New GT-300 Team

We are putting together a Gt-300 team for this year. We are looking for advice from the Gt-300 vets out there. Which gear is best for the race?
GPS
EPIRB
Lanyards
Ect.
Thanks we are submitting our paperwork and getting everything in order.

Rich,
I'll get ahold of you on FB and swap numbers.

dude, how many times I gotsa tell youz. FB is for:

- queers
- x-girlfriends looking to hunt you down
- people who need virtual hugs and compliments from a screen name (kinda creepy)

Thanks Lee

Sounds like you have spent some time there. If there is anyone that needs to be affraid of an x hunting them down it's you my friend. You have been intimate with at least one very scary crazy lady! FYI, if she wants to find you I'm very confident she will and there is no doubt she can take you at her leisure. Avoiding Facebook isn't going to save you.

Thanks for the tip Jay.

Minus the EX drama, I thought that's what this place was for...........

Welcome to the distance racing scene, now show us your shore crews tits! Oh wait its not SA

Complete list of safety gear is here: G300 Race Rules

PLBRentals.com does a nice job supplying EPIRBS if you don't want to spend $250 on one. I purchased this and am happy with it for beachcat and big boat work: http://www.landfallnavigation.com/resqlink2881.html

As to lanyards, 1/16" spectra works a treat, buy a spool, tie everything and wrap electrical tape around your knots.

Man, I hate it when you're right....

uggg, no! Tie a better knot. I forbid electrical tape on knots or bunjis on our team. You just never know when you need to undo something and there's nothing worse than trying to find the start of the piece of tape on the head of the kite while you're trying to balance yourself bouncing up and down through waves when your spin halyard is dorked up when a trapeze bunji breaks and both trap lines decide to knit themselves with your kite halyard.

Thanks for the Epirb Tip.
As for the safety lines it says
SAFETY LINE, One (1) for each person on board. Heavy duty line and attachment to
secure crew to boat. Crew end Attachment must incorporate a quick release under
load mechanism.
so my offshore monohull lanyard would work but where do you attach it on the boat?

My other big purchase will be the GPS Unit. My little Garmin is almost dead so I want something that will work well for this event. What do you experienced racers recommend?

BTW I am working to bring a sponsor for my boat and for the GT-300 as well.

The Garmin ForeTrex wrist GPS.

You need the computer software to program them easily - and they're a little prone to getting beat up on your wrist...but they make navigation really quick and easy. You don't have to put anything down to look at it.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=447&ra=true

O.K. that's what I had but after 3 years it is dead. Time to spend some more money.

Does a Spot 2 qualify as a EPIRB or would I need a second one?

I haven't read the GT300 rules in a while, but usually a Spot is NOT an approved EPIRB device. They're not reliable enough or licensed as such (at least as far as I know). I'm pretty sure they don't use the official Cospas-Sarsat satellite system .

well since my wife ley me buy a new boat guess a couple more bucks won't kill me.

Hah...keep in mind that you can rent EPIRBs. It's a good way to go until you really start needing it all the time (I still rent them when I need one).

I do some bay and ocean racing but a personal one would be good we have one on the big boats.

I broke down and bought own eprib since I use it once a year minimum.

The garmin foresees units work great but don't hold up well. I also carry a gpsmap 76 in a waterproof case on the boat as a backup. Each crew has a wrist GPS so that is 3 GPS' on the boat and I'm happy if 2 make it through alive.

Not sure if the GT300 uses spots but I suspect they'll supply them for tracking. Handy way to phone home but I've always had an eprib attached to each crew member.

The offshore lanyards are too short. I carried 100' of rope coiled up in my lifejacket, something long enough to reach the boat if I ended up in the drink. I'm curious what others use as a safety to tie to the boat constantly, especially during night legs etc. I've gone without, even at night but am hesitant to do so in the future with slightly less experienced crew (if the conditions are ok night sailing is still safe, but not all crew can drive equally well).

Let me just say the official word on the equipment. Read the rules and if you have any questions what so ever, please contact Billy Richnow or Trey Garrison. They will gladly answer any questions in detail. They are the official guardians of safety in the race and will be doing a strict review of all equipment.

It is my suggestion that you review all your equipment with Billy or Trey several weeks before leaving for the race. We have an equipment check out the day before the race and it sure makes everyone feel good if this goes quick and easily.

Now, let me give you some unofficial insights into various components (again, the official word is from Billy).

EPIRBS: I have bought ACR personal EPRIBs and carry them on my person during most regattas. These are incredibly cheap for what they allow. I recommend getting the GPS functionality.
Sat Phone: Although not required, rent a Sat Phone for the event! If something goes wrong, you are going to want to talk to your ground crew. We always carry one and it has saved our butts many times.
VHF: We carry VHF's on us at all times. We have them turned on at all times. If you get separated from the boat, how is your crew going to find you? The waves are big and they will not see you.
GPS: We also have a GPS on each of us. If you get separated, we would talk on VHF and exchange coordinates so we could find each other.
Safety Line: We put our safety lines on before the start and only take them off as we enter the surf going to the beach at the finish. Safety lines are like seat belts. You are a damn fool if you don't wear them and you never notice that they are on. They have to have a quick release that will allow you to release under load. Again, Billy can give you details.
Spot: We carry a spot in the hull primarily so that people can track us on-line. It is a back up safety device but primarily we have it for tracking. The race will not be supplying spots so if you want your friends to following you, buy a Spot 2 and a plan (or rent one).

Back in 2001, I got separated from my boat while practicing for the Worrell in Galveston Bay. It was blowing about 25 out of the north and 35 degrees out. I spend three hours in the water before I got rescued. It was a very bad situation. After that incident, I decided that I would never get separated from my boat ever again and if it ever did happen, I was going to have multiple communication devices to allow me to get out the problem most importantly a VHF. (I never ever leave the beach without a VHF.)

Steve

Thanks for all the help getting ready for the GT-300. We have a problem now that is going to stop us from attending. We hope to maybe make next year with some time on the platform and may bring a few Aussie teams.

Rich
Team Capricorn