Our First Time Sailing Alone - with ZERO experience!

Before we get into the description for today's video, I just want to say how grateful we are for the experience with David this past winter and spring. Not a lot of adult siblings get this kind of time together and so we are grateful that our paths could cross for this experience. We wish him all the best and love him dearly.

Hope you guys are excited as we are to share in this learning process as we go from zero knowledge of sailing to hopefully enough to get us out into the open ocean successfully. It's going to be a huge learning curve, but we're really thrilled to get to do this together and share it with you. Sailing is an art form and while it's probably going to take us a decade to become masters, we're just looking forward to the day when we'll be able to get off and back on the mooring without stress hahah

Thanks for all your words of encouragement and support along the way! Penelope really is our dream home and we're so happy to be living life on the water.

Big hugs,
Dana

#boatlife #sailingaroundtheworld #liveaboard

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[blackduck]

Just a few thoughts: wear gloves: eventually you will get a rope burn without them. Two sayings that I have heard from people with more experience than me: "A running rope, like a falling knife, has no handle" (In other words even with gloves be very wary of grabbing a rope if it starts to run.) "nothing good happens fast on a boat" (slow down, don't rush, even when things are going wrong: if it's happening fast, it's not good.) If it comes to a choice between equipment and injury, sacrifice equipment every time (so drop the boat hook or the winch handle or rope, let the hull take the hit not your hand or foot)... and finally, Ego is rust for a team, it will corrode and wear and fail you: so try hard as you can to not let your egos get in between you. Mistakes are mistakes, that is all they are, not character flaws or failings. Good luck

[MrJerobona]

It is sad to see your brother go... however it was probably difficult for him to be the 3rd wheel, he did an amazing job helping you guys! Cheers to him !!!
Now, for both of you, as an older seadog, you did something very dangerous:(minute 6:39 to 6:59) NEVER, NEVER, NEVER hold a line, a rope, (running rigging) with your bare hands, always put it twice around the winch, that rope will tare your fingers or hand with an unpredictable wind... I do understand you were in a little"panic mode" ...
This is my first advice, lol.
Love you guys and wish you all the best!

[svslipaway]

Now that you are “cruisers” you can wear your dive mask while cutting onions. Loved how kind you are to each other also, cheers.

[grafja]

I'm here for the wonderful emotional maturity you two show each other. Thank you for leaving in the moments. I think your authenticity is why a lot of other viewers are here as well. A rare thing in the over-dramatized cesspool that is Youtube.

P.S. I know nothing about sailing. It'd be super cool if you could explain the terminology as you go along. I know there are a lot of sailing veterans watching as well but from their comments most of them seem nice/helpful and hopefully wouldn't mind.

[jay_hubs_]

I know this was filmed at the beginning of the month, but for the love of life!.... take sailing lessons and get signed off from an instructor before going out on your own again. It's very easy for you guys to find yourself in a very bad situation if you don't know how to avoid it all together. And without proper instruction (or training and or experience), it would be impossible to get through a bad situation if there was no other option. The high seas have no respect for any one person and does not discriminate. It is very unforgiving if mistakes are made. God bless ya'll. Keeping you in prayer.
Hopefully one day soon i will be out there on the water surrounded by the blue myself.

[AndreasDuessca]

Take cruising lessons, guys. You'll learn what the sails do, you'll learn how to anchor properly, you'll learn man overboard maneuvering and all the other things you will need to know at some point. You'll also learn to keep your thumb out of the way of the line on the winch because if it does get caught, it can get ripped off - your thumb that is. And please, wear gloves! You'll skin your hands in no time and few things hurt as much as burns in your hands.

[johnhumphries]

This is inspiring for me as a 60 something who's only just passed a day skipper and never taken a boat out on my own. My top tip would be to always wind the rope on the winch through the bottom of your fist rather than the thumb and finger side. This keeps your thumb and first finger away from the mechanism. t will stop you sticking fingers into things that can tighten quickly and should you ever get caught, you'll loose a less important finger rather than an index finger or a thumb! :-)

[svbarryduckworth]

You guys did great.

Both my wife and I used to sail wirh a sailing club and worked our way up to being instructors and skippers to be in charge of new members and students. We would even take complete newbies along on our Rasmus multiple times a week to instruct them for a couple if summers.

You guys made typical mistakes so don't feel bad. But seem already pretty advanced being able to handle your boat by yourselves. In fact I was really surprised you did as well as you did given the Rasmus is a fairly difficult boat to tack with just one sail. It gets stuck in irons REALLY easily, especially at slower speeds. Your jib must be in pretty good shape to move the boat along at 4.5 knots in 10-ish knots wind!

I can't believe you were able to complete the tack that first time. My instructor's eye saw the winch wrapped backwards as it happened and I was waiting (just like we would when teaching) for how you guys dealt with it, but I was saying "watch your fingers Lou!" when he was re-wrapping the winch. Ouch. I was afraid that the sail would pull out of your hand when the jibsheet wasn't around the winch when Lou went forward. Good that you are both wearing your PFDs, you never know when you are sailing when you need to dash to the foredeck. After sailing for years we never leave the cockpit without a PFD, and a tether when things get rough.

You guys will slowly learn but it is better to have someone along who is experienced so you don't learn bad habits that are hard to unlearn. Using the correct terminology is important too, it is hard enough to communicate out in the wind. "I think I'm going to turn now" is easy to misunderstand by the rest of the crew but when the helm yells, "prepare to tack, " and "hard alee!" Everybody knows you are tacking.

Slow is pro, especially coming into your mooring. In some more crowded fields it is really easy to overshoot the ball, even if you do catch it and swing around and contact other boats. Doing buku damage to expensive brand nnew boatsnis easy at just a touch especially when it is wavy and the boats are rocking up and down past each other as they touch. Coming in slow from downwind and stopping almost completely at the ball within reach is ideal -but easier said than done.

You guys deserve the growth in subscribers. You seem to be showing the real thing so far, good and bad. I had hoped you brother would stay with you a little longer untill you learned more sbout sailing though. Read all you can and maybe meet other cruisers who are good sailors who might bring you along or sail with you on a daysail. That is always helpful. Cruisers who had experience as club sailors have experience teaching new people. You'll run into some soon enough. Meeting other cruisers is a big part of cruising. Have you made boat cards to exchange? We've collected hundreds so far. Maybe someday we'll exhange some with you.

[MrLebro]

Thanks for keeping it real. Showing those times when it gets tough, you both put each other first. You two are gonna be just fine. Look forward to seeing the sea adventures begin.

[ProjectsinLessTime]

I loved watching you guys make a mistake, then correct it, then forgive each other. keep that mindset, you'll get better!

[CouCourtney]

It’s so special to spend time with your siblings as adults! I’m so happy you got to spend time together even if it wasn’t for as long as you planned.

[IM-dedg]

Love it. Safety first, I know you were not planning to use the main, but just to be safe, take the sail cover off before you leave, that way you can react quicker if the engine has problems. Likewise, when you come back, last thing you do is put the sail cover on. Also don’t leave the winch handle in the winch, it’s a hazard there. Winch handles are either being turned or are found in their slot; nowhere else.

[katymitchell]

I love your videos and I love how you showed a real moment of you guys having a moment of stress and showing that this is a hard task ❤️

[SweetHopeCookies]

I love how you two uplift each other and clear any misunderstandings, however small in the moment rather than letting them pile up. I know nothing about sailing but it’s a joy to watch, especially knowing how you dreamed of this adventure even when you were traveling the roads with Odie.

[ijeremyoliver]

Oh no! I was really looking forward to seeing David more.

[yourlittelsister]

I liked your brother, but i always tought that mayby it’s better to be alone ( as a married couple) on a small boat
But on the other hand..he was the one that know how to sail

[juliakulak]

I am quite surprised to hear that your brother decided to leave. He put so much work in the renovation of the boat and my understanding was that the size of the boat was influenced by the fact that you needed two 'bedrooms' rather to just one. I must say, I didnt expect him to leave you before your first sailing adventure! Anyway love the video x

[treborsivad]

It's really good to see "REAL" people on the sailing videos. I can appreciate ur honesty and rawness since I too just bought my first sailboat in July this year and have been renovating it since. Stay honest and "HUMBLE" not fake and commercialized as many turn. I stop watching others as soon as they become more about sponsors than real life sailing.
I have yet to take my boat out for the first time. I can't wait til I Finnish the work so I can experience what u just have! CONGRATS!

[kirkbaur]

You’re giving me anxiety (lol) — please show us the lessons you took later in the month with an experienced sailor. You have a wonderful asset in this boat and it will treat you well when it’s operated safely to it’s best capability. Winter is coming and you won’t want to be in New England past Oct.

[thelittlehomeaustralia]

I loved watching how you both navigated each other’s emotions with the first solo sail. You can tell you’re both used to taking care of each other and being in quite intense situations together. My partner and I built a tiny house and now live in it and I’ve noticed this ability in others who live in small spaces together xx