OFFSHORE PREPARATION

We spent two-and-a-half years preparing Shuna to conform to World Sailing’s Offshore Special Regulations (OSR) Category 1 requirement. We also bought additional equipment and made alterations to the boat. In total, it cost £30,000.

Essential safety equipment, such as a satellite phone, liferaft, AIS transponder and receiver, storm jib, trysail and heavy weather jib, cost around £10,000. The race committee didn’t approve our Iridium Go as a satellite phone, but we found it essential for downloading weather information.

We also bought an Ocean Break Series Drogue, which required us to add two large stainless steel plates aft, a Monitor wind vane with emergency rudder and a small drogue to steer with. Other additions included replacing the 20-year-old standing and running rigging; new main, genoa and asymmetric sails, fitting solar panels and a wind generator. We made the first 1.5 m section of Shuna’s bow into a watertight compartment to act as a collision bow. We upgraded our genoa car system from pin stop to towable system, increased the purchase in the mainsail traveller and doubled up on the genoa cheek blocks, allowing us to easily change the sheeting position when furling the genoa.