The table below is a list of the significant tasks that I had to accomplish prior to leaving on the Atlantic Circle cruise in 2005.  Some of these tasks were dependent on or are part of the planned upgrades to Sarah.

Project Task Task Description Status
220v/50hz Shore Power The onboard AC electrical system, currently wired for 110v/60hz N. American power, will have to accommodate the 220v/50hz shore power available in Europe (and most of the rest of the world).  Many of the AC electrical devices carried on board or installed on Sarah (refrigeration, air conditioning, water heater, battery charger) can probably work with 50hz power, but cannot handle 220 volts.  While in Europe I will want to be able to bring on board electrical devices designed for the European power system.  Sarah currently has two sources for AC electrical power - the shore power receptacle, and the 4.5kw Northern Lights generator. My plan for accommodating European mains power on Sarah has been documented on my European Shore Power Plan page.

The basic task is complete and I have been connectting Sarah to European shore power since we arrived in Horta, Faial at the end of July, 2005.
Cooking Gas In the US the standard for bottled cooking gas is propane.  Although our beloved government forced us to replace perfectly safe valves on all of our old propane tanks this year (2003), we can at least count on a single standard for connecting those tanks to our on board delivery systems.  In Europe I do not expect to find such a simple and consistent standard.  First, the standards in Europe are split between Butane and Camping gaz, propane is a distant third to these formulations.  Secondly the European tank connectors are not compatible with my US connectors, and they vary between and within European countries.  I thought the Euro standards were supposed to take care of this. Have purchased just about all of the adapters offered in the U.S. via the West Marine catalogue.  Also purchased an additional high pressure hose that I can adapt to the various European tanks and connectors.

Jack & Patricia Tyler have documented their experiences using European gas sources in the Whoosh section of this web.

As of Nov 1, 2005 I have refilled my NA LPG tanks twice in Europe.  Once in Horta, where MAYS is set up to handle the NA valves.  The second time was in Cascais, Portugal, where the local marine service agent had an adapter made for my tank so future fill ups in Cascais for NA boats should not be a problem (if not a bargain).

Finally in early July, 2006 anchored off the island of Mallorca in the Balearics the last of my Cacais fuel in my tanks ran out.  I am now running on Camping Gaz bottles that don't quite fit in the locker.

I do not have enough fittings to make up a hose to allow me to transfer the Camping Gaz from the little blue bottle to my aluminum propane tanks.
Solent Stay Sarah has the standard ketch rig offered by Pearson Yachts in the late 1970s.  This rig provides for a large 135% roller furled Genoa on the forestay, a fully battened mainsail and a fully battened mizzen sail.  Although this sail plan is not very efficient for inshore sailing, the relatively short distances sailed on in shore cruises means there is no severe penalty for that inefficiency.  On extended off-shore cruises this inefficiency may become more important.  The are two aspects of this inefficiency that I hope to address with the installation of a Solent Inner Stay.
bulletLimited sail area for light air, off the wind sailing.
bulletInability to bring the sail center of effort in board in heavy weather conditions.
 I have set up a separate page to cover the design and installation of the Solent Stay.

The mast and deck fittings are in place as of March 13, 2005.  The stay sail was made by Mack Sails of Stuart, FL and completed on April 15.  I also had Mack Sails modify the ATN Storm Jib to add hanks so it can be set on the Solent Stay.

After all these preparations, as of Nov 1, 2005 I still haven't flown in this sail in anger.  There still a few riggng changes necessary to make the sail more effective and these should be completed by March, 2006.
Ham License I need to get my General Ham License to take full advantage of the HF radio resources available to cruising sailors.  I have a SSB radio installed on Sarah with access to the Ham frequencies as well as the TNC interface for a PC modem.  I can't use those frequencies until I have at least a Technician License. I successfully completed the element 3 exam (General Class License) on April 2, 2005.  My HAM license is KI4JKD.  I have begun using Winlink services and have started to monitor the various HAM nets.

The Atlantic Crossing on Sarah in 2005 was my first real opportunity to make use of the SSB on a voyage.  Many of my assumptions about the installation and the use of the radio have changed since I departed on that voyage.  Most of what I learned is documented in the Lesson Learned page for the Atlantic crossing

The www.svsarah website has been republished in a new format.  All of the old pages have been copied to the new format.  I've started to provide re-direct links from the old pages to the new ones.