This week, we continue cruising the Bras d’Or Lakes, bringing Arabella from Macnabs Cove to Baddeck…with a lovely stop at Pellier Harbour on the way.
Robin was able to get some more experience with hoisting and lowering all four of Arabella’s sails,...
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EPISODE 227
In this episode we sail Tally Ho South, on her longest offshore passage for several decades!
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Navigation Software - h...
This week, with the woods ban still in place, we decide to hightail it to Newfoundland via the Bras d’Or Lakes. We’re itching to get climbing, hiking and biking again!
Before we start sailing north, I took the time to do something that’s been on my ...
This week, we’re still anchored in Terence Bay, Nova Scotia…and the ban on the outdoors is still in effect. Never in a million years did we ever expect to be wishing for rain in order to go rock climbing, hiking, and mountain biking.
Despite our disap...
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EPISODE 226
In which we are joined by our new crew members (including some familiar faces), we leather the mast hoops and blocks, we upgr...
If you can remember, back when I started this project, I was working full-time as a route setter at a local rock climbing gym. I largely set climbing aside while I built Arabella, but my goal has always been to sail Arabella to remote places where the clim...
This week, I move the boat and drop anchor in Terence Bay—which is surrounded by some of Nova Scotia’s best climbing areas. But Robin is still making her way back to Canada with the truck and all of our climbing gear. My rock climbing stoke will have t...
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EPISODE 225
In which I mount a Starlink dish on top of a radar (against everybody’s advice), we sail off the anchor and all the way to ...
You can still contribute to the fight against cancer at https://profile.pmc.org/bf0201
This week, we map out our passage from Shelburne to Lunenburg, NS, making sure to follow a route safely offshore enough to avoid the many shoals and exposed rocks on th...
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EPISODE 224
In which I have to repair the hybrid-drive, Marit returns to the boat, and we sail (with topsails!) into the beauty of Desolat...
This week, we’re taking Arabella international—we’re sailing from Provincetown, MA to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. But, before we go too far, we need to calibrate our NEW Pelagic autopilot. After our autopilot broke a few hours into our last multi-day off...
This week, we're getting our homebuilt wooden boat ready for her first international passage. Sure, it’s just to Canada, but to us, it’s a big deal!
First up is finishing work on the bowsprit. I needed to get the bow out of our bronze bow roller befor...
It’s Arabella Demolition Day, folks! This week, I’m dismantling our on-deck nav station and engine control panel, and rebuilding one big station to house all of our gadgets and gizmos: the chart plotter, wind reader, VHF radio, engine controls, and our...
A calm morning in Marion Harbor makes for the perfect day to deal with the rot I found in Arabella’s bowsprit while we were back in Miami. What I thought was just a small spot of rot turned out to be a bit bigger than I had imagined—an indication that ...
This week, we’re setting out for a 4-day offshore run from Norfolk, VA back to Mattapoisett, MA—where we launched Arabella almost two years ago to the date! Our good friend George joined us for the passage.
We learned an expensive lesson about securi...
Work on the dodger may be done, but before we can leave Okracoke, we need to install our new Garmin GMI20. The last one died halfway through our passage from Miami to Beaufort, and we had a replacement unit sent to the Okracoke post office. Despite our bes...
This week, Arabella makes her way to Ocracoke Island, at the south end of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Robin and I have been looking forward to visiting the Outer Banks, and maybe exploring long-abandoned Portsmouth Island.
With winds expected to pipe ...
After our offshore run, I promised Robin that I would wait for her in Beaufort so she could see the wild horses on Carrot Island, explore the shops in downtown Beaufort, and visit the Outer Banks before our run back North. While waiting, I tackle some boat...
This week, the journey resumes on day three of our offshore sailing passage from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC. Along for the journey was my old college buddy, Dave, and my new friend, Jesse, who we met in Key Biscayne.
On day 2 of our passage, we brought a M...
This week, we’re getting ready for a 600-mile offshore passage from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC. Before we set sail, I took the chance to get some boat work done: scrubbing and oiling the decks, smoothing out the battens so they don’t get stuck in the la...
This week, we start with a visit from the one and only Sam Holmes—a real, actual sailor! Sam regales us with tales of suffering and single handing his sailboat, and gives us some advice for the passages in our future. If you’re not already following hi...
You know what they say: “BOAT” stands for “Break Out Another Thousand.”
While we were anchored in the Dry Tortugas, I got our Spectra watermaker back online. This week, back in Key West, we’re troubleshooting an issue with the feed pump pressure...
This week’s video resumes in the Dry Tortugas, where we’re stuck on finding a solution for installing our auto helm. But that can wait…first, fishing! Our bait attracted a few good-sized Nurse Sharks and Goliath Groupers, putting on quite the show fo...
In this episode, we sail Arabella over to the clear, blue waters of the Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles west of Key West. Starting from the Ten Thousand Islands, we hit Key West for provisions, hot showers, and to pick up the parts we need to get our ...
In this week’s episode, we say goodbye to Sanibel Island and the beautiful “Ding” Darling Wilderness, and we set sail for Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands, an archipelago just north of and adjacent to the Everglades.
It felt great to raise the sails...
Along our journey south, we decided to drop the anchor in North Captiva and stay a few days. We totally fell in love with this sleepy island town. From walking along the shell-covered white sand beaches to checking out the wildlife, there was so much to lo...
We took Arabella to Boca Grande for a week to get some boat work done...but we had to spend some time adventuring, too.
We paddle boarded over to Three Sisters Island, took Victoria out sailing (after repairing her transom), wandered around the "Old Flor...
Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code ARABELLA at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/arabella
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We’ve sailed our beautiful wooden sailboat all the way from Maine to Boca Grande, where ...
Four months ago, we left Maine on our hand built wooden sailboat. Join us in Southwest Florida, as we adventure our way through Cabbage Key and Cayo Costa.
We set out on paddleboards to find the elusive "Tunnel of Love," a natural mangrove tunnel that lea...
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Become a Patron; http://www.patreon.com/sampsonboatco
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EPISODE 214
In this episode we identify and fix the problem that led to a binding rudder, although we are left with some unanswered questi...
Use this link to subscribe and save $20 off your first subscription of AG1 https://drinkag1.com/acorntoarabella
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This week, Arabella exits the Caloosahatchee River and sails towards the Gulf of Mexico, dropping anchor in Cape Cora...
We spent 4 days cruising the Okeechobee Waterway in our handbuilt wooden sailboat, and this is what we saw...
🎥 Watch the full episode - https://youtu.be/jQGzQfXn3Es
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EPISODE 213
In this bonus episode I address some questions which have been asked a lot recently;
What exactly is left of the original Ta...
Join us (and a tree full of pelicans) as we begin cruising east to west on the Okeechobee Waterway. Not many sailboats our size have the ability to cruise the Okeechobee Waterway. Because we are gaff-rigged, our masts are shorter, giving us the clearance w...
This week, we continue cruising the Intracoastal Waterway down the east coast of Florida. We miss sailing, but offshore waters were calling for sloppy seas and light winds. With few safe harbors to duck into in the case of emergency, we decided to stay gro...
Throughout the process of building my own wooden sailboat, I had to make several important decisions. Some of these decisions were met with massive support, others…not so much. One important consideration was marine diesel engine maintenance—I wanted i...
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