TCI to BVI The Big Up Down (EP 74)

The staysail went up and down so many times on this 5 day passage that we lost track! We continue our upwind sailing passage on the Thorny Path to get from the Bahamas to the BVIs, over 800+ nautical miles!
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We have made the transition from full-time software professionals from the SF Bay Area to liveaboard sailing explorers who always keep one eye on the weather and our hearts in a song. Our goal is to complete a circumnavigation and we recently transitioned to a performance catamaran and are madly in love with our Outremer 52.
We are working with Outremer in France (with the help of Google Translate) to launch our boat project and start our journey as sailing vagabonds. While it’s not a race or speed test, we are doing our first Bluewater crossing this year and we are excited to see AWEN stretch her legs and dance on the water.
Join us as we share what we’re learning living without Amazon, (but with Starlink), and attempt this new life of travel and adventure on the ocean. Please be patient with us as we continue to improve our KZbin vlogging skills. Our goal isn’t to make our life a movie, it’s to give back to what others have shared with us.
More about us here: sailingawen.com/about-us
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✅ About Sailing AWEN.
Holly and Stephane are formerly from the San Francisco Bay Area but have a home in Tahoe. Our 'someday' plan was to sell our belongings, buy a boat, and, with reckless abandon, sail away to visit distant lands, which we did starting in 2020.
You can follow our transition and journey in our candid podcast, Covert Castaway, wherever you listen. You can also follow every stop we’ve made with pictures and blogs and stream our podcast directly on our website.
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© Sailing AWEN

[@hpw99]

The upwind reefing of the main was impressive, well done!

[@isabelle_Unity]

Thanks Holly & Stéphane for this great video, It appears you are know more confident to sail on your own with Awen. As regarding solar flares EMC they are not dangerous, that 's the waves of changes...it .can disrupt satellite communication systems, power grids and other technologies that rely on precise timing or accurate data... The video is great and the story telling always nice to hear. 🌺⛵☀🏝

[@jaythomas996]

It's difficult to put into words just how much I enjoy watching your videos. Great camaraderie combined with loads of sail trimming. Bravo!

[@SailingAWEN]

Thank you so much! 🙏⚓️

[@tonyfromaus7855]

This was the happiest and best smiles I’ve seen on you guys…. and it was an awesome vid and felt like we were with you. It was a real treat as well as informative. Thanks so much for sharing your journey. Holly you really made us laugh out loud when you said that he was lucky he was hot and had a French accent. I hope it doesn’t go to his head. 😁 You two rock. Thanks heaps for sharing.

[@SailingAWEN]

Thank you for the kind words! 🙏

[@user-pe6hh4rp6c]

Y’all are funny! The database log book…being French & hot😂😂

[@jaysonbowerman115]

Jockey undies?! Based upon limited time spent along the Coté d’ Azur, I thought all French men only wore Speedos! Thanks for showing the decision process and behind the scenes of your sail selection and handling. Pure gold.

[@SailingAWEN]

Umm, no. I told him speedos on a boat is a hard line for me! -H

[@davidrising6919]

Awesome sailing, thanks for sharing.

[@alofns]

Thanks for the video. We're really enjoying your channel.

[@SailingAWEN]

Thanks for watching! 🍿

[@lpauline]

Perhaps this is a heads up to carry paper charts in the future. The world is pretty unpredictable these days. I laughed out loud when you said Stephan considers 1 knot of sailing boat speed as a positive. Stephan is so cute. And you two are a wonderful pair. ⛵🪁🌊

[@juliazentner681]

I love it! Hot with a French accent! Best line this video so far! My maiden name is Boucher (pronounced boo shey.. yes like Bobby Boucher!).. so I grew up with French accents around me..

[@user-ku9wf3si5c]

Great video thanks.

[@heidiribkoff3585]

Hahaha love your comment: “he’s lucky he’s hot and has a French accent”. I’m still laughing at that one. You guys are a great team!

[@user-lq3ss9xf8c]

Great video! A sailing channel with sailing content!

[@SailingAWEN]

We love this comment! 🤩

[@robmalcolm1965]

@@SailingAWEN Me too!

[@juliazentner681]

I absolutely loved when you both were working the lines and sails in fast forward! Great videography! Super fun to watch! Thank you!

[@rmkep]

Stephane is adjusting to shared decision making very well. Like me, he understands strong partnership vs being captain, winning vs compromise. Defining responsibilities is necessary but the sailing is much smoother with a person who is a partner in all senses of the word.

[@LaurieShannon-gr2ts]

This is one of the best videos out there depicting how you have to work as a team to manage the sails. 👏 Holly, I fear you may have to invest in another pair of yellow glasses. Stephan looks very comfortable in your pair …. “Also not a product endorsement” but didn’t they all tease you about those glasses when you first got them?👀

[@SailingAWEN]

Yes he absolutely did tease me! I bought him his own pair because he’s less blind than me 😎😎

[@tomwolf9420]

Stephan is like “ I think it’s doable” but I can literally hear Holly cringe in the background 😂! These sails are a beaut. It’s great to see you work hand in hand doing manouvers.

[@SailingAWEN]

Which part are you referring to? 😎

[@tomwolf9420]

@@SailingAWEN A minute or two into the video Stephan explains the routing and variants possible. One option would be to go through a tight passage and he was like “ I think it’s doable” ( but wouldn’t do it anyways) and I instantaneously pictured myself Holly and the … wait for it … different levels of risk acceptance

[@SailingAWEN]

Ah! Yes…we do have different levels 🤣🤣

[@user-ku9wf3si5c]

Stephane your getting spoilt some yach skippers would get dizzy if they were going at 7 knots😁

[@intnsbiker]

Another great video! Stephane I love your organizational skills!👍

[@philipplenzlinger445]

Again, a great video. One of the best so far! I feel for you guys, having to beat upwind for so long! Absolutely love your vlog! Especially the insights you give us into the dynamics of sailing as a couple with different risk aversion levels. I am absolutely sure that managing this "conflict" in a mature and reflected way is the most important factor for a successful life together on a sailboat longterm. We're an American/Swiss couple in their late 50ies looking to move onto a boat fulltime (most probably a cat) within the next 3-5 years after a "get to know the boat in the Med" period. Very interested in the Outremer 52 and therefore following your endeavors closely for quite a while now. Thanks a lot for this! We just had a first chat with Matthieu 2 weeks ago in La Grande Motte and loved every bit of it. Since this is the only way to get in touch: May I pick your brains about a few things? Don't feel obliged to answer if to tedious. 1. We talked about (upwind) sailplan with Matthieu. He mentioned he would go for genoa and ST staysail if sailing more in the Med (lighter winds) while if sailing predominantly in the Caribean he'd probably go for ST Jib and Code 0, the reason being that the Genoa may be to big for the wind there and looks (and works) badly when reefed. If I'm not mistaken you opted for them "Med" sailplan albeit not sailing in the Med anymore (as would generally be my choice, for reasons of being able to trim the Genoa much nicer than an ST Jib). What are your thoughts now , especially after your upwind beating? 2. You are using a Sena headset. Happy with it? Thinking of getting one, since it would already be very practical on our current 48ft monohull. 3. I saw that you had an OC Tender Dinghy on the first AWEN, but now have a Highfield. Is there any particular reason you went away from light high-tech uninflateable to more sturdy but heavier RIB? Sorry if this got a bit long. No obligation to reply. Take care and fair winds!

[@SailingAWEN]

Can you shoot us an email at [e-mail]? We are happy to answer more questions!

[@SailingAWEN]

1. For us the genoa vs self-tacking jib was more a matter of sailing preference and our project. Stephane loves to trim the sails and wants to tinker to get the best optimization. We are also a bit more enthusiastic about sail changes. The genoa gives better range we felt and the staysail is best for upwind. Since our project right now is to circumnavigate we felt it better to get this setup to fit our program and our desire to sail more actively. If you are a ‘set it and forget it’ type of sailor the jib is a good option. Also, the med isn’t always less wind, it’s either no wind or too much wind 🤣 This genoa decision takes you down a path; more cost, upgraded mast and crossbeam, two sails instead of one. But we also felt because it’s a performance boat this setup would make it have better resell value. 2. Headsets, makes things so much easier and keeps the shouting down (mostly) 🤣🤣 wouldn’t live without them. 3. The OC was too expensive to ship to France. We got a 3D tender instead it’s super lightweight but pontoon boats are wet. At some point we may switch. The OC is dry but slams harder in chop. Tradeoffs! 🤷‍♀️

[@SailingAWEN]

About 11 minutes into this video we talk about the sail setup. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXmXommuaa9ritEsi=QB2v7aGTNlS90x4r There’s also a sail plan tech talk video you can check out. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m56UdmCkjM10gNUsi=9-9ciRhcGXg24G-2

[@philipplenzlinger445]

@@SailingAWEN yeah, I feel similarly on the subject. Sent an email, but just saw your answers here now. Thanks a lot!

[@philipplenzlinger445]

@@SailingAWEN watched those. I was curious if the theoretical considerations (tech talk video) held up to reality in your recent upwind battle ;-))

[@MK-gr9qz]

We love your stuff, thanks for sharing🏅👌

[@felixwinter1741]

What a fun to watch your Videos

[@colbysheridan6728]

Great video! Can you please explain the issue of stopping in PR and insurance?

[@SailingAWEN]

We are only covered by insurance for 15 days a year in US waters. French insurance and French flag. We already used that time in Miami.

[@codegame027]

its your boat, your rules and I understand why you cited why you didn't stop in PR. Holly seems like a black and white rule follower, not a rule breaker. If I were your position I still would have stopped for just a few hours in San Juan to do a provisioning run. I wouldn't have even "checked in" as an American in an America Territory, what are they going to do, deport you? Turn off AIS for like 12 hours and try not to anchor near anyone. I know you probably still have PTSD from the incident in Martinique though. I'm totally saying "to each their own" though. I personally don't mind living in the grey area sometimes, in many areas of life. Live a little :P

[@SailingAWEN]

Puerto Rico is an insurance thing, not a deportation thing, we just aren’t covered there. We actually both felt strongly about following the rules on this one. Yes, we are a bit fresh on getting t-boned. It can happen anywhere and we didn’t ‘need’ to stop. We had plenty of food and were happy to continue. 😎

[@waltervanderboor]

I understand you do not have hard maps of the sailing area you're in? Its on every device not to trust on them and I know many sailors ignore that. But let me share here. Years ago during a storm, all electric equipment stopped. I had kept my position , more or less but I actually only knew I was somewhere south of the English channel in for me unknown waters. Having a compass and a map saved us. We never sail into unknown waters without a real map. But even in known waters, how well do you really know them when the chart plotter is off? You are really putting your boat and yourself at risk. "its doable" is not good enough.. During that same storm we had so much foam that even with a map it was very hard to have any idea of where we were.. Binoculars did not work, just compass and map..

[@SailingAWEN]

Yes, thank you. We had them for our Atlantic passage but that was the lesson learned here. We have multiple types of digital maps on many devices in addition to what we use on the boat to navigate by. We intended to get them for the islands we are in but every chandlery we went to was sold out. We had a set for outer Bahamas and TCI but not to go from TCI to BVis (those were sold out too). A good lesson is to stock up at the beginning of the season before they sell out.

[@laurence9695]

Do remember that to get all the maps for all the places they're going would thousands of $ and take up a lot of room. They'd also have to be constantly updated with the changes. A full time job in itself. And a lot ofvthe placescwherevtheyrevtraveling have rather inaccurate maps. When the internet satellites go out, we're all f%$#@d anyway. 😮

[@SailingAWEN]

True. That would be a bad day!

[@waltervanderboor]

@@laurence9695 aware of that. We sail full time but have a piles of maps. Often older maps are left in marinas eg if we think we never go back and some marinas have a book/dvd/map area where we and others leave Maps etc. We have pick up some for free as well. Maps do not necessarily need to be from last year. Rocks do not change positions too often. Given all other costs it’s a low cost factor tbh. When choosing maps one can opt for small detailed areas or larger maps. for USA I understand that most Maps can also be downloaded for free. (NOAA) A digital map on a laptop is already much better than nothing at all. And I presume the laptop has a battery. We normally try to buy area booklets which have a few maps, the broader area and then smaller areas with more details. Those work out cost effective. The only thing is you need to think ahead, it can take a few weeks to actually receive the maps. On this case 50$ could have given them all the confidence. Just an example of what we order: www.weilbach.com/webshop/books/cruising-guide-virgin-islands--62841044 I was actually making an update for charts a d all charts from Poland Europe coast through the Med to Kuwait and then to Singapore would set us back 823 euro to put the price in perspective. And that included some extra detailed charts. To put on perspective the navionics Maps forsake area are 1165 euro.

[@SailingAWEN]

@waltervanderboor yes we have the cruising guides and digital charts on our computers.