Sailing Songbird

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

What. A. Day… now the real work begins!! 🙌 #sailing #foryoupage #fyp

The ‘solo’ part of being a ‘solo sailor’ is the part I struggle with the most— Now that I have arrived in New Zealand, I have been processing the last season through the South Pacific and loneliness stands out as a central theme from my experiences at sea. I have much to write about on the subject of loneliness. I am an incredibly social person who has never sought isolation until my life at sea. Being alone is incredibly uncomfortable for me but, (unfortunately), I see it as a necessary experience in my continued development into adulthood. I have learned much from my time alone with the sea and I know it’s been an invaluable experience I am grateful for. But, I still struggle a lot. My life at sea has reframed everything I knew from my life on land. In my heart, life at sea is full of contradictions. The loneliness and difficult conditions brings suffering, but is also a source of great fulfillment that I wasn’t experiencing on land. This source of fulfillment has and continues to sustain me. I wanted to share this song because I know huge swaths of our society feel loneliness daily. Maybe sharing this song will help a few folks feel not so alone, as it does for me. “A life at sea will take everything you have, no matter what you have” #originalmusic #lonely #fyp #foryoupage

Having working winches on Songbird is an UPGRADE. Taking winches apart and putting them back together might be one of my all time favorite boat projects. #sailing #winch #fyp #foryoupage

Writing and singing this song the past week has helped me grieve. I want to share the song and my grief process in the hopes that it might provide some comfort to others who feel lonely and are grieving.

My heart is in pieces… Thomas, I’m going to miss you so much… There is no way that I can begin to explain just how good of a man he was and having my words about him confined to a three minute time limit is criminal. Thomas leaves behind so many friends, as well as his girlfriend Maggie, who he was preparing to propose to that week.

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

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… 😨