As someone else said earlier I too have sailed on a
San Juan 24. They are decent lightish weight
race that would be a PITA
offshore. Thin hulled and I have to imagine there would be a considerable amount of flex pounding around in and
offshore storm. I also wouldn't want to rely on a rig that was built just a little over strong enough for dayracing offshore... I've nothing against small boats and there are plenty that are well suited for offshore passages. This however isn't one of them.
Again yes the fact that none or 1 has every done long range cruising/ circumnavigating on this model of boat does speak to its design worthiness for this use. That doesn't mean he won't make it I just question why he would choose yet anohter SJ24 after wrecking the first! Also why wouldn't you want a windvane! You could easily double your mileage in a day. Alot of this leaves me asking why, but ohwell.
At least he's out there giving it a try, I wouldn't support him in his poor decisions though. I've got enough of my own to feed
Especially as it sounds like he is asking for donations and with that the limited
budget for the serious amount of upgrades needed for a boat like this. Hopefully he makes it and is able to make some changes ect.