This is either the first or second question that people ask me when I bump into them when I haven’t seen them for a while. “It’s going OK” is my usual answer. Not great, not bad, but ok.

Brown’s Fine Foods here in Kingston have made a generous donation that will get us through the winter. This money will buy stuff like epoxy, solar panels, and miscellaneous bits and pieces to help get the boat ready to sail in the spring. This has taken a bunch of pressure off us, BUT we will definitely need more money to get through the sailing season.

When I combine all of the in-kind, cash donations, and services that people have provided, it adds up to something just short of $50,000. That sounds impressive, but this is just the start. In the next few months we will have a LOT of expenses like race fees, generator, life raft, flares and emergency gear etc. etc. etc.

It’s funny how the little expenses always turn out to be way more than you thought they would be. For instance, I just ordered all of the charts that I will need for the coming year (Chesapeake River, US North East coast, and Bermuda) as well as the list of lights, tide tables, and nautical almanac. The total bill was around $800 USD. Wow.

I don’t like pimping for donations. I’m bad at it and it generally makes me feel uncomfortable. But when I look at the race schedule, the work list and the 3 year plan, I just can help but make the humble request for help….

The mighty ship 680 is into the shop for a refit and whole bunch of work.

As I mentioned below, Boat Services Kingston have come on board as a sponsor and I am very happy with 680’s home for the winter. The shop out on Highway 38 is heated and has tonnes of space for us to work. I’m also very happy to have the guidance and knowledge of Niilo Avarmaa as work on the boat over the winter.

Niilo is known to be a very talented man when it comes to working on boats and fibreglass, and I am lucky to be getting a chance to see him in action and learn from him. I think what makes Niilo stand out is that he always does things properly, looking for the root cause of a problem and then working meticulously to fix it for good. It gives me great confidence that he is working on my boat.

680 will be getting a proper bottom job over the winter, and we have a whole bunch of little fixes, things to install, and improvements to make to get her ready to go offshore in June. Right now I am getting in all of the experts in various areas to come in and offer help and advice.

I’ll try to post some photos soon of her in the shop.

Back in January the sailing team quietly announced a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston. It has taken a little time to see the details of this relationship develop, but we are now in full swing and I am just dying to tell you about all the good stuff we have planned.

I will be working with a small group from the club called Leaders in Training, a group of kids that are 10 years old or older and who have been identified by the staff of the club as being great candidates to be strong leaders in the future.

Over the next few months, and hopefully to the end of the campaign, I will be working with this group and talking about my sailing and what it is like to lead a team to the Mini Transat.

The LIT group are going to be a busy bunch over the next few months. We have a great program put together for the group, where they will learn about sailing, the mini, and what it is like to live in a tiny boat all by your self. They will also get to see the inner workings of the team as we prepare the boat, get ready for racing and make plans for the coming years and follow the races that we have this year.

For me, the chance to work with the Boys and Girls club is a real joy. My friend Jim Brown introduced me to the club, and from my first visit to the club I realized what an amazing service they offer to the community. All ages of kids can get help with their homework, play sports in the gym, have a hearty meal and generally hang out in a warm and caring environment. They certainly live up to their tag line: “A good place to be”.

I’m delighted to be working with this group of kids and the club in general. I’m sure that I will be writing more about the B&GC so stay tuned! In the mean time check out their site to learn more and get involved!

The worst thing about having a blog like this is that everyone knows when you are not writing!

Over the past couple of months we have been extremely busy doing all kinds of cool stuff, and it is often hard to get it written down before I loose the moment, thus all of the recaps and catch up sessions on this blog.

There is a tonne to talk about though, so please bear with me as I try and catch up again!