Pre-Race update

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Hello Slayer Fans. Here is the latest from Dave’s big adventure: Dave completed his 600 mile open ocean test drive where he left under cover of darkness through the Golden Gate Bridge and sailed out a few hundred miles testing his gear. It was very windy at times and Dave estimated the winds over 35 knots and maybe even 40 which is what his wind instruments read but the boat’s speedometer is off on it’s calibration. Note to self: Add that to the to-do list. During his adventure he reported that he was letting the autopilot drive for 30 minutes, he would sleep during this time, then he’d do ships maintenance and navigation for 30 minutes, then he would drive for 30 minutes. He did this for 80 hours straight and reported that he felt rested and it was something he felt he could do for the long haul. Sounds absolutely horrible to me but what do I know! Well, I guess I do know because I’ve done this crazy race with him before! We tested the sat phone and his ability to integrate the software with the downloadable weather files and all of that was successful. The only thing that wasn’t working 100% was the integration of GPS to the navigation software called Expedition that he uses but today he reports that all of that is working reliably. Great news. So far, all is well on Dave’s road to Hawaii. — Thanks, Dave M