Hi All - When we bought Tequila M the coastal / offshore racing aspect was a big attraction to the class.

The new offshore safety rules did increase the challenge to get to the start line but it was by no means insurmountable. I think we also managed to do it without negatively affecting configuration / weight for buoy racing.

We found that the most challenging requirement to meet was the masthead VHF requirement due to cost, the number of component options and the install process.

A little write up of how we went about may help you (please keep in mind this is free advice and there may be errors): https://www.dropbox.com/s/85qqkant2dhtgs7/Express%2027%20VHF%20in...

We did our first OYRA race this past Saturday and, while we were one of the only express 27's, we had an awesome time.... held on upwind to YRA SO and then while the fleet sailed the rhumb line home 2 sail reaching, we popped the chute and started hauling (albeit considerably lower than the rhumb line) and got the lift we needed coming into the gate to make some big gains and had an awesome time in the process. Not totally sure where we ended up but hopefully pretty decent.

Hope this helps

Matt Krogstad Tequila Mockingbird