EP 45 | 9 Days Sailing Offshore: This Is Way Harder Than We Thought it Would Be 

“It’s not all dolphins and sunsets” it’s grit, determination and self sufficiency. Well done.

Regarding your Monitor... Is your helm balanced pretty well? Perhaps you need to change your sail trim for better helm balance? Yes! Keep the crew well fed! Acknowledge mistakes and their inevitability. Give generous praise for jobs well done. Work together to solve problems and to improve your handling skills. For more complicated or dangerous tasks, talk them through beforehand to make sure everyone is on the same page. Have you practiced heaving to? It can be a great way for everyone to take a break from the relentless task of managing the boat under sail. A rough passage can help build your capacity to handle discomfort. It will also help you keep your mental state in check. Notice how quickly everyone became excited about being out there after things calmed down. You have to remember this so you can keep the down times in perspective - they won’t last too long. Yes, you should be proud of yourself! You have taken a dream and made it a reality. We all have our dreams. Precious few see them through to reality. Keep up the adventure!!! S/V Pierless - T41

I've subscribed to ten sailing channels... Your one of them, we're watching to learn the struggles of sailing off shore. All across the board - auto pilot has failed or various types of issues encountered . Apparently auto pilot is more important than sails and engines it seems. Steering for hours on end seems to drive sailors into depression. Before we buy our sail boat I'll be well studied in autopilot makes , models , operation, repair, and I'm sure that before I set off for an ocean passage - I'll have two functional auto pilot systems. Thanks for showing your struggles.

You got the sound transitions and story telling down.. the build up of events gave a kind of 'release' feeling with the transition to the Dolphins arriving. Gives me goosebumps every time!

I salute the 3 of you for taking on this journey. I admire you Tyler for taking on this on with no legs, you are an inspiration that anything is possible, you are a hero. Kayleen, you are an amazing young woman and I admire you, I would love to meet you. Enjoy the rest of your trip and have a safe return home.

I cried I laughed with you. 99% boredom 1% terror. I totally have been in your shoes. Grateful for your honesty and courage and real emotion. You guys rock!

Woaaa how intense!! It may not be exactly how you pictured it, but its one hell of an adventure and you made it happen!! It takes some real courage to push through these hard nights, so sweet that the dolphins and whales were there to cheer you on! I am glad that ol' beaten up spinnaker I repaired helped you make the last leg!! I hope the rest of your journey goes smoother!

O.M.G.You challenged and won.so proud of you.

Amazing episode , that coastline is never a fun one so you should all be proud to have conquered it . On to better cruising grounds now :)

First time watching any of your videos... You guys seem like such a great fit. Your voice is perfect and humble. I've watched many sailing videos and yours is in my top 3 now. I'll certainly keep watching. God bless you guys.

just image the good times to come and you will forget the bad times

You guys have come a long way, and done a great job! You also have a great boat that can take you anywhere! To have a few things get tough on your first real shakedown cruise is to be expected. The Monitor will work great in all conditions once you get it tuned, and learn to trim your sails to it. Many times with a Monitor, it’s the trim of the sails that can make it unreliable in a given sea state. Tyler is a bad ass, and you guys will both be long time sailors I have a feeling. Real cruising will have its ups and downs/ highs and lows, just like this trip did. The Whales and Dolphins were magical, and you will have many more times like that! Hang in there, get some miles under your keel, before you make any big decision to give it up. Happy for you guys to have taken the big leap! Paz y amor

That sea shanty thoughhhh!! Great episode. It definitely seemed like quite the emotional roller coaster! I hope the rest of the coast is kind to you!

I just finished 6000 miles solo with a Monitor; problem can be that your lines are stretching; you need to set themm up so that you can adjust tension between the lines and where they attach on the wheel. Monitor manual has a suggestion for how to do that; or you can use some paracord and a version of a trucker's hitch... The other issue can be that if your sail plan is not balanced then the wind vane has to counter the weather (or lee helm). Good luck and fair winds!

Thank you for taking us along. You really show the highs and lows so well. Congratulations on pushing through the hard stuff. Proud of all of you.

Awesome job, guys!!! Cruising really does get easier the farther South you get. You'll get your boat more dialed in, with finding out what works for you and what doesn't, and it really will get more easy for you mentally. Just remember that the most important job for off-watch crew is to get rest. Things really got a lot better for us when we got to and South of San Francisco. Just take things one day at a time - you guys are doing GREAT!!!

Wooow. All the highs and lows you guys went through, you guys are truely inspiring. Thanks for sharing, those encounters with whales and dolphins were amazing.

Rockin the Dad cam, zoomed into my nose! Haha love it

Wow good job ! Thank you for your honesty and sharing how hard some of the days and nights were and keeping it real. Very nice to see the welcome whales 🐳 take care and I look forward to your next week video!

Oh my gosh, what a fricken tear jerker you guys! Such a good episode and so happy for yaaas! Making big moves! Can't wait for the next vid!

WOW, what an adventure! I hope the highs outweigh the lows and you don’t sell your boat in California!! ❤️

This was probably my favourite episode yet! Keep it up!

heck ya! Get it guys!

Wow raw and rough passage Cheers to you all and keep at it, you will make it and amazing travels ahead!

Dad cam!!!

Right on you guys!! So proud of what you have accomplished!! Love Tyler’s “dad cam” during the whales part lol! You’re killing it - keep going!!!! 🌴⛵️

Your videos are always refreshingly honest. I don't think that leg is ever easy. It will only get easier from San Francisco. Give yourself a big pat on the back, recharge your batteries, and I bet the rest of California will be much easier. Thank you for the great video and congrats! Tim - s/v Patience

Wow ! This is by far the most amazing upload you have posted ! A true roller coaster of emotions and a reality check with the power of mother nature. Thank you so much for sharing this part of your adventure and I look forward to the rest. Fair winds and good health to you both !

When you get to Mexico, head north around Cabo San Lucas and head north exploring Baja. It’s an amazing place and very inexpensive. Finish north at Puerto Peñasco for any haul outs or whatever. This yard is the best in Mexico. It’s close to the states and they let you live and work in your boat. Avoid guaimas. They charge for everything. Also my yt channel has videos of many of the places you will visit. Fair winds.

We just subscribed and look forward to getting caught up! SF is on our bucket list, great job getting it done 🤜🤛

Hey congratulations on living the dream I think you two no well enough if it were always easy everyone would do it good job👍👍

We could feel the incredible emotions 🐬

- 🇨🇦 those highs - dolphins 🐬 and whales 🐋 - so cool - the lows are tough - so bravely shown to all of us - keep on keep'n on - one nautical mile at a time !!!!!!!

O.M.G. You challenged and won, so proud of your efforts.

Bodega bay, beautiful protected but a hell of a entrance. It is a very tough passage once you round Cape Flattery. Big dark seas most of the time. Y'all did great hand steering! It gets easier from here, keep it up! I will keep watching!🤙👋

👁👁……WOW I feel horrible for you guys …Those sea’s we’re no joke….Better days ahead….Yyyyeeeeewwwwww

Super video!

Nice. Keep going

Congratulations for this first and very demanding passage. I am hoping the future passages will be easier on the crew. Cheers

I dont know what your boats hull shape is but listening to your autopilot running continuously , you might set the sea state on the unit to run less, most boats will sway in a sea state but will come back on course...

what an ordeal! you're tough and will do great. love the video! ⛵⛵⛵⛵👍🥇

so cool to find you guys, we are hanging in the bay area too after 8 days south, Clipper marina for a few days with bus rides to west marine. we had to learn the little details for our windvane{caphorn} change to the heavy weather vane after ten knots. aquatic park was great fun being a tourist, locked the dinghy to a tree and rode the cable car into the city union square was cool.. Treasure island to get away from the crowds and on to angel island for a few days getting the boat ready before sailing farther south.

Great video guys! I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to come along on your journey:) Now that you experienced the sailors youth on passages, the rest will be "easy". Cheers from Norway - Enjoy!

Wow, great video! We came down last year and can totally relate to those super highs and crazy lows (although you had it much worse with all that hand steering!) After having been down here now for awhile can definitely say it's soooo all worth it! :) Looking forward to seeing more of your journey.

Good on you guys 👍👍

Your mom sent me. 😁

Great video, guys! You really captured the extreme highs and lows of the cruising life! Did you figure out what was wrong with the monitor wind vane? I've always heard its best to spend time before heading offshore playing around with it and dialing things in, had you used it much before this passage?

👍!!!