Before we can begin our family voyage, we need to get the boat back up to the Chesapeake from Virgin Gorda, BVI. So next week I head to BVI to get the boat ready for the offshore passage straight from Tortola to Annapolis – through the Bermuda Triangle! The 1,500 mile trip is expected to take around 10 days. I have engaged a captain and a crew to sail with me so we will have lots of experienced watchstanders. The captain, Frederic, worked with the boat’s previous owners. So he knows the boat very well – which is fantastic because I don’t yet!
The last few months have been focused on remotely managing various boat projects by BVI vendors that we wanted to get done prior to this initial passage. Also, we have been acquiring a variety of new gear that I will take along – mostly safety-related items like inflatable lifevests, EPIRB, and man-overboard beacons.
I have also been sorting out how to obtain offshore weather and text/email communication via the Iridium Go satellite communication system and the PredictWind app. PredictWind allows you to view wind/wave forecast data on time lapse maps based on data you download twice daily via Iridium. PredictWind also gives you recommended routes to your destination given the wind direction/speed and your preference for comfort versus speed. I prefer comfort. 🙂
PredictWind also includes an automatic position tracker. So you will be able to track the boat’s progress on the map on the Track Us page.