The primary goal behind the Comillas49 blog is to share the journeys aboard O'Comillas with family, friends and fellow sailors around the world. We have learned so much from others that, in the spirit of comradeship, we felt it would be a good idea to document our voyages so that what we learn can be of use to others. Furthermore, as we've said in the blog before, if it helps a single person contemplating a dream to move forward and act on it, then that alone would be reward enough.

A little more about the blog. Comillas49 is divided in six sections.

• Main blog -- here is where we will be documenting daily our journeys aboard O'Comillas. For the journey across the Atlantic I'll write in English and my father will write in Spanish independently of each other. That is, what each of us writes is not a translation of the other but its own entry.
• Sailboat -- all technical stuff about O'Comillas: technical specifications, electronics, communications and autonomy. Everything you ever wanted to know should be there. If not just ask us, and we'll update it.
• Photo Log -- a photo blog with photos from the journeys
• Gear Talk -- this is perhaps the most fluid of all the sections. We intend to write about our experience with the equipment aboard O'Comillas. As an example, how did computer-automated navigation really perform day after day in the middle of the ocean?
• Weather stuff -- everything weather-related for the specific journey: a background page describing meteorology aboard the sailboat, plus pages with images for cloud coverage, waves and atmospheric pressure.
• GPS stuff -- there is an automated GPS tracking system aboard O'Comillas so that you can track where we are in our journeys.

In addition to the above sections we also have two alternate "editions" of Comillas49:

• Mobile -- this is essentially the main page of Comillas49 formatted so that it can be viewed on portable devices. This mobile edition also includes the latest GPS location of the ship.
• Sloopy -- this is a separate mini blog written primarily for my son Andrés Miguel and his first grade class for this particular journey across the Atlantic ocean. O'Comillas has one mast and is therefore a "sloop" so when thinking of a name for a cartoon to represent the sailboat Sloopy was the best I could come up with. The goal is to write brief updates at first grade reading level with large fonts so that Andrés Miguel can read for himself and for his sister. It can be reached from the side bar or by going directly to www.comillas49.com/kids

The sailboat's name is O'Comillas. To know why we named the ship O'Comillas you are going to have to read the blog since the name has a deeper meaning for my father and me and it is related to the motivation behind the first journey: a trip across the Atlantic ocean.

O'Comillas is a brand-new, fully-equipped 2003 Bavaria 49. Everything you ever wanted to know about the sailboat can be learned in the sailboat section. One interesting piece of trivia behind the sailboat is that despite its 49 designation, mostly done by Bavaria to differentiate from the prior model 50, the Bavaria 49 overall length is actually 50.6 feet. (15.43 meters, just 2 centimeters short of the 50 model)

After testing both the Bavaria 49 and Bavaria 50, we can tell you we have a fast cruising sailboat. In very simple terms, a sailboat's speed is directly proportional to its waterline length and the sails' surface area. Other factors that affect speed are the overall weight of the ship and weight distribution of the hull. O'Comillas is lighter, longer at the waterline and with more sail surface area than the Bavaria 50. It handles beautifully and is very balanced to steer. We are obviously going to talk a lot more about the sailboat as we get under way in the Ocean, but so far it looks very promising.

O'Comillas has a Spanish flag and it is owned by the Espiñeira family through an investment/chartering company in northwestern Spain.

Andrés Espiñeira Vazquez, 68 years old, captain. Dad or as my kids refer to him, Abuelo, which means granddad in Spanish. He will be the captain and cook for the Atlantic journey, the two most important Cs in any vessel. As the saying in Spanish goes: “más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo,” which means the devil knows more from being old than from being the devil. Besides, Dad is also the one with the official title to pilot a vessel up to 150 tons in international waters.
 

Andrés Espiñeira M., 37 years old, navigator and main blog writer. I probably have the broadest experience in terms of types of sailboats I've sailed over the years, have a professional background in hi-tech, and I am very familiar with latest navigation gear and electronics aboard the sailboat. Therefore, I'll be handling all of our communications, navigation, electronics, and computer needs. Specifically, I'll be gathering all the weather information and setting the course to navigate in the computer which communicates with the boat's autopilot and other equipment.

Neither dad nor I are professional sailors, but we have been sailing together since I can remember with many days aboard a 42-foot Morgan II racing sloop. We have a deep respect for the sea and are no strangers to bad weather.
 

José Manuel Aguilera, 57 years old, engineer and entertainer. Having owned motorboats and small planes, José Manuel is very familiar with engines and taking care of ships at sea. He is an old friend of the family and a welcomed addition to the team. Did I mention he has tons of DVDs and an even larger number of jokes?
 

Kristi Espiñeira, editor on land. My wife Kristi will be taking care of everything back home in Colorado during our absence and she is without a doubt the greatest partner I could have hoped for. How else could I get away with this? She will be taking care of our two kids and my mother, Manolita, while Dad and I cruise the high seas.

Kristi is also the author of the K Pasa blog and since she is somewhat familiar with Radio Userland, she will check periodically my grammatical horrors. There is no other way of describing what a non native English speaker like myself can do to the English language despite all my years in the USA. As an add-on bonus, or perhaps as a way to vent (jury still out), Kristi will also be blogging what it is like to be on the land side of this journey.