Explore the world through sailors’ YouTube channels
Issue 113: March/April 2017
More and more sailors are capturing their exploits and adventures on video and sharing those videos online. Still photos are great, but even from your armchair you feel much more involved in the action when you laugh along with a crew relaxing in a remote anchorage or duck reflexively to avoid the green water that’s washing over a cockpit and blasting onto the camera lens. Among the many video biographies to choose from, you can join sailors soloing around the British Isles, exploring the high latitudes, selling everything and moving aboard, or building a bluewater sailboat. What’s more, you can enjoy these videos whenever you want and at no charge (although many sailors who post their videos accept donations through Patreon or Paypal to help defer production costs).
YouTube is the place you’ll find most sailing videos. Sailors who post videos repeatedly often use professional elements like captions and soundtracks and quality narration and usually set up a personal YouTube channel, creating a home page where all that user’s posted videos can be easily accessed. As a viewer, you can subscribe to channels you like. As a subscriber, you can choose to receive notifications (via your account or via email) when a new video is published on that channel.
Subscribing to any number of channels is free, but you must have a YouTube account to do so (and you don’t have to subscribe to watch videos on a channel). If you don’t have a YouTube account, getting one is also free — and easy. Simply create an account from the YouTube website using any email address.
Note that, because YouTube is under the Google umbrella, anyone who has Google account of any kind can automatically gain access to a YouTube account by signing in with the same email address and password. A Gmail email address is an example of a Google account.
I’ve subscribed to one channel for eight years and enjoyed ever episode. I currently subscribe to 13 sailing channels. Of the many to choose from, I describe here seven of the channels I enjoy. To find any one of them, simply search YouTube by the name of the channel.
Salt & Tar
Somewhere along the Columbia River in Washington state, Garrett and Ruth are building, by hand, the boat of their dreams: a 35-foot George Buehler-designed, gaff-rigged ketch. This will take several years to complete. Garret and Ruth are having a great time working together building their waterborne home plank by plank.
Garrett is a true craftsman who feels great joy when boards, frames, and planks come together perfectly. They are both extremely resourceful at finding building materials in unlikely places. No delivery trucks bring in commercial lumber for this project. Their videos are very entertaining and informative. Garret and Ruth also blog about their boat-building project at https://saltandtar.wordpress.com.
(17 videos, 2,000 subscribers)
Sail Life
Mads Dahlke’s YouTube channel is produced in Denmark. He is documenting his adventure in downsizing from a house to a boat. Before he sells his house, he completes many do-it-yourself projects aboard Obelix, a 1973 Albin Ballard. DIY projects make up the majority of his content.
Mads does a fantastic job of describing the projects and showing us how he completes them step-by-step. He reviews the products and equipment he uses to complete his projects, which include insulating his boat, adding a diesel heater, installing refrigeration, building shelving, and improving storage for an anchor and rode. He is a master craftsman who insists on perfection.
Just as he completes the refit of Obelix, another boat catches his fancy: Athena, a Warrior 38, which offers standing headroom and other amenities not found on his Albin Ballard. Of course, Athena is also in need of a refit and Mads is more than up to the task. He’s a self-taught videographer and he almost always responds to comments from his loyal following. Time is well spent with Mads.
(205 videos, 20,900 subscribers)
WhiteSpotPirates
A German adventuress, Nike Steiger, decides she has had enough of the rat race. She needs freedom and adventure. She flies to Panama and purchases Karl, a Reinke Super 10 aluminum sailboat that was built in Germany. Unfortunately for Nike, Karl has been sitting idle for some time and is not what you would call a turnkey sailboat. The interior is moldy and many years’ of sea life are attached to the hull. Nike spends quite a bit of time and money bringing Karl back to life and documents it all through video. She became despondent only once: when she discovered little corrosion holes in Karl’s hull. Fortunately she found a master welder who knew how to heal Karl. Nike meets many interesting people along the way who help her to realize her dream.
(130 videos, 40,800 subscribers)
Wicked Salty
Wes, Kate, and their trusty K9 companion, Lola, embark on an epic sailing adventure. They begin by working hard and saving enough money to purchase a sailboat and have a reasonable cruising kitty to sustain them on their adventure. Wes, after a long search, locates an Ericson 30 in Rhode Island that is just within their budget. He purchases Parity and brings her home to Massachusetts for fitting out. Then Wes, Kate, and Lola set off to the Bahamas via the Intracoastal Waterway. Along the way they have many adventures and meet lots of interesting people.
The audio and video is not always perfect, but the content is always interesting and entertaining. Young people having a grand adventure on the cheap, wicked good. It makes this boomer somewhat jealous.
(100 videos, 35,800 subscribers)
Sailing Nervous
Vin and Amy are novice sailors who have arrived at a crossroads in life. Their nest is empty, so they have decided to leave terra firma and move aboard a sailboat. One of their first tasks is to find a suitable boat and learn to sail her. They spend time researching and looking for the perfect boat that fits both their ambitions and their budget. They bring viewers along as they visit a number of boats and talk with experts. They eventually decide on a Moody 34.
Of course, a number of projects must be completed before they move in. Vin and Amy do a great job sharing their progress, successes, and the occasional failure in the quest to become liveaboard sailors. They also involve their viewers with contests and feedback. The Critical Pirate appears occasionally to stave off negativity with great effect, in my opinion. Sailing Nervous is fun, entertaining, and informative.
(97 videos, 12,300 subscribers)
www.YachtTeleportCom
Australians Chris Bray and Jess Taunton capture what they describe as, “an adventure of a lifetime.” I must agree. Their adventure began with the purchase of a North Atlantic 29, Teleport, that had been out of the water for a number of years in Canada. She’s one of only a handful of North Atlantic 29s ever produced and is junk rigged. Due to neglect, a total refit was necessary. Post-refit, Chris and Jess, who is a novice sailor, take on some of the most remote, beautiful, and dangerous waters in the world. Join them as they complete the Northwest Passage. Their extremely positive outlooks help them overcome the adversities they face.
I cannot think of more positive people. They are both accomplished photographers and videographers and have a passion to record and share the wonders they experience. As I wrote this, Teleport was for sale, so their sailing videos may be over. But the 37 videos they posted are still there to enjoy.
(37 videos, 8,500 subscribers)
KeepTurningLeft
Dylan Winter takes us along on his marvelous, grand adventure. His plan is simple: depart the Solent in a small sailboat and keep turning left until he circumnavigates the British Isles. After completing his eighth season, he had made it about halfway around. It’s taking so long to get around because he takes the time to explore the many unique and beautiful rivers that punctuate the coastline. Many times, Dylan tries to sail upriver as far as his draft will allow. He is quite good at gunkholing because running aground bothers him very little, if at all. Dylan is a master storyteller and professional videographer. He includes history, local lore, and interesting chats with locals. He has an eye for beauty in natural things and shares discoveries that may last for only an hour due to wind and tide. In addition to his YouTube channel, Dylan maintains a website, keepturningleft.co.uk. I have spent many a winter hour sailing along with Dylan.
(587 videos, 14,200 subscribers)
Jerry Thompson is an information systems professional who works and lives in eastern North Carolina. He learned to sail more than 25 years ago at the Armed Forces Recreation Center, Lake Chiemsee, Germany. North Carolina’s milder winters keep Jerry on the water year round.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
