Revision of plans

With the August launch, I am now thinking I will do a short bit of sailing in La Rochelle to essentially sea trial the boat and then send it straight away to L'Escala. If the weather conditions allow, I still could do the 1000 mile qualifier in the Atlantic. If not, I can do the DH race to Barcelona and then do the 1000 mile qualifier on the Med course and then the Mini-Barcelona.
Ah, the fun of revising plans, at this point they are just plans though.
Next, I will be getting on with sponsorship matters. Ideally I am looking for a company which wants to increase their presence in both US and EU markets. From the media impression data, the public especially in Europe, follows Mini racing with great enthusiasm. Also, sailors are savvy enough that they understand the motivation of companies which support sailing and want to support these companies by buying their products. I think Mount Gay Rum is probably the best example of this. In recent years, Acura, Rolex, Sperry TopSider and Captain Morgan all have tested the water by supporting events or teams.
One potential challenge is that there are a few restrictions on what sort of companies can sponsor individual boats/teams. The most notable one is that sponsorships from tobacco and alcohol companies are not allowed

great pic

One of my favorite Mini pics, from the 2007 TransAt second leg start in Maderia.

Present plans for 2008

Just heard from the builder today, my projected delivery date is August, 15. This should allow me to complete the 1000 mile qualifying sail in the Atlantic and then ship the boat to L'Escala for the Mini Empuries (doublehanded) in September and the Mini Barcelona in October.
I will keep the boat in the Med through the Winter as this should afford me more opportunities to train versus having the boat in Brittany.
Also there are some early season races in Italy in 2009 that I am planning to do before heading back to La Rochelle in late April- early May 2009.

Mini Calendar 2008

http://http://www.wmaker.net/classemini/index.php?action=telechargement&startdownload=Calendrier_Courses_2008.pdf&startid=33376&classeur=

TransAt Press results

Here are the links to the 2005 and 2007 Mini TransAt Press results. The 2005 results are in English, the 2007 results are presently only available in French

2005: http://www.wmaker.net/classemini_en/index.php?action=telechargement&startdownload=2005_Transat_Press_Results.pdf&startid=18715&classeur=

2007: http://www.wmaker.net/classemini/index.php?action=telechargement&startdownload=Info_Presse_Transat_6-_50_2007.pdf&startid=31592&classeur=

completed hull plug

Deck plug just about done