This afternoon, Chris and Mike used the lasercutter to mark the boards that will hold the seats at various heights. I came by after doing some work in the Aerial Robotics lab, and by the time the Design School shop closed, we had them all cut out and mostly sanded. We didn't take any pictures (not enough time), we'll post some of the completed seats... They should allow for a range of comfortable positions for sailing, paddling, resting/sleeping, etc. We need to complete the seats, leeboards, and rudder control system for this weekend, so we can go sail/paddle/camp for some practice in the boats.
Later this evening we had a good meeting at Shanghai Express, the greasiest Chinese joint on Hillsbourough Street. We talked over what gear we still need to gather and our race strategy. Right now our plan is to pick a pace we want to maintain over the length of the race (ie. 4 knots minimum 24 hours a day), and just try to make our pace. When we can go faster (under sail, etc), we'll just consider it a bonus. We think this technique will help us keep perspective during the 300 mile journey.
In other news, I've been thinking about ways to enhance our 'cool' factor for the race. Jack suggested we wear suits and ties (under our paddling gear, of course) so every time we come to a checkpoint, we look like a million bucks and psych out the competition. For a graphical representation, see figure 1, James Bond stepping out of his drysuit into a very natty dinner jacket... Anybody else have some good ideas for us?Signing off for now,
Matt
