
Oh, I'm not talking about crispy new sails or all those lovely electronics that had to be re-purchased after they failed their swim test in February.
Nuh uh. I'm talking fashion.
For instance, the bedazzling of Spawn.
The nice UPS folks delivered a big fat roll of super reflective tape last week –– the kind favored by firefighters and highway road-signs –– which I have been slathering all over Spawn and her crew's gear...Ooooh, sparkly!
A strip on the transom, check. A matched pair at the bow, check. Stripes at the mast-tip, boom end, and at neatly spaced intervals on the racks. Check, check check. Dots on the dry-suits, dots on the life-jackets, ovals on the trapeze harnesses. And of course, wide bands at the end of the oars. The phrase "lit up like a Christmas tree" drifts to mind.

Photos don't do justice to the racing shirt's DayGlo spectacularity. Think prison jumpsuits. Think highway construction workers. Think Bananarama! in 1985.
Thanks to Carol at CDM Gifts who did the sublimation printing. (Sublimation printing is the process that allows for quick and permanent printing on polyester. Kind of amazing.) And why would I want polyester? In a word, sun protection.
And thank you Leslie Fisher at Masthead Enterprises for connecting me with Carol!
The Spawnsters each have a nifty embroidered ballcap from kindly supporter Ned J., who reads the blog from Maine when he can't be sailing in warmer climes. They are even personalized with our WaterTribe names! Thank you, Ned and Anne!
There's also an array of functional accessories, such as waterproof bags and, notably, bailing devices. We scrounged empty laundry detergent containers, modified them with a handy survival knife (required by the Everglades Challenge rules –– for good reason!), and then did a bathtub test. Gain turned out to do the best job at conveying a gallon of water from one place to another. The bathtub remains pleasantly scented and untroubled by static cling. |

They will have granola bars, breakfast shakes, hearty meat rolls, and homemade goodies like beef jerky and these cashew-dried-cherry dark chocolate bars.
...Assuming they remember to fuel the machines. All three are what dog-training professionals would call "Not food motivated."
Spawn might be ripe for a closet makeover.
Is there an HGTV show with this as the topic? How first-worldy a problem is that?