Excess Sailors Series: David prepares to sail around the world!

Welcome to our Smart Sailors Series! The place where you will find all the information you need to make your sailing dreams come true!

In this episode, we would like you to meet David, one of our Smart Sailors. He will be travelling from France to Tahiti on his Excess 11. 
 

Prior to his voyage, David prepared a very important checklist, and we’d like to share it with you. 

Technical equipment: verification

• Navigation electronics: plotters, iPad, charts, radar, AIS, VHF, auto pilot
• Electrical charging systems (solar, inverter)
• Water production and management (watermaker, tanks, pumps)
• Running and standing rigging
• Sails

Navigation

• Electronic and paper charts
• Emergency GPS with charts (iPad + cellphone)
• Iridium Go: receiving grib files, SOS settings, SMS, email
• Preparation of routing and weather choices
• Analyzing polars
• Contacts and chartlets of marinas: Cascais, Las Palmas, Martinique, Panama

Tools and spare parts 

• Check tool kits are complete
• Power tools: disc cutter and electric screwdriver
• GRP repair and lamination supplies: epoxy resin, hardener, mastic, filler
• Bilge pumps and spare water pumps, electrical relays, electrical cable
• Spare parts for routine engine maintenance (belts, impellers, filters, oils)

Sails and ropes

• Sailcloth for sail repairs
• Sail needles and palm
• Emergency lines: main halyard, code zero halyard, reefing lines, warps, Dyneema
• Ropework equipment, fids, marlin spike
• Soft shackles, sail ties, blocks, shackles, friction rings

Victuals

• Pre-prepared meals: the Bon Bag (see website): 40 individual dishes 
• A jar of Tahitian tuna cooked in coconut milk by David!
• Rice, pasta, quinoa, couscous, etc.
• Drinks: 20 liters of water, 20 liters of milk, almond milk, fruit juice
• Fruit and vegetables
• Ham, eggs, bacon, cream, yoghurt, butter…

Life on board

• Sheets and blankets + cold weather sleeping bags + fleece blankets for the departure
• Galley equipment + cutlery + dishes + storage boxes 
• Toiletries: towels, soap, toothpaste, shampoo (biodegradable!)
• Music: Bose by Excess + Spotify playlists and album downloads
• Netflix movies and series downloads
• Books and e-books

Clothing

• Offshore jacket and trousers
• Sweaters and fleeces
• Thermal underlayers
• Special Vendée Globe technical hat by Leftovers dit L/overs
• Clothes for the tropics: T-shirt, shorts, hats

Fishing, water sports, scuba diving

• Trolling rods, reels, lines, lures, hooks
• Speargun, diving knives
• Lightweight neoprene wetsuit + wetsuit for spear fishing
• Masks, weights, fins, snorkels
• Wingfoil: inflatable board, foil, wing, handle

Handover and training

• Hoisting the mainsail, reefing, code zero installation, tacking and gybing with Benoit
• Explanations concerning technical functions: engines, solar panels, watermaker, tests
• Setting up the electronics, Navionics menus, autopilot, etc.
• Installation of life lines
• Securing the dinghy, stowing it on board
• Preparing the Grab Bag for the liferaft

Administrative aspects 

• Registration of the boat
• VHF license and MMSI settings for the VHF, AIS and EPIRB
• Up-to-date vaccinations and health passes for all crewmembers
• Contact with marinas on the route, information on entry conditions to the Canaries and Martinique
• Preparation for Panama Canal transit

We know that many of you are in search of this kind of information and that many of our members have a lot of sailing experience. So, sailors, how do you prepare before going on a big adventure? What would you add to this list?