Six things that annoy us about living together on our sailboat: declared, shared, compared and repaired. The court is now in session, but who won and did we learn any lessons? In our most intimate insight yet into life aboard SY Esper, we undergo self-ther...
We've been sailing on SY Esper since 2006, thousands of miles and lots of places. But after all these years it's never easy to say goodbye
🥂 PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub/ 🍻
03:38 Gaya Island - fishing platforms...
The sails are out and we are sailing! It's been a while since we had any sailing days out...
🥂 PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub/ 🍻
00:00 Sailing - day 1
03:54 Sailing - day 2
05:06 Submarine surfaces in front of u...
This is how we sail SY Esper, our Oyster 435 cutter-rigged ketch. The principles apply equally to most sail plans...
🥂 PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub/ 🍻
00:00 Sailing basics
00:43 Stowing, planning, weighing
02:0...
Theft is uncommon here, so when we catch a thief taking stuff through one of our portholes, we are shocked. Poverty and desperate times endured by many people here since lockdown in March 2020 has taken its toll...
🥂 PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund ...
Don't ever put davits on your boat, they'll ruin the beautiful lines! So why did we?
00:00 The reason why we have davits
01:09 Our davits set-up
05:52 Dinghy exploring around Dinawan island
🥂 PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.c...
One of the biggest issues with living on a sailboat is equipment failure. And it's not just video equipment like cameras and laptops which succumb to the pressure of living in a harsh marine environment, everything on your boat will fail.
Add termites, tr...
Why did the sea go orange, and is it safe to sail there?
While we're diving, someone bombed the reef...
🥂 PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub/ 🍻
00:00 Out of the marina after the storm
03:50 Scary orange water
05:56 ...
The waves were hitting two metres and a big, heavy front was making its way along the coast towards our cosy anchorage. Wind isn't the problem, it's the swell whipping around the headland you have to worry about. Jamie explains why he did not predict this ...
A last minute cancellation at the dive school meant Jamie could take the PADI Open Water Dive course with Big Fin Divers at Kota Belud. Oh yeah...
🥂 PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub/ 🍻
00:00 A new dawn, a new day
0...
What should be done with plastic rubbish? Is it OK to burn it? We discover the most plastic bottles on one beach we've probably ever seen. Since heading east from the Mediterranean and arriving in India back in 2010, we've become used to the smell of burni...
Armed with two legacy lenses, the Olympus Zuiko 24mm f/2.8 and Nikon Nikkor 85mm f2, we set off for a trek through Kinabalu Park, Borneo. Then into the valley where Jamie tested two more lenses, the SMC Takumar 28mm and f2.8 Pentax 135mm f3.5.
This stunnin...
Q. Was 2021 a good year?
A. On the whole, no. BUT it did give us some of the highlights of our cruising career.
Now it's coming to a close, we discuss plans for 2022...
🥂 PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub/ 🍻
00:00 ...
Fed up with being dicked around by hotels...
With Malaysia's state borders and Sabah's district borders open again, we set off with joyful hearts on a road trip across Borneo. But finding hotels that were ready for us or staff who gave a toss turned out ...
Welcome to Casting Off, the new video podcast series from followtheboat!
Each week we will be chatting in the cockpit about what's happened that week in real-time. And we'll answer our favourite comments about the most recent followtheboat episode, this we...
Alone at Sipadan with the whole island reef-system to ourselves, we are grateful to experience the best diving in the world. We had close encounters with sharks, turtles, schooling jacks, bumphead parrotfish, as well as thousands of reef fish and macro cre...
Casting Off is a no-frills podcast from the cockpit of our sailboat, SY Esper. We talk about what's happening in real-time, and we answer our favourite comments about the most recent followtheboat episodes. Or anything else that takes our fancy.
So, what...
What happens if you are sailing outside your country and you get injured or have an accident on your boat? Does your boat insurance cover you? Or should you take out foreign health insurance?
Hiking Kamunsu Hill at the Sabah Tea Resort through an etherea...
Our "Casting Off" video podcasts are a no-holds-barred and unedited look at sailing and travel. They are our way of keeping up with YOU in as close to real-time as possible.
This week we continue with more boating banter and balderdash. We talk about wha...
Every cruiser has niggling boat maintenance jobs which you can live with, but when you're about to make 1,000 nautical mile passage you need to attend to. Yes, you heard correctly, the countdown has begun towards our next destination...
🤙 PATREON | FTB...
"I believe you are the bravest, most courageous cruisers: adventuring across the world and below the sea, anchoring alone in coves, traveling up rivers by inflatable, enduring lightning, hiking with a broken foot, becoming infected with parasites from walk...
Every sailor will tell you that when you are preparing to cast off the lines, there is never enough time. So with mostly technical and marine systems to service before we leave, it was a pleasant contrast to watch our galley and head renovation come togeth...
If someone made us an offer, would we sell SY Esper? Find out why we have been considering selling her in this podcast...
☕ Support us on PATREON, FTBMates or the Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub/ 🍻
This week's topics:
00:00 Back to proper c...
While ticking off a few small jobs as we prepared for departure, our additional lithium batteries arrived. Hooray! This extra power boost will be useful over the next six months or so while at anchor and for running the new freezer.
🤙 Support us: PATRE...
Jamie says he HATES cats (not the furry kind, he LOVES those). But does he really? And could there ever be a time when we would buy a catamaran? Does it all come down to price? What do you think?
☕ Support us on PATREON, FTBMates or the Rum Fund - https...
Goodbye Sutera Harbour Marina, hello open seas! This is so exciting! We're off on a new sailing adventure for the first time in two years...
🤙 Support us: PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub/ 👌
00:00 Casting off the lines
...
What sailboat is best for cruising? Is it OK to cross oceans on a Beneteau, or would a bluewater cruiser like our Oyster be safer? Do catamarans make good cruising boats? And should you buy new or old?
☕ Support us on PATREON, FTBMates or the Rum Fund -...
There have been kidnappings and piracy for decades along the north and eastern coast of Sabah, so equipment failure in these dangerous pirate waters is the last thing we need.
🤙 Support us: PATREON | FTBMates | Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub...
When is the best time to tackle sailboat maintenance on passage? When something goes wrong!
Recorded yesterday and uploaded today (10th March 2022) this week's Casting Off Podcast covers a lot of ground, including our first time sailing in remote Kaliman...
For the first time in years, we are sailing with purpose.
We have a long route ahead to a brand new destination and it feels GREAT! And just to make life even better, we are sailing (not motoring), reaching some of our fastest times and Liz is catching fi...
In this podcast, we open up about cruising's dirtiest secrets, including the dangers that keep our adrenaline flowing.
☕ Support us on PATREON, FTBMates or the Rum Fund - https://followtheboat.com/pub/ 🍻
00:00 Where we are and where we are going
02...
What do you do when a deck fitting fails, especially the U-Bolt which holds down your rigging and stops your mast from falling over? Imagine you're far away from a chandlery or a workshop, at anchor in a remote place where no-one speaks your language, what...
You're in a strange place and you don't speak the language; you need help but you're isolated and running on adrenaline. Where's the fun in that?
Is it fair to bring pets or partners on board if they don't like sailing?
Are YOU a NEW SAILOR? Tell us about...
Sailing along Sabah's eastern shore was never going to be easy. Apart from some of the most dangerous anchorages in terms of piracy and a temporary repair on the rigging, we knew the going would be uphill and hard on the boat. So when we heard a loud noise...
This is NOT a podcast. Well, it is and it isn't. In this quick chat we let you in on the work it takes to create and upload our videos and admit that sometimes life gets in the way...
The episode that took Jamie a week to edit! - https://youtu.be/RkCTXaAf...
The most beautiful sailing ground we've ever found, but why does no-one sail here? The problems can only be resolved politically. So until Malaysia and the Philippines can make the area safe, it will remain an untouched gem.
🤙 Support us: PATREON | FTB...
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