KIRSTEN NEUSCHÄFER GGR 2022 MAY NEWSLETTER

Hello and Happy Spring!

The refit is progressing well. Kirsten and Eddie continue to work around the clock to get Minnehaha ready to hit the water as soon as possible.

Click HERE for a glimpse into Eddie's machine shop, as he fabricates the chainplates in his workshop. If you have been following Minnehaha’s refit from the start, you will remember that we rebuilt the bulwarks. The original chainplates were attached to the bulwarks, but in order to make Minnehaha's rig as strong as possible, we have decided on external chainplates. These chainplates were custom-designed for Minnehaha, by Thomas Degremont, Langan Design Partners.

Eddie then had them cut out of 1/2" 316 stainless steel with laser. The rough cuts, however, require a lot of refining. Eddie counter-sank the bolt holes, made chamfers and took the rough edges off. Thereafter it took a lot of grinding and polishing (Kirsten had the privilege of being the polish monkey). See the difference between rough cut stainless steel, and the refined, polished chainplates! The smooth surface is not only for aesthetics, but also will prevent the stainless from oxidizing.

This is just the first stage of polishing. There will be more polishing after they have been bent to fit the curvature of the hull and the angle of the rig. We have now temporarily had to remove a few shelves and some of the trim in the interior, so that we can fit the backing plates, which Eddie is currently fabricating. He has also done glass work reinforcement where the backing plates will be, and no doubt, Minnehaha will be rock-solid! As always, this is another master job by Eddie - and we could not wish for a more talented and meticulous person to do this crucial work!

Partnership News:

SCIPIO SA has joined the KirstenGGR team! We are honored to have them as an official sponsor and look forward to flying their logo! A very big thank you to Mark Daniels for his enthusiasm and encouragement in supporting Kirsten in this incredible sailing challenge, as well as to Ana Rieben and Pino Cipriano.

Recent Press:

At the beginning of May, Kirsten was fortunate to have her story shared by the CBC. Thanks to Brian Higgins for taking an interest. The full interview can be read HERE.

We are also thrilled to be getting an increasing amount of international press. Many thanks to Jan Maas from Segel Reporter for their recent German language interview!

The PEI Journal Pioneer has been very supportive ever since Kirsten arrived late last year. Be sure to read their recent update which also discusses a fundraising dinner that former Summerside Mayor Bill Martin has graciously organized along with the help of Arleigh Hudson and many others. Please see below for additional event info.

**Sold Out PEI Fundraising Event:

On Saturday May 29th, the Kirsten Neuschafer Fundraiser Dinner will be held at the Credit Union Place (CUP) in Summerside. Sailing enthusiast Bill Martin, former Mayor of Summerside and owner of Water Street Bakery took the reins in organizing the event. The evening will include a three course dinner by Chef Emily Wells, a complimentary Goslings Dark ’n Stormy courtesy of Alan Burland and Musical Entertainment.

With the assistance of CUP Client Services Manager, Chantal Delaney, a detailed COVID Operational Plan was approved by the Province that allows for 120 people to attend. Within two weeks of announcing, the event sold out with a waiting list. Strict protocols will be in place to ensure a safe, fun and relaxing event. Bill is a highly respected leader in the community through many business and volunteer endeavors. His contributions to the KirstenGGR team journey have directly resulted in the creation of a strong community of support as she moves on to the next leg. Thank You Bill!

Over the course of the next few newsletters we will be introducing the full team behind Kirsten’s campaign. Team KirstenGGR is comprised entirely of friends, former co-workers and people in the sailing industry, who believe whole-heartedly in Kirsten’s journey.

Team KirstenGGR General News:

Alan Burland, one of Kirsten's advisors, was heavily involved with assisting the organizers of the recent SailGP event in Bermuda. Despite COVID restrictions, Bermuda came through - the sailing was spectacular, and athletes and support groups stayed healthy due to very strict protocols, with each team kept in tight bubbles. This was the first SailGP Race of the 2021 season with other events planned in Europe this summer. Here's a link to Day 2 and the finals which can be viewed by clicking HERE.

Team KirstenGGR Advisory Committee:

Alan Burland is a Professional Engineer and is currently the President of Bermuda based companies, BCM McAlpine, BeSolar and Bermuda Engineering Ltd. Alan is the co-founder of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation which offers a variety of STEM based expeditionary experiential learning opportunities for youth in Bermuda. Alan also is a founding director of the Bermuda Maritime Academy.

In 2011, Alan was awarded the MBE by the Queen for his commitment to Community Development and in 2017 was awarded the Queen's certificate of Honor for the successful delivery of the America's Cup. An ardent sailor, Alan competed in the Olympics in 1984 for the Bermuda National Sailing Team. Alan and his son Travis own and operate Green Island Getaways in Prince Edward Island, a special event venue focused on sustainable design and operations.

Langan Design Partners is a yacht design and naval architecture firm based in Newport, RI, and run by two partners – Sam Howell and Tom Degremont.

The firm has been involved with a wide variety of projects: high-performance sailboats, custom blue-water yachts, traditional sail-training vessels, and production and custom motor yachts of all sizes. The common theme is to work collaboratively with clients and partners to design vessels that will deliver exciting, safe, and meaningful experiences on the water.

We're delighted to have professional, top-notch, naval architects on board this project, giving us guidance in a multitude of different fields, such as rigging, chainplate design, polars, VPP'S and in any other design- and architectural questions.

Skip Novak is widely considered the world's pre-eminent authority on polar sailing. He has a wide range of achievements including four Whitbread Around the World Races and co-skippering the 33-meter catamaran Innovation Explorer in 2001 millennium ‘The Race’ – a nonstop circumnavigation that took 64 days. Overlapping his racing career in 1987 he built the Pelagic, a steel cutter, giving him the opportunity to explore the southern high latitudes and explore his other passion, exploratory mountaineering. In 2003 he launched the 74 foot Pelagic Australis and has conducted adventure charters and logistic support operations in the far south (the BBC and Nat Geo among many others) for over 30 years, as Pelagic Expeditions.

Larry Rosenfeld is currently working with Offshore Multihull Association (OMA) with development of MultiRule. He is co-founder and Executive Director of Team Adventure Education Foundation. He is also navigator on Team Adventure in The Race Around the World 2001, navigator for World Records: LA-Hawaii and SF-Japan on GERONIMO and navigator on race boats spanning 40+ years, 25 Bermuda Races. Larry has done voyages in the Southern Ocean to Antarctica, Shackleton Traverse, Cape Horn. He is the founder and CEO of Concentra Corp, sold to Oracle in 1998. He is an active Investor and board member in telecom, healthcare and other ventures.

A note from Kirsten:

“The community support has been incredible, and there are so many people I owe thanks to - not only for financial and logistical support, but for all the encouragement. It is a huge vote of confidence!

An anonymous donor sent an envelope with a generous amount of cash in it, with a simple note saying: “For electronics”. Thank you, if you’re reading this! And thank you to all those generous donors who have been sending contributions via GoFundMe and PayPal! Without these, this project would not be able to continue in the steady manner that it is, and all contributors are, in the truest sense, part of this journey!

I would also like to thank Peter Arsenault for donating his time and skill to do the interior painting and caulking on Minnehaha, and for being so supportive of this project. His paint-work is immaculate: he does not even need to use masking tape - his strokes are clean and swift, and the result is remarkable! Thank you, Peter - the interior looks really cheerful, and I’ll have a lot of time at sea to admire it!

Also, thank you to Patricia Richard, Lenny Gallant and Albert Arsenault for spending a couple of hours with me on Minnehaha, to take top-quality photos for the GGR media requirements. I generally tend to be somewhat camera-shy, but there was so much laughter and good energy on this shoot, that it turned out to be a really fun evening - and I got to meet some of Prince Edward Island’s finest musicians and subsequently discover some of Lenny Gallant and Patricia Richard’s music. Truly an honor!

I would like to thank the Summerside Yacht Club for inviting me to come and do a presentation for their members last Thursday evening. Thank you to all the members who were present, and for all the generous contributions and the interest in this project, as well as the generous gift from the Yacht Club!

As usual - my ongoing gratitude to Eddie Arsenault, who is doing his best to keep working on the Minnehaha refit, even though it is a very busy time of year for him, and he is much in demand to do urgent work for many of his other clients. He somehow just manages to juggle things, make the time and work really hard to keep everything moving forward. Thank you, Eddie!

Bill Martin’s energy in organizing the fundraiser dinner next weekend has been phenomenal, and the fact that the event has sold out, goes to show how strong the support here on Prince Edward Island is! I am truly honored to be here, on this incredibly beautiful island, where I have been treated with so much kindness and generosity, and have received so much support and encouragement. I could not wish to be doing this refit anywhere else, and count my lucky stars that the wind and circumstance blew me this way!”

If you would like support Kirsten’s journey please visit her GoFundMe account or contribute directly via PayPal.

You can also contribute by heading to the Kirsten GGR merch store. All profits from the shirts and hoodies go to funding Kirsten’s race preparation.

Kirsten is one of two South Africans participating in the Golden Globe 2022, and currently the only female entrant. Kirsten has been sailing dinghies since her childhood, but sailing since 2006 as a profession. From sailing training to sailboat deliveries, she built a diverse set of skills and experience. In 2015, she began working for Skip Novak on his Pelagic Expeditions to South Georgia, The Antarctic Peninsula, Patagonia and the Falklands. She currently skippers “Pelagic” a fifty-foot sail boat owned by the legendary Skip Novak.

About the race: The Golden Globe Race 2022, a solo, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation. This retro race is based upon the first solo circumnavigation race that took place in 1968. In order to stay true to the original circumnavigation, boats are all older designs, no bigger than 36 foot- and modern navigational technology, like GPS, is not permitted. Instead she will be depending upon her skills in celestial navigation and dead reckoning. The route for the race is France, down the Atlantic, east-about the Southern Ocean, and back up the Atlantic to France- an approximate distance of 30,000 nautical miles and anywhere from 7 to 9 months or more at sea.