the best for splicing 12 strand single braid line, but I digress...
So back to the larger issue of racing vs cruising... The folks at the Northwest Maritime Center have figured it out with the R2AK - it doesn't matter - doing is what matters! And this fits into the point I'm trying to make: know thyself (strengths and weaknesses), your vessel, and develop a plan to participate (race or cruise) as safely as possible (there are risks) but get out there and do it. You'll be glad you did.
For all those who want to travel vicariously to Ketchikan - send a small donation to Team Holding On, c/o Michael Adams, PO Box 65223, Port Ludlow, WA 98365 and I'll put your name on the side of the boat - now that's a privateer plan!
I'll also be documenting the trip in photos, audio and video and we'll see what comes of this... It may be useful for those that can't or won't find a way to do what others term, "crazy," but that makes life worth living.
All the best for now,
Michael
It was also the period when I was sailing boomless! I was great with the old main I had at the time. 
