Norway's Lofoten Islands - Sailing Free Spirit

[@747crab]

Beautiful! I have never seen a whale bow riding like dolphin, how wonderful. As I have said before, a joy to listen to your perfect diction.

[@sailing-freespirit]

Thank you very much! 😊 Yes I’ve never heard of whales doing that before either, such an amazing experience!

[@StormSignal]

Stunning. Your cinematography improves remarkably with each new episode.

[@patriziaarroyo5976]

Awesome video! Beautifully done, thank you. You are doing what I am planning on doing 💕

[@mariojsworld]

Beautiful landscape of Lofoten Islands.

[@svWayfinder]

Wonderful story telling!

[@odding55]

Very good filming, and your talking is like music. Another time you may also visit the Vesteraalen area, sailing a bit further North through Raftsundet- and visit Trollfjord, Melbu, Stokmarknes and maybe the beautiful Eidsfjord. The current is strong as the tide is shifting. It is therefore smart to go north througt Raftsundet as the higt tide starts, and sail South as the low tide starts. By this trick the current will be for your benefit.

[@sailing-freespirit]

Thank you very much! This was filmed last summer. Keep watching, in a future episode we will be visiting Trollfjord and passing through Raftsundet and beyond! 😉😊

[@davidbelsham3217]

Great to see the next episode which was beautiful. Can’t wait for the next part of your trip .

[@craigmartin8326]

Thank you for one more great post.

[@joycefischer2761]

Love all your videos and your commentary is amazing. We are the crew of SV Oddfellow lying in Mooloolaba Australia. Looking forward to the next issue. ❤

[@LibertasScotland]

What a great trip with amazing scenery, I really enjoy your content.

[@kmleary]

A wonderful Video. Thank you.

[@davisscott8499]

Thanks for another awesome video

[@johnwishart7950]

wonderful again

[@Sp3ktral22]

Your production values are fantastic!! (I'm no film maker, but I think that's what they say?) Did you study film making? You have got to be proud of yourself, all of you in fact, for creating what will become quite the historical article.

[@sailing-freespirit]

Thank you so much! What a lovely comment! Yes I did a short course on the Isle of Mull and have a Scottish level 8 diploma in wildlife filmmaking and having been learning and teaching myself since then 😉

[@duriseosailing]

Finally a new video from you ☺️ we were sailing in the same area in August so it is exciting to see familiar surroundings on KZbin.

[@jean-paulderoubin2014]

Superb!

[@bgbhtopp]

Herlig natur, fantastisk film og helt suveren produksjon! Nydelig fortellerstemme. Blir ikke bedre enn dette!

[@sailing-freespirit]

Thank you so much! Really glad you enjoyed it!

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

Is it easy to have fresh fish for dinner every day in Norway?

[@MikeSantis]

Wonderful video. Thanks for sharing. I was in Lofoten 3-4 years ago by car. Hoping to make it up there with my boat in the near by future. Which months was this video from? And are you guys back home now?

[@sailing-freespirit]

Thank you! We were in Lofoten July and August. Our boat is our home, but we have been away visiting family. Getting ready now to continue our adventures 😊.

[@MikeSantis]

@@sailing-freespirit exciting

[@walterthielmann2421]

Hallo Ihr Drei,warum hängt die Deutsche Flagge unter der Backbordsaling? Coole Reise💪🇩🇪

[@sailing-freespirit]

Hallo! Wir sind alle Doppelbürger. Englisch/Deutsch. Das heißt Brexit kann uns nicht zurück halten! 😉

[@Charlie6345]

Really lovely video and thank you for sharing. Can I ask a bit of a personal question. We have bought a boat and are thinking of doing a similar thing as you are. I'm guessing by watching your first video that you manage to finance yourselves by the money set aside by the sale of your property? Which is the decision we are trying to make at the moment. It looks like the lifestyle you live is worth giving up a property if that's what you have done. Sorry to ask but its good to get advice of people who have made these type of decisions.

[@sailing-freespirit]

Hi there, really pleased you enjoyed this episode. We did not own any property, we were tenant farmers. Our decision to set sail meant loosing our rented farm which was both our business and only income along with the loss of our home. The sale of all our farm machinery, livestock, vehicles, furniture and toys together with a modest amount of savings gave us the resources to purchase the boat and provide us with a safety net for a few years of sailing. Who knows what the future has in store. One thing is for certain, we’re not going to live forever and this life is not a dress rehearsal….this is it! Casting off the mooring lines and setting off into the sunset always requires a huge leap of faith and the time never feels right but what a the alternative? At some point the decision is simply ‘it’s now or never’. As you can see from our daughter’s channel, we have no regrets and are thoroughly enjoying the adventure. Here is a link to an article I wrote on the subject of funding the ‘live aboard life’ www.yachtingmonthly.com/cruising-life/the-argument-for-becoming-sea-nomads-92758?.com&fbclid=IwAR0GN8BOiSjW-Oin-kyCoYAPImpdO0FgjtoSHxTTUB4q_9cdjpB6M4CErjs_aem_AfQvS_BZF-UC This article was actually a short letter I wrote in response to a query raised about a previous article I had written, but the editor wanted to print it. Here is the article that inspired the question www.yachtingmonthly.com/cruising-life/becoming-sea-gypsies-life-as-full-time-sailors-in-the-uk-87872 I hope this response will help with your decision making. All the best and hope to see you on the water one day. Guy and crew.

[@Charlie6345]

Hi Guy, thank you for taking the time to get back to me. I've read both articles and they are very insightful. Just handed in my notice at work. Going to give it the summer and head up to Scotland. See how it goes and makes some decision later in the year. Stay safe and lets hope we have a good summer. Charlie and Jane. @@sailing-freespirit

[@stephenburnage7687]

I hope you do not mind if I volunteer a few thoughts:. My wife and I cruise 6 months a year (we set out from Canada and are now in Panama). We have dozens of cruising friends where we have discussed this question. The first question you need to address is whether you want to cruise 6 or 12 months a year? There are very few cruising grounds where you can cruise comfortably for 6 months a year (such as the Pacific). Otherwise, year round cruusers find themselves in places like Mexico in summer (uncomfortably hot) or the PNW in winter (wet) or, worse, in the Carribean in the hurricane season. If you have sufficient funds, therefore, many choose to cruise only for 6 months a year. That is not just retirees - we know of conract workers, who fund their cruising kitty by working 6 months a year. Second consideration is how expensive a boat to buy. We know of many couples who funded the purchase of expensive, large boats by selling their property. The challenge with that approach is that probably puts you in a cycle of needing insurance (hard to qualify for, restrictive and expensive) plus, what to do if you eventually get old or sick or tired of cruising ie it's a difficult decision to reverse. The alternative approach is to rent out your property (using it for income) and buying a much smaller, older boat. Others sell the big house but keep a smaller apartment, for the off season. Another thing to consider is that, there is always a lot of maintenance to be done. My wife, if she has any frustration about the cruising life, is that we have been perpetually running around hardware stores in remote places, looking for some vital part, rather than checking out the local historical ruins. The necessity of maintenance is true whether you have an older or newer boat but, understand, larger boats are 2x more complicated than smaller boats, so bare that in mind too. Hope those few thoughts help and welcome to the cruising community!

[@Charlie6345]

@stephenburnage7687 Hi, thank you that was helpful. We have an older boat but finding much like you have said lots of maintenence. That said she is pretty much getting there as we have put quite a bit of work into her. I think we will most probably work through the winter to fund our sailing. But do have the option to Down size or rent our property. I think this year at the end of the season there is going to be a lot to think about. Thanks for taking the time to write. Stay safe and happy sailing.

[@stephenburnage7687]

@Charlie6345 My buddy boat (who is an ex shipwright) has a theory that, in the tropics, you shoukd plan on rebuilding a boat every seven years (maybe 10 to 12 years in cooler waters). Worse, that periodicity is decreasing, as manufacturers take increaseing short cuts with quality. In other words, the maintenance never comes to an end. The arrangement I now have with my wife, therefore, is that we cruise for six months a year and I do focused maintenance for three months a year. Good that you have an older boat - they were built better and you naturally accept a level of maintenance. Met many cruisers who bought expensive newer boats, only to find they needed as much (if not more) maintenance than the older boats. Safe cruising.