Late Pac's - Getting Qualified

[DaveH]

With the Long Pac for 2025 "finishing" with no one completing the course, the question(s) turn to:
1. How does one get qualified, and how should it be documented?
2. How can the SSS best support these efforts?

[DaveH]

First things first - per the NOR
5.8 Qualifying Cruise - the qualifying cruise can be documented in a variety of formats, including logs, GPS tracks & completed races. A pdf form will be available on Jibeset (https://www.jibeset.net/).

a. Except as provided below, within 24 months of the Race’s starting date, the entrant shall have completed a Qualifying Cruise in the entered yacht. The Qualifying Cruise shall not be less than 400
nautical miles and shall be made entirely under sail, non-stop and singlehanded. The Qualifying Cruise may be between two ports or may start and finish at the same port, provided that one turning
point is at least 100 nautical miles offshore.

b. At least one half of the qualifying cruise for a multi-hulled yacht shall be downwind

c. No Qualifying Cruise is required for entrants who completed the 2022 or 2024 SSS Pacific Longitude Race (LongPac) Singlehanded, or who completed the 2021 or 2023 Singlehanded Trans Pacific
Yacht Race in the entered yacht

FAQ's -
- does all of it need to be offshore? - not necessarily, it is permissible to set sail from a point inside the bay and count those miles; that said, don't expect the RC to accept more than about 5% inshore milage
- nautical miles vs statute miles? - it's Nautical miles, full stop; this mistake has been made on more than one occasion, don't muck it up
- how should I document it? - as mentioned, a qualifying form is available as part of the race documents on Jibeset. Yes, it is perfectly acceptable to submit a digital record (GPS or tracker link)
- Do I need all of the required equipment/liferaft/etc? - short answer is not necessarily, we are not inspecting your boat beforehand; with that said, the purpose is to test systems and come home safely. It is HIGHLY recommended that you test offshore coms, and have a shoreside contact that knows what to do/who to call if you are in need of support