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April 13, 2025
Sailing with Thomas – Page 4
EXPLORING SAN ANDRES – SwT 109 – BIKINI’S BEERS AND LOUD MUSIC IS MAKING THIS A BUSY PARTY ISLAND
It's not possible to ignore the fact this island is much about bikini's beers and loud music. Pretty monoton latin music in my ears and only some reggae now and then. I'm not saying it's wrong just pointing out how it is. Sailing back to the east side of S...
CLOSE CALL – SwT 110 – I RATHER SAIL IN A TROPICAL STORM
This might change the way you approach your next anchorage. I had a rough week making me exhausted being alone on my boat. Winds peaking at Tropical Storm force and never ending squalls for 5 days. Dragging boats and hard decisions to make within minutes. ...
THE VIKING STOLE ALL THE GIRLS – SwT 111 – A SOLO SAILORS SECRET (HUMOR)
In this episode I share my Viking secret how to steel all the girls, also sailing around the island back to the west side. Going snorkeling and having a great time with the Team from Sailing Sophisticated Lady. Sailing and snorkeling in beautiful waters wi...
SHALLOW OR DEEP DRAFT – SwT 112 – HOW I LOOK AT KEEL OPTIONS
Shallow draft or standard keel (deep draft) is some of my most frequently asked questions last month so I decided to share my point of view. I'm not a naval architect or engineer only a sailor, but share my experience from 4 decades of sailing. It will alw...
IS TENDER GARAGE A GOOD IDEA? – SwT 113 – MY OWN BEACH CLUB AND DINGHY DOCK
In this video, I share my experience of having a Tender Garage and a pretty generous swimming platform. Is a 55-footer too small for this solution and what's the downside? I thought it could be an idea to share this as more mass production yachts nowadays ...
THE PERFECT SETUP FOR A FUN LIFE – SwT 114 – THE SOCIAL SIDE OF BE FREE
It's not always boat work and sailing! Sometimes it's just time to be social a bit crazy and has some fun. And while trying to remake the lost episode about how to understand a mass production yacht I'm now showing you the social side of BE FREE. Unfortuna...
TIME TO RUN – SwT 115 – SHIPMENT ARRIVED AND PLANS CHANGES FAST
It's time to run! Now as I have the shipment onboard and looking at the weather it's definitely a fast decision to be made. Finally got my new anchor and sorted out the mystery with my friend's bike. Supporting friends via satellite as they suddenly are in...
HURRICANE JULIA IS COMING – SwT 116 – SAD TO LEAVE SAN ANDRES
Sad to leave San Andres and all the beautiful people I would love to spend more time with. Unfortunately, I was right the tropical storm L91 turned into a hurricane. So the only thing to do was to wrap up my things and say see you later. Normally I never b...
THIS WAS A BIG MISTAKE – SwT 117 – ESCAPING HURRICANE JULIA LAST MINUTE WITH AMATEURS ON MY SIDE
Buddy sailing with this boat almost drove me nuts. This is a great example in why I normally don't do buddy sailing. Underway I discovered more and more problems not only with their boat but also the crew. This is a serious video with no script or acting o...
I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER – SwT 118 – SHARING MY MISTAKES
This is a great example in why I normally don't do buddy sailing. Underway I discovered more and more problems not only with their boat but also the crew. This is a serious video with no script or acting only sharing the reality. The oceans don’t care if...
LIGHTNING PROBLEMS? – SwT 119 – BE FREE IS NOT SEA WORTHY AFTER MY SAIL TO PANAMA
Lots of electrical problems after my sail from San Andres to Panama. Not sure if it's a link with the lightning strike that hit the ocean behind me, but sure plausible as it now is easier to tell you what works than what's down. Hopefully, I can fix this b...
FROM SAILING TO MAKING RUM – SwT 120 – NEXT LEVEL OFF GRID LIVING
My friends have taken OFF GRID LIVING TO THE NEXT LEVEL, and are even going to produce their own Rum. Selling their boat and moving ashore into their brand-new paradise mansion in the jungle. Self-sufficient with water and electricity and soon even Rum fro...
AND I THOUGHT I HAD LOTS OF WORK – SwT 121 – BOAT WORK AND TROUBLE SHOOTING
In this episode, I have a race trying to sort out my issues with electronics and batteries, fridges and freezers, and lots of other things. Thanks to my dear friend Rick Moore on Sophisticated Lady we sorted out the worst part, and BE FREE is partly up and...
NEW ADVENTURES WITH CREW – SwT 122 – BE FREE BEAAAAACH!
After lots of trouble and hard work, it's time to have some fun! My beautiful friend, Amanda is visiting BE FREE and I even take Brian and Alisia onboard for a trip to San Blas. Lots of fun in Bocas del Toro before we wrap up our things and set off to new ...
SAILING TO SAN BLAS WITH FRIENDS – SwT 123 – SAN BLAS PART 1
BE FREE is now full of life with amazing friends that I wanna show San Blas. My beautiful friend, Amanda is visiting BE FREE and I even take Brian and Alisia onboard for this trip to San Blas. Challenging sailing with little to no wind and dodging some int...
SPOILED BY MY CREW – SwT 124 – THE SAN BLAS ISLANDS PART 2
MY CREW IS SPOILING ME! BE FREE is now full of life with amazing friends that I wanna show San Blas. My beautiful friend, Amanda is visiting BE FREE and I even take Brian and Alisia onboard for this trip to San Blas. This region is pretty exotic in many wa...
MY LAST SAIL THIS YEAR? – SwT 125 – Join My Friends on the Nordhaven 55 Motor Yacht!
Sailing to Shelter Bay Marina and docking in the dark after our trip to San Blas from Bocas Del Toro. My friends are moving off BE FREE and I'm again back to solo sailor life. A bit sad as we have had such a great time together, but at least I'm not on a s...
THIS IS INSANE! 17,5 kWh Lithium – SwT 126 – FIXING MY PROBLEMS AFTER THE LIGHTNING STRIKE
3 Weeks of hard work here in Shelter Bay Marina in Panama sorting out my electrical problems and even upgrading my power storage to 17,5 kwh. If this is a new world record for express refit upgrades and rebuilds after a lightning strike I don't know. But b...
SAILING AGAIN – SwT 127 – TEST SAIL AND VISA RUN TO SAN ANDRES
How could I possibly start the new year in a better way than doing a test sail and visa run to San Andres. Also getting the chance to test my new anchor at some of the most challenging anchorages in the Caribbean. I met a very sweet Dutch girl in Shelter B...
BACK IN SAN ANDRES AFTER THE HURRICANE – SWT 128 – Submarine and Surfing in San Andres!
I'm back in San Andres after running away from the hurricane and in this episode, we show you our full-throttle tourist experience above and below the surface around San Andres Island. Going out with a semi-submarine and snorkeling with lots of fish, renti...
SAILING TO PANAMA – SWT 129 – SAN ANDRES TO BOCAS DEL TORO
Some great sailing this time from San Andres to Bocas del Toro in Panama. BE FREE is flying over the Caribbean in choppy waves and my new friend onboard is enjoying this fast sailing. We found a good weather window sending us the fast track south to Panama...
BOARDED BY CUSTOMS IN BOCAS – SWT 130 – IS BOCAS NO LONGER PART OF PANAMA?
In this episode, we were boarded by the customs at anchor. What can you bring and what can you not bring into Panama? When trying to check in we were told to go back to BE FREE and be in quarantine until we were cleared... The Customs was actually quite po...
EPIC WAVES – SWT 131 – SAILING EAST FROM BOCAS TO COLON
Sailing from the west towards the east in the Caribbean is always an interesting exercise, Especially after weeks of strong winds. The shallow waters of Bocas del Toro make it sometimes quite a challenge to leave as the waves can be pretty nasty. Again BE ...
BE FREE getting a scrub
Cleaning day after paying the Panama Canal
NO MORE SAILING SOLO? SwT 132- Big Changes in my plans
In this episode Im sharing some news with you that will change my planned Pacific crossing. The transit fee is paid and the transit is finally scheduled and we do have a date. After quite some time with Gee onboard Im happy to share with you guys she is jo...
POPULAR PACIFIC CROSSING YACHTS – SWT 133 – Which type of boats are crossing the Pacific in 2023
In this episode Im sharing some news with you that will change my planned Pacific crossing. The transit fee is paid and the transit is finally scheduled and we do have a date. After quite some time with Gee onboard Im happy to share with you guys she is jo...
HOW LUCKY AM I? – SWT 134 – Gee is back and found a second hand RADAR!!
In this episode we are unbelievably lucky to get our hands on an identical second hand radar as the broken one. What’s the odds for that? We are also celebrating Gee’s birthday and having fun with our beautiful neighbors. One step closer for the canal ...
Can we fix this?
Teaser for episode SwT 135 being released 24 of march 2023 #sailingadventure #yacht #travel #outboard #yamaha #enduro #aroundtheworld
HAPPY IT HAPPENED HERE! – SwT 135 – LAST MINUTE CHALLENGE BEFORE THE PANAMÁ CANAL
Just as a cliche it’s always something we found out at the last minute our outboard has some serious problems. Outboard problem might not sound very bad at first glance but remember our dinghy is our car, and BE FREE is our house. When transiting the can...
A DREAM CAME TRUE – SWT 136 – CROSSING THE PANAMA CANAL – FINALLY!
Finally, BE FREE is crossing the PANAMA CANAL! A lifelong dream came true when crossing the canal and entering the great Pacific ocean. It's almost unreal and such a great experience after so many setbacks and hard work. But now we are happy to share our P...
THE WORST DINGHY DOCK EVER – SWT 137 -WE FINALLY GOT STARLINK ONBOARD AND PREPARING FOR THE PACIFIC
We finally got our StarLink delivered as some of the last-minute shipments before we set sail into the pacific. Our dinghy was almost destroyed after using the worst dinghy dock ever and experienced some challenges with the huge difference in tidal waters ...
A day in our life.
Sharing a day in our life from BE FREE in Panama #aroundtheworld #yacht #sailingadventure #sailing
TABOGA ISLAND – Panama City
This beautiful little gem is just outside the canal entrance at the Pacific side of Panama.
Emergency repair Shower head
Sometimes some creativity is needed. Especially if anchored far from stores or civilisation. At least we finally found the fresh water leak making the pump running now and then. When it snapped we had no other choice than to come up with a solution. This w...
