TransPac Passenger 1st - Gear Help Please

[Spoooner]

I've only sailed once, and am very much a novice. I have an opportunity to go from Central California to Hawaii with a friend of mine. I have little knowledge of what a voyage like this requires, and I need to buy some gear (as I will eventually sail my own boat when experienced). As anything else these days, the vast amount of options, types, and technologies is overwhelming, could those who have cruised this passage recommend low to mid budget needs for such a voyage. And will "waterproof" jackets sold for mountaineering work (as they are much cheaper, such as on geartrade dot com). I also need a life jacket with harness. The sailboat I'm going on has no lifelines, so I'm wondering if that effects the type of harness type I should get. Thanks for the helping suggestions. Also, please suggest other gear (besides clothing and lifejacket) that you would suggest I invest in.

[ohdrinkboy]

for reasonably priced weather gear">foul weather gear try Grundéns - Choose your language commercial fishermen wear them....they work and they are reasonable on the wallet.

[RUSTYNAIL]

Wow, no life lines. I would think twice before going on this boat. If you do go, wear a Personal Locator Beacon that has an internal gps and also has a strobe light. Your life must be worth $300. Good luck, it may be a trip that many sailors dream about.

[Paul Elliott]

Where are you leaving from? If it's San Francisco, the first few days (and nights) may be quite cold and wet. You will need several layers of thermal gear under your waterproof outer layer. If you're leaving from Los Angeles you can probably get away with one less layer, but it's still going to be colder at night than you expect.

You want waterproof tops and bottoms, and it's good if the pants are more like overalls so the water stays out. West Marine has some decent low-cost gear. You don't need a lot of warmth in the foulies (as long as you bring the thermal gear), and light-weight ones will be welcome when it gets hot for the second half of the trip.

Bring sunscreen, earplugs, sunglasses, and seasickness medication that you have tried before casting off.

I really like a lifejacket with a built-in harness (Mustang, Spinlock, and WestMarine make good ones), and I *strongly* recommend that you wear a proper tether and stay clipped on. If the boat has jacklines (you clip your tether to these) I suppose you can do without the lifelines. If the boat doesn't have jacklines that's a bad thing.

But I have to ask, is this boat (and skipper) properly prepared for this passage? You should look at the safety gear required by the Hawaii races (see the Pacific Cup Knowledgebase for examples). You probably don't need all of this, but you should discuss it in detail with the skipper. If you aren't comfortable with the answers, this may be a bad idea. At least have a knowledgeable ocean-sailor take a look at the boat with you.

This can be a wonderful experience with the appropriate boat and crew. What type of boat and how many crew?