The Swim and Sip is all about fun on the water, but we can’t always be out there. Sometimes a little escapism can help get through the weekdays or temper the island fever. They say it’s better to be ashore wishing you were at sea than at sea wishing you were ashore! So if you find yourself in that very situation, load a beverage into your Swim and Sip, flip up the ballast to land mode, check our favorite blogs and video series highlighting some maritime adventures.
Blogs and Journals
Dirona Around the World is the log of a couple cruising the
world on a Nordhavn 52. This talented pair cruises, writes, and keeps Dirona in
tip top maintenance as they go around the world- while James works remotely all
the while. James has an obsession with reliability and it’s always amazing when
they dig into their spares for a repair and always seem to have exactly what
they need no matter how esoteric. They also showcase their various datalogging from
the sensors aboard and methods of accessing the yacht’s systems via the
internet. Once you get a look at Dirona’s engine room, you'll want a dry exhaust boat!
Zanshin is the daily log of Arnd, who has been singlehanding
various sailboats around the northeastern Caribbean, as well as to and from the
Chesapeake, seasonally for years. If you ever wondered what your day to day life
would be like if you could “escape it all and live on a sailboat”, this is it.
Accompanied by generally great pictures, this journal catalogs the stories of the
endless battle with rust, making friends, scuba diving, exploring, and
hurricane damage during off season storage. And you can learn a new word – Gambrinous!
Sail Cloudy Bay chronicles the adventures of a couple as
they seasonally make their way around the world in an impeccable Hallberg-Rassy
54. Glen is ever the adventuring engineer in his pursuit of high seas adventure
with humor, levity, and fastidiousness in maintenance and repairs in exotic
locations. Oana is the writer, editor, chef, and brings a note of sophistication
and refinement to the culture aboard. Their adventure is available in both blog
and YouTube form, so you can read the details live and see the sights a few
weeks later if you lose track of the blog. Yes, sailboats should have windshields.
YouTube Video Logs
DrakeParagon follows the lifelong maritime adventures of Drake, who had devoted much of his life to living, exploring, and adventuring at sea, most recently aboard a Westsail 44. The video series includes adventuring up and down the east coast, St. Martin, and the latest adventure with Monique to Greenland, Iceland, and the British Isles. The videos are a series documenting the travels peppered with interviews the interesting characters that they run across in the maritime world. One very educational video logged assisting a mechanically derelict boat by towing them a few dozen miles in high seas to Bermuda. Turns out that isn’t fun.
Parlay Revival – Documenting the travels and experiences of Colin, who purchased a Lagoon 450 that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Irma in St. Martin. He and friends made repairs to make the boat to seaworthy, cruised the eastern and southern Caribbean, made more repairs in Rio Dulce, cruised Panama, made more repairs in Panama, got quarantined in a remote part of Panama, then made even more repairs to the yacht’s bulkheads and structure before embarking on a journey across the Pacific. The rotating crew manages to keep their sense of humor despite playing whack-a-mole with boat issues.
Christian Williams is an author whose inspiration comes in large part from his sailing voyages. His passages from Los Angeles to Hawaii produce the subject matter of his delightful books that weave philosophy, boat engineering, and sailing skills together to delight the reader. The voyages are also documented in videos that capture the solitude, beauty, and challenges attendant to long distance, singlehanded sailing. If you were wondering how to make gourmet Dinty Moore stew in a rambunctious seaway, he's your guy.
59 North Sailing chronicles the travels of Andy and Mia aboard their 48’ Swan. They host instructional and experience-building charter trips in which customers can buy rides on pre-planned voyages. One highlight was their participation in the Caribbean 600. They have a beautiful boat and the video series is very informative for those interested in blue water sailing or setting up and refitting a yacht.
Superyacht Captain is a video log that gives a behind the scenes view of the operations of a 122’ Sanlorenzo. They discuss the captain and crew responsibilities, have great docking and port operations videos, and show some of the maintenance activities that go into keeping a large vessel operational. It’s basically everything that doesn’t directly involve the guests. No land shoes on the teak decks, please.
Searching for C-Shels is a video log of a couple living the dream aboard a Tollycraft 44. They travel from Canada, to the east coast and The Bahamas all the while working “real” jobs remotely. They catalog their various cruising destinations and boat maintenance activities and do a great job of capturing the beauty of the islands of The Bahamas.
Maybe one of the above can temper the island fever until the next time you can get out on the water and flip your Swim and Sip's ballast down into float mode! Or, maybe they'll inspire you to get out there on a bareboat charter of your own to get a taste of life at sea!