One of the most critical pieces of equipment for making a trans-pacific crossing is a life raft, in the event our home capsizes in the middle of the largest ocean on Earth. This is mandatory equipment for offshore sailing and significantly increases our chances of survival in an emergency.

Storms are a plenty on the open seas, and being prepared to navigate through them requires a set of special sails small enough to prevent the wind from overpowering a vessel. These extra durable "storm sails" are trimmed to a specific size and are meant to endure the ultimate force of a hurricane. These are something offshore sailors do not leave port without.

The trans-pacific crossing from the Americas to Australia is largely a downwind sail. For ideal sailing, generally a special type of sail is used called a spinnaker. This is a very important piece of equipment for sailors in light winds to make forward progress. Without one, the journey could be significantly extended, which poses the risk of running low on food and water rations, or being chased by the start of hurricane season. Spinnakers are also some of the most charismatic sails out there!

Keeping in the deck tidy of messy rope will help us prevent slipping and falling overboard.

This sea anchor can be used to ride out a moderate storm while in the middle of a long passage, or let us take a break while underway without being blown too far off course.

In a man-overboard (MOB) situation, crew can be equipped with a personal locator beacon to reduce searching time and strongly. Likelihood of survival during an MOB decreases drastically with every minute, as does finding an MOB.

Before sending off for months at sea, treat the lovely couple to their last spa day on land. Their last shower. Their last luxury before weeks of salt and stink. :)

This will help keep us onboard in rougher seas! Very important to have for offshore sailing!

This is a throwable pole to help mark a man-overboard crewmember. Anything and everything to help with retrieving crew from an MOB situation is encouraged to have onboard during passage.

There will be an unbelievable amount of trips we will need to make to west marine for repairs and upgrades to SV Allegra to prepare her for an offshore passage. A gift card is honestly one of the best gifts for us to reduce the stress of an unexpected expense! It happens so often that West Marine is nearly our second home! West Marine is literally our Home Depot, our Walmart, and our HomeGoods!

As we slip off the dock lines and cruise to our next destination, we will need an emergency means for getting to and from shore.

While sailing offshore, tethering in is a mandatory exercise to keep all passengers from falling overboard. The likelihood of locating a man-over-board in rough seas is sparse. To mitigate this risk, having a safety tether to help keep us aboard if the vessel takes a wave is essential.

There's no way around it, manning the helm involves hours of sitting on hard fiberglass benches. We've had our eyes on a couple of these seats to make helming far more comfortable!

When at anchor, we use an anchor system to reduce the shock of the pitching boat on the deck hardware and on the anchor line itself. A bridle will help us sleep more soundly while at anchor, knowing the risk of floating away or washing up on shore is notably reduced.

A lovely board game to pass the time on passage will definitely help the crew maintain our sanity. :)

Having a reflector is critical to prevent being hit by large cargo ships and other vessels while at sea in limited visibility conditions, such as during a storm, at night or in heavy fog. Being hit by a cargo ship is not uncommon for small vessels passing through shipping lanes.

Great for cooking freshly speared fish off the back deck while anchored in paradise! :)