Sailing Songbird

Upgrade alert! Thank you PYI— I can’t wait to see my new Max Prop in action 😁

Out with the old and in with the new! Thanks to The Engine Room for supplying my new Beta 14! I can’t wait to get it hooked up and roaring. Thanks Malachai for the help in the yard and all the good times.

Best way to start a long day of work in the boatyard is a quick lil doot-doot 🎶

Of all the trades a solo sailor has to master: diesel mechanic, gasoline mechanic, plumber, rigger, carpenter, electrician; working on electric systems is always my favorite. (I understand my grammar in the previous sentence is atrocious but yall aren’t following me for my academic acumen 🙃) #trades #electrical #sailing #fyp #foryoupage

The inside is what I’m afraid of… 😨

Slow and steady progress is the name of the game in the yard 🙃 #fyp #foryoupage

“If this engine drops there’ll be a new hole in the boat” 🙃 all in all, I’m SUPER grateful for my buddies in the yard. Hard work is ALWAYS better with friends around. #sailing #engine #friends #fyp #foryoupage

One of the toughest day sails I’ve ever done. Even though the sail was tough on our stomachs after so many months of being on shore, for a shakedown sail, everything went great. Songbird performed beautifully with all of the new equipment and repairs!

Part 1 of Songbird’s Shakedown Sail ⬇️ A shakedown sail is what we call the first sail after a big refit. During this sail, we are on high alert for things to go wrong, and for untested equipment to fail. This is the very first sail that Lexi has gone on as well so the day is full of unknowns for her. Check out Part 2 when we get that posted!

So glad to be in a place where this problem is an easy fix. One step closer to launching for Fiji!

UPDATE ⬇️ New Crew Alert 🥰 — I have been dark on social media for a long time now and I am ready to reengage! Thank you for your patience while I took some space from the internet while I have been in New Zealand. On average I’d have my phone charged 1-3 days a week while I’ve been in New Zealand and it allowed me to put my full focus on fixing up Songbird, as well as investing in this new relationship with Lexi. When I got to New Zealand I was emotionally exhausted from the loneliness of the previous solo season and am so grateful I met Lexi over DMs where she offered to give me a ride from a bus stop in town back to Songbird. She has been a huge light in my life at this point in my circumnavigation and I’m so excited that she has jumped to sail north with me to Fiji and beyond! Since she is a new sailor, there are still some unknowns on if she will be able to thrive in the difficult conditions ocean sailors find themselves in but we are working hard together to give this the best shot we can. We will be sailing north to Fiji with the next weather window so wish us (and Lexi especially 😜) fair winds and following seas! This sail we are about to undertake is notorious for being heavy, difficult, and rough. Absolutely not ideal for the stomach of a new sailor but there is only one way north and that’s one mile at a time!

Feels good to be back on the water 🤙

7 hard weeks in the yard are about to pay off. Sailing Songbird Season 2 is right around the corner!! So grateful so many friends for helping me get to this point.

List of projects I completed ⬇️ New anchor chain and rode Fix head New sanitation hose New hatch seal Run fish tape through bilge connecting hose New Genoa sail Water batteries Install AIS Fix chimney Replace main cabin floor Replace engine Service/straighten prop shaft Replace auto bilge pump Fix stereo electric Install outboard mount on transom Replace winches Replace spreaders Replace zincs sand bottom, new bottom paint New dinghy Replace broken shroud Replace running lights and deck light Sand/varnish all deck wood Sand/varnish swim step Sand/repaint white hull Sand/varnish tiller Sand/repaint green bulwarks+bootstrap Build new bed Build new bed mattress Build new cockpit cushions Build door for head New cutlass bearing New propeller New raw water thru hull