We managed to spend a week avoiding responsibilities like restocking food, and doing laundry... but then we hit a point where we were out of clothes, cooking fuel and worst off all - beer. So we bit the bullet and picked a destination we saw in a cruising guide that had a few amenities and practiced a classic cruiser skill - doing laundry in a bucket. The podcast we mentioned can be found here: https://spotify.link/emA7jrM3TDb If you'd like to show your support you can buy us a beer at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea Or check out some supplies and gear we are saving up for: https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

Join us this week for a relaxing cruise to a practically tropical, sandy beach (kind of a rarity in the Pacific northwest). We lounged, buddy boated and caught our dinner. And faced one of the realities of cruising that eventually you need to head to town to stock up. If you'd like to show your support then you can buy us a beer at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea Or help us out with some gear at: https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

After our first night at anchor with Sappho, we continued our trip of firsts by going through Active Pass on our way to Campbell Bay Music Festival, an event we had heard about earlier in the summer, and managed to score tickets to last minute. It was our first time bringing our floating home to an event, and the fact we could beach our dinghy and just walk up to the festival was a pretty cool experience. With earthy, alternative vibes, the festival had a great community spirit, fun music and amazing food. Highly recommend if you are in the area at the right time of the summer. Catch us on our socials @sapphoatsea or Sappho at Sea If you would like to show a little support you can buy us a coffee or a beer at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea or help with some pieces of gear at: https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share Thanks for watching!

#anchored #sailing #lgbt #womenwhosail #sailtheworld

Here we take you along for the ride of our first ever overnight trip and anchorage. Often called a "shakedown cruise" its where you essentially figure out all the things you have forgotten, or that don't work, to prepare for longer trips - we did this on a smaller scale, bouncing around the Gulf Islands. I'm amazed how much faster Sappho is under power - we can motor places at twice the speed or more, that Ruckus did. This is also the first time in almost a year that Kailey and I have tried cruising and anchoring, now in a much larger boat, with an all chain rode and a manual windlass. Always something to learn out here!

We purchased Sappho about 9 months ago, and since then she's either been up on the hard, or floating at a dock. There was a list of things we wanted and needed to do to her before we felt comfortable being off grid and away from a power source and amenities... but we did it! We are finally back floating in the bay at our mooring buoy and it's a great reminder of why we have been putting all this work in. Just before leaving the dock we got our new solar panels hooked up along with our new fridge that will run off of them, and we also marked our anchor chain. We hope to spend the rest of the summer out at anchor somewhere in the Gulf Islands or Desolation sound whenever we don't need to be at the mooring due to work. Thanks for following along, we really appreciate it ! If you watch our videos and would like to show your support, I have added some links below: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

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We had some big news this week that took our plans in a full 180 from what we have been planning all year. This comes with both some disappointment, but also a little smidge of relief. It is definitely going to alter our immediate future, but I think its for the better in the long run...not to mention lead to an awesome summer. If you watch our videos and would like to show your support, I have added some links below: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

When we first bought Sappho, we immediately recognized the fact there were certain additions that would have to be made to make her more seaworthy from a practical day-to-day standpoint. One of these was installing fiddles on our remaining shelves - this allows us to keep our belongings in place while heeled over while sailing. Otherwise things would be flying everywhere, or we would have to pack away everything each time we went underway, neither of which is fun. It was very satisfying building such beautiful accent pieces from scratch with my dad, knowing how long we are going to use them for, and how important they are day to day. If you are following along and want to help us continue our journey, I have included some links below: buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

With all of the major overhauls we have been doing, its easy to lose sight of how big of a difference small projects can make when it comes to the enjoyment of our home. This week we finish installing the composting toilet (A fully functioning toilet! What a concept!), add small touches to our bathroom to make it more useable in day to day life, put on our mattress topper to ensure we are getting solid nights sleep, and reinstall the finger pulls for our cupboards - giving our kitchen and bedroom a much more "finished" look. Little things but big satisfaction. Everyday this sailboat is feeling more like a forever home. We can't wait to get out and explore! If you would like to make a small contribution to our refit and journey here are a couple of links that would be a big help to us: buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

We were both at the ends of our rope; having just moved aboard with our stuff in piles everywhere, no functioning water system, and both of us about to go into a week of work....the toilet broke. Somehow we got through that week with no functioning toilet (since I was working 12 hour shifts, I had no time to troubleshoot, and Kailey was busy with work, Marlow, and other household stuff). We knew we would have to take apart the toilet at the very least to service it, but also knew it was a distinct possibility that we would have to open up more of the hoses that were likely caked with years of use...essentially dismantling the entire system and starting *almost* fresh. But lurking in my dads garage was a purchase from the year previous....enter the composting toilet, "the Airhead". As with many boat jobs this video shows no projects entirely completed, but well on our way. Hope you can laugh with us in our pain! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

Electricity is a very strange thing to work with. It's such an abstract concept compared to other boat skills I have learned. Even after shadowing a marine electrician and making a nuisance of myself for 2 days on my last boat, doing many wiring projects with my dad and a few on my own, I needed to review concepts over and over to ensure I was doing things safely. Often I would have a fake "aha" moment, just to realize a minute later that I was totally backwards. It took weeks longer than I was expecting, and hours of mapping out the system. Now we are 95% of the way to an off grid vessel, we just need to install the DC2DC and the solar panels! Another thing that blindsided me was the sheer cost of all the components. The downside of having a more complex off grid system on a larger boat is everything is big and priced accordingly. I had a heart dropping moment when I had bought 1 bags worth of some large Guage wire and it cost $400! Anyways hope you enjoy the tour and some bloopers of an amateur marine electrician trying to not burn down her boat! -Mel https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

The moment we have been waiting for, 7 months later: splash day!!!! Between a winter up north working, sandwiched by yard work on either side, its been a long road. These days for me are always filled with nerves as there is so many unknowns, so much that could go wrong (soon after we brought the boat into her slip we'd heard of another that had been splashed and immediately hauled out again due to a leaking thru-hull). But the feeling of being at her helm as *our* vessel and home was pretty priceless. Come along for a quick ride into the process of having your whole life dangling 20 feet in the air and dropped in the water! Otherwise behind the scenes I have been very busy finishing the electrical to make her live-able and cramming in some shifts. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

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Arriving back to our land-locked floating home was a relief and filled me with so much excitement and reminded me why we chose this boat. But I'm not going to lie, life has been kinda miserable the past couple of weeks. The work is overwhelming, the timeline and budget are tight. The temperature has dropped to below zero, and we've had no sleep. But we know this will all be so, so worth it in the end. And we will benefit for years to come from the work we are putting in right now. Join us this week as a try to quickly tackle jobs such as reconnecting the engine, prepping for the electrical overhaul, deep cleaning the boat for us to move in and more. And Marlow sleeps, haha. Living aboard again is just around the corner! Fair winds, Melissa, Kails and Marlow . . . . . https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sapphoatsea https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/IITMJ0NP7DRP?ref_=wl_share

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In every sailor's journey there comes a time where you have finally sealed the deal, your dream has come true and you thought the hard part was over...but actually it's just begun, beause now you have discovered all the issues with the boat (since none are perfect) and you start to tackle them. Your "2 weeks" in the boat yard turns into 6 weeks of full time yard life - because nothing is simple on a boat. Not to mention Kailey and I are on a new learning curve with a steel boat, hydraulic steering, a full electrical overhaul and more. Join us as we dive head first into the journey of making this boat our home and ready for ANYTHING.

Welcome to the story of us: Kailey and Melissa. This is Kailey's first time living aboard a sailboat - coming along for the ride of her downsizing her life, and moving aboard with me, her girlfriend (Melissa), for the first time. Boat life isn't for the faint of heart, and brings a lot of changes to everyday things. We spend the summer exploring our local islands, living the simple life, and Kailey falls in love with the lifestyle. Winter is closing in fast. We decide its time to upgrade our floating home to something bigger, and more capable of taking us to remote places. Enjoy and stay tuned for the next episode! If you want to follow along to see what we are doing day to day, check out our instagram: Insta: @sapphoatsea