[Rhodes22-list] Are there any cruising trips this summer?

[Allyn Baskerville]

Last post for the night. We've been wanting to take the Rhodes somewhere this summer, and we were wondering if there were any other events like the Texas 200. I just learned about that, and it's probably too late to sign up, plus I don't think my boat will be ready to sail by then because of the forestay breaking. We live in Oklahoma, so that location would be ideal, plus I'd like to get out in the gulf. Our little lake is a circle with about a 9 mile circumference.

We have close to 0 experience sailing in the ocean - I've been out with my son (lives north of Miami, FL) a couple times on his Bayfield 32, but that's been it. Is it too risky to pull the Rhodes to Miami and sail to the Bahamas? What about sailing around the Florida mini-loop?

I've been working on a project that I think will be useful for some trips like these.  I recently installed a depth transducer, a radio with AIS receiver, and a VHF antenna on the top of my mast that supports AIS. I have a wireless NMEA 0183 multiplexor that still needs installing (sitting in a closet), and I need to purchase and install a GPS antenna with the NMEA interface. This won't take long to wrap up, but ultimately it will connect to my iPad running Navionics. I think it should work, and this has been a fun project to design. We have a lot of projects going on at the house, so I work on this when I can (meaning early weekend mornings). Is there any other electronics or hardware that I need to consider? The boat is pretty basic - no frills, and I don't have the mast crutch or winch yet, but that will happen soon.

Good night all. Allyn