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Editor’s Note: Gear Patrol asked, Kyle Westaway - founding partner of Westaway Law in New York City and reader of GP, to share his 10 day sailing excursion across the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Island of Culebra to Norfolk, Virginia.

We hope you look forward to his stories log as much as we do. Kyle will also be sharing some of the gear he’s encountering on ‘Cielo’, the vessel he’s calling home. Kyle can be reached via e-mail for any questions, words of encouragement, or thoughts. You can also visit his blog ‘Sailing Cielo’ for updates. Enjoy.

April 26 - San Juan, Puerto Rico: It was an otherwise average day in NYC, when out of the blue, I received a text from an old friend Lizz who is sailing “Cielo”, an Island Packet 40 around the world with her fiancé Kevin. They were in the process of planning out a long sail to the east coast of the U.S. from the Caribbean. Their plan called for a three-day sail from Culebra to the Turks and Caicos and then an 800-mile sail north and through the Gulf Stream to Norfolk, Virginia. The idea, Lizz wrote was to have Cielo and her crew arrive in Norfolk around the 18th of May with everybody on board and the boat in one piece.

The trip that Lizz outlined will require about 8-10 days under way… this means sailing 24/7 in the open ocean, hundreds of miles from land. A trip of this length with two people is difficult due to the sleep deprivation that results when one person is always on watch… so, Lizz and Kevin were anxious to bring on a third crew member for the voyage. Given my total lack of experience in sailing… evidently, I seemed like the logical choice.

[Look for Part 2 later this week on Gear Patrol]

Gear Highlight: 1999 Island Packet 40 (pre-owned) | $208,900