Offgrid Sailing Life: Slow Sailing & Solar Power Testing Our New Sailboat Solar Upgrade Episode 103

We finally did it — our major solar upgrade on our liveaboard sailboat is complete, and it’s time for the real test. In this episode of our liveaboard sailing journey around the world, we leave the marina behind for an overnighter at anchor to see how our new off-grid solar power system performs in real cruising conditions. No shore power, no marina hookups — just renewable energy, the open water, and life on a cruising sailboat. This is a huge milestone for us as liveaboard sailors preparing to sail the world, because this solar installation was the last major boat upgrade before we begin longer passages and remote anchoring. If you're into sailing, sailboats, cruising life, boat projects, marine solar, or off-grid living, this episode shows what modern cruising sailboat life really looks like — the work behind the scenes and the freedom it creates. After weeks of boat jobs and upgrades, we finally get to enjoy the reward: dropping anchor, swimming off the boat, exploring, and spending quality time with friends. This is the lifestyle so many dream about — full-time sailing, living on a boat, slow travel by sailboat, and ocean adventure — balanced with the practical side of maintaining and upgrading a cruising yacht. Whether you're a beginner sailor, experienced cruiser, future liveaboard, or just love watching boat life and sailing adventures, this video gives a real look at testing a solar-powered sailboat system while enjoying the simple moments that make this lifestyle worth it. We share the reality of liveaboard life, anchoring out, managing power usage, and building confidence in our systems before bigger voyages. Follow along as we move closer to sailing around the world, becoming more self-sufficient, and embracing off-grid cruising. Expect sailing, anchoring, ocean swims, boat life with friends, and the kind of peaceful moments you only get when you choose travel by sailboat. If you love sailing adventures, liveaboard cruising, sailboat life, marine upgrades, and world travel by boat, you’re in the right place. It's been two years since our first sail in @SailingAstridTheWombat actually that means it's been two years since our first sail ever. That's right two years ago we bought this Beneteau Oceanis 430 and pulled the sails up for the first time ever when we brought her home. A sail that stretched 700 nautical miles from Townsville in Far North Queensland Australia to Moreton Bay in Brisbane Queensland. Each experience we have and each new sailing skill learnt just keeps bringing us closer to taking off to sail around the world in our Beneteau Oceanis 430 @SailingAstridTheWombat living our boat life dream. We hope you enjoy our content. Please hit subscribe and follow our journey to full time sailing around the world. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:13 Storm Update 01:54 Sail Plan 03:19 Leaving the Marina 04:34 Headsail Out 07:13 Slow Sailing 09:25 We Hit Our Goal! 09:55 Cleaning Fenders 12:19 Easing the Sheet 14:30 Sailing Race 14:57 Solar Upgrade 17:06 Engine On 18:56 Wombat Rounding Up Please leave a comment, like and subscribe to follow our journey. We are Gav and Shezz an Aussie couple with a dream to sail and scuba dive around the world. We bought our Beneteau Oceanis 430 in October 2023 with zero sailing experience but the belief that we can do this. We have filmed our journey from looking for boats, buying the boat and downsizing our house so we can liveaboard and all the messy wonderful life stuff in between. Join us now as we settle into liveaboard life and get our boat ready to take off and sail around the world. As new sailors we want to share all of our learnings and keep it real in our videos. We want to show step by step what it takes to choose a boat, buy the boat and learn how to sail. Our sailing learning curve is steep so come along with us as we learn and grow as liveaboard sailors. We promise you will have a laugh! Welcome aboard Astrid The Wombat Gav and Shezz You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook: Sailing Astrid the Wombat #sailing #liveaboard #sailingaustralia #sailingadventures #sailboat