119: OXLEY BORA PARASAIL Rigging, Set up & Launch; first flight in Sint Maarten

After 2 months on the FKG dock, it was a dream to not only get off but go sailing with our new rigging and parasail. She is a beaut! But, much work had to be done to get to the point of sailing. New blocks had to be installed, two new winches, a new flip flop block on the mast, and new lines and soft shackles. In this video, you will see the installation of the rigging, some winch servicing demonstration, and finally, the sailing of the parasail. The wind gusts were over 20-25 knots so we didn't want to push the sail too much. It took a couple of hours battling the wind to get the sock around the sail in the first place. But, it was a beautiful, sunny day so we were happy campers. We bought this sail and invested in all the rigging because our dream is to circumnavigate the globe. It was an expensive endeavor, but we are told that this sail will quickly become our favorite to use. We have a slim sail inventory in the first place. We look forward to testing her out in calmer winds. We are so thankful for the FKG rigging team who prepared the boat, for Wouter especially who was involved in all aspects of the process, and for him and Kelsey coming out on the boat to set up the sail and test it out. FKG is a special place and we are thankful for their part in making s/v Blown Away a blue water sailing vessel! #sailing #sailboat #sailingprojects #PARASAIL #OXLEY #OXLEYBORA #sintmaarten #stmaarten NEW TO OUR CHANNEL? We are Eileen and Brown Councill. Welcome to our channel and a glimpse into our life adventure! 2020 was a year of uncertainty and change (for all of us, right?), but we overcame the challenges and decided it was time to chase our dream, to sail around the world! Did I mention that we had very NO sailing experience? Before leaving Qingdao, China, our home of 4 years, we sold almost all of our earthly possessions and started our international search to find the right sailboat that we would call "home." After 5 months of unanticipated twists and turns, we found what we were looking for, a used Leopard 44' Catamaran located in St. Lucia. So, here begins our journey, filled with unmatched excitement and honestly, a bit of trepidation as well. We have much to learn as we travel the world on our floating home and we intend to document that journey and share it with you. We are so glad you have decided to join us, and we hope that you will find our story so compelling that it will inspire you to chase your dreams too! As a viewer, we consider you to be part of our family and look forward to getting to know you. Don't hesitate to comment on our videos and ask questions. We will do our best to answer every correspondence! All we ask is that you have patience with us as we work really hard to improve our camera/video techniques and ability to tell a story. Hopefully, you will be as BLOWN AWAY from watching, as we are in experiencing and producing our adventures! HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US? If you wish to support our video efforts, all we ask is that you SUBSCRIBE, give a THUMBS UP, SHARE our videos with your friends, AND COMMENT! WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET TO KNOW US MORE DEEPLY? It would be an honor and pleasure to deepen our relationship with you as a Patron. Please click on the following link to see how: https://www.patreon.com/sailingblownaway WOULD YOU LIKE TO FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY? https://www.noforeignland.com/boat/6040796987916288 WHERE CAN YOU FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Instagram - @sailingblownaway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SailingBlownAway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eileen.dietrich/ YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/sailingblownaway