The Aegean 600, 2022, was a great experience for us on Legato, before venturing in a larger transatlantic voyage in 2023/34. With a crew of four, and with very limited training due to covid etc, we sailed 5 days non-stop day and night in wind conditions abruptly changing from zero to 45 knots, and direction constantly changing.
We raced against much faster boats and much better crews, but we did manage to finish on time and with limited damage on the boat's equipment. We all got seasick at some point, and lost weight by not eating, drinking, and resting as we should.
Many useful conclusions were drawn in view of even larger races/ voyages. For example:
better clothing to repel moisture even in warm weather, more sets of dry cloths
hooks to hang wet clothing to dry after a change of watch
dry food high in protein
more electrical power needed to cope with night sailing (instruments!). The Efoy device needs better ventilation as it tends to overheat and stops working.
stronger securing of all objects in the saloon and cabins
A clip-on point on the mast, when securing reefs or other tasks
A fourth reef is needed as the third is no good over 35 knots
Familiarize with the storm jib. In fact, any equipment for rough conditions is totally useless, even dangerous, if the crew is not completely familiar with it.
Familiarize with MOB equipment. At some point one life jacket triggered due to moisture, none of us understood the -false- MOB alarm.
Nevertheless, we enjoyed some great sunsets, sunrises, sailing under full moon, and other moments. We were all proud to cross the finish line, and look forward to further adventures.
