You Don't Need an Engine to go World Cruising _Part One 

Nice work, mate. Of course, it's just another day in a sailor's life. I, too, have always spurned engines and all the complications that inevitably accompany them. As a born and bred small boat sailor and racer, sailing on and off the dock, out of the harbor, etc., came naturally to me because everyone else was doing it too. I detest the noise, vibration, filth, and complication that come with an engine. But mostly I deplore the deleterious effect the engine, by its very presence, has on the entire experience of sailing. Gone is the beauty and pleasure of light air, sliding right along in silence, gentle in our movement, tender in our now-loving touch, lest we distract our boat, now a near-living creature, from her task. And the experience of a calm, surprisingly, very rare, if one knows what he is doing. Some calms are beautiful, other-worldly experiences. Other calms make a sailor wonder what evil deed he committed in life to be cast into this awful hell. But no matter what the experience of windlessness, every sailor remembers that first sensation on the back of his sweaty, sunburned neck: Oh, God! Could it...could this be...yes! Ohhh, yes, it is! And the clew of the jib moves slowly from the mast to the rail, the sail regains its curved shape, and life comes into the helm. A sailor remembers that moment, sometimes forever. Someone with an engine never even experiences it. I look out over the Seattle waterfront and see them, on a beautiful afternoon with a six knot breeze, their mainsail still under cover, their roller-furling jib pulled out, engine on, driving about the bay, unintentionally signaling to the world: Hi! I'm a dickless wonder and I have no clue! That is not a sailor. He and others with their treasured engines are boaters. Men and women who cruise under sail and oar are sailors. It is two utterly different experiences, two different sports.

I honestly believe that’s more tacks than I’ve seen in all the sailing videos together over the years in my career as an arm chair sailor

As a teenager I was proud to be a part of the 3 man crew on a 27 ft Santana sailboat. We participated in Santana sailboat races off Newport Beach CA. We competed against 30 other racers and typically finished in the too 5, with lots of 2nd n 3rd place finishes. We always sailed out of and back into our boat slip in Newport Beach. I never forgot that Awesome Skipper :)

In 1967-68, I spent seven months as crew on a 50-foot cutter that had no engine. It was an Angus Primrose 1967 design, built in cold-moulded plywood for the 1968 OSTAR (Observer Single-Handed Transatlantic Race) and only weighed nine tonnes. We sailed up and down the Windward Islands, then to St Thomas, USVI, Bermuda, and finally to Essex, Connecticut. Marinas and crowded harbours were a challenge, but, in extremis, we would raft the Zodiac inflatable alongside and its 1.5 hp Seagull outboard would move us along at 1-2 knots.

At last, a good sailing vlog by a real sailor!

look at the videos by linn and larry pardey . they never had an engine on their boats. sailed the world TWICE.. this is good stuff.!!!

this is becoming one of the best channels I watch...

True yachtsman!!!! For the people with negative comments....... Remember...... This was sailing in its origin. This is all they had, a yacht, sails and wind, to get in and out of

Your a true seaman. Take my hat off to you Sir

I'd watch your videos all day long. Informative, relaxing, just what I've been looking for ....Thanks.

It's refreshing to finally come across a RU-vid sailing video that focuses on seamanship. Far too many sailing videos are put up by clueless noobs with enormous boats and little skill. These usually feature a young, scantly clad bimbo prattling about food poisoning or yoga / enema retreats in Bali as the hapless skipper reaches along under his soon to be broken autopilot in 20 foot breaking beam seas. "oh that was a BIG one!!!" she exclaims as the boat rolls over on it's beam ends, nearly pitching her and her selfie stick mounted go-pro overboard, smoke pouring from the autopilot as it fights the sea. I sailed a 20 foot from Los Angeles to La Paz Mexico a few years back. All we had was an electric trolling motor on an 8,000 pound Pacific Seacraft Flicka. Sailing without an engine teaches you 4 very important things, all of which are in evidence here: 1) Respect for and and attention to the elements. 2) The importance of harmonizing with them. 3) Boat handling 4) Patience and humility. This video should have 50,000 views, not the 559 it has at the moment. Consider hiring a model with enormous knockers, and photograph her bending over trying to haul in your anchor. You don't have to take her sailing, just bend her over the bow pulpit in a G-string and use the photograph as click-bait until you establish a following, lol....It seems to be the best way to game RU-vid's algorithm, and the more people who see videos like this instead of say, SV Delos, the better. Nothing against Delos or any other cruisers, but they should not be the sole face of the cruising lifestyle . Props also for not cyber-begging with Patreon link - you are truly showing self sufficiency here. If those young guys with the hot females want to earn an honest living while cruising, they should set-up porn webcams and film their sexual escapades at sea. I'm sure there's niche for that.

Lovely to see it sensitively and skillfully done. I once hired a yacht in Poole Harbour, England and they gave me the tender and an outboard, to which I responded, 'What's that for?' They all looked shocked, but I took it anyway and returned it stone cold later in the day, having sailed both from the buoy and back to it again, single handed. They were too startled to even buy me a pint! Anyway, well done again to you for showing how it should be done. Bill Dixon

"wave to the neighbors" haha love it. What a great series. thanks for sharing this!

Not very often: instantly subscribed. Thanks for not having the notorious shaky strap-on boob-angle camera found so often on sailing channels these days, but seamanship instead, and reality down to hitting ground and shitty fellow travellers. Got to go for some binging now I'm afraid ...

Thank you for this series! I don't know if I'll ever find myself out on the ocean and in need of these skills but there is something fascinating about this that makes it fun to learn about. Please feel free to cover even the mundane bits in as much detail as you please because it would appear that there's very little material like this on RU-vid and while there are other engineless yachtsmen out there such as Roger Taylor, you have your own unique take on the subject matter and the means to film it well. Thanks again.

I had a gaffer. Engine unreliable. Had to maneuver a lot under sail. Great fun great video

Such a good instructional video....I actually know whT to do now.! Awesome!!

Back to my dinghy days, well instructed!

I really appreciate your videos. Im 55 yrs old wanting to buy a contessa to live on and have never sailed in my life. For now I will ride with you. Thanks for sharing

What a boss, I never been on a sailboat, but I wanna do that!

You sir are a true sailor. Amazing, no engine single handed.

Love your videos, informative and easy to follow.

Thank you for selflessly sharing your experiences. My life does not afford the luxury of sailing, however your videos are the next best thing. Cheers.

Love it! Great sailing and very informative ⛵️👌

We have an O'Day 23 with a kick up rudder... The rudder when kicked up acts like a strong sculling oar. I can get the boat moving at a decent speed and I've had to use it when the Honda 9.9 ran out of gas before we got to the dock. Works great.

Love your channel just started watching slowly working through the videos old school is fantastic

I am very happy to discover you channel. And I will practice these manoeuvres at once. Thanks.

I don’t know that I feel comfortable sailing my 50 year old 7 ton Columbia 30 that has a 6ft draft fin-keel without a motor, especially where I’m at being extremely shallow with most areas being 6-7ft and 10ft at the deepest. Add to that the fact this is my home, and I have animals who don’t deal with the heat very well, and it makes sense why I need a motor. I’m used to sailing without a motor, as my last boat was a 69 Gulf Coast 20 swing keel design that I used just a trolling motor to get out of the shallows with. Once I was able to deploy the keel, I’d sail in whatever direction I wanted with ease, but that boat was light enough to where I could maneuver the boat on the trailer around my yard by hand. The entire boat probably weighed around 1200lbs. Now that I have relocated and have a much bigger boat and this is my home, I don’t know that I want to take that risk. I’ve had to do it a few times, but every time I do, I feel like I just cheated death, and that feeling tells me it was reckless and slightly irresponsible. Had anything gone wrong while out, I’d have lost my home, potentially my animals, and potentially died. That Gulf Coast 20 ended up being destroyed against some rocks in a storm after we got becalmed in the calm before the storm and the trolling motor died. With a RU-vidr onboard, who wasn’t used to monohulls and was a little bit cocky. 😂 After having to be rescued by the fire department, watching my boat with all my stuff in it get capsized, dismasted, and broken up into a million pieces against rocks in 10ft waves, I don’t want to ever go through that experience again. Be safe. Have fun, but take the ocean seriously.

A very nice sailing channel. Nice to see how sailing was done before engines were put into everything. I had a Pacific Seacraft Orion 27, and even with a engine, and full keel, she wouldn't answer the helm all that good at slow speeds and light wind, so your having to tack to get out of the channel was very interesting to see. I had a similar situation to what you described near the peer, but mine was approaching a floating barrier net near some navy ships to keep boats away. Was tacking in low winds, no engine on, and a wake from a fast pleasure boat stopped us dead in the water and we started to drift toward the barrier net and the helm wouldn't answer due to the slow speed. If it wasn't for the engine, that would have been a interesting discussion with the navy patrol boats in the area but your description on planning ahead for that was spot on. I've run aground too when just starting out by not reading the channel markers correctly, and had to get towed off. Very embarrassing, but it was a very good lesson in the end.

This is excellent reference material in understanding basic sailing principles and terminology. I thank you for this video.

If I was passing by & saw you were stuck, I'd feel lucky too be able to give you a tow. It's part of the whole experience of life!

Great video on real sailing and seamanship, Thank You.

Nice. Good seamanship, everyone was doing it like that in the pre-engine days. Sailing only makes you very aware of what wind and tide is doing all the time.

I love this. I really appreciate your unpretentious approach and explanations. Thanks for sharing the mishaps as well - it helps to hear these experiences and how others cope with them. Excellent channel, thank you.

Hey from Denmark. I just love the way you ecplain haw too handle this nice Lady, very informative 💚👍

AWESOME! Thank you for taking the time to make these videos! I hope to be Gaff rigging it soon as well! ALOHA!

Really great and tutoring video. Thank you 🙏 for sharing this

Great Seamanship Kevin...

I’m a fairly new sailor on my own boat and learn so much just watching how you handle your boat.

Subscribed! I don't plan to actually sail without an engine but it's certainly a skill a sailor should have. Great presentation, very clear and concise. Thank-you!

Haha, nice skills. Your title should include doing it alone. I sailed some years without engine on a dragon (a 29 feet 1.7 ton old Olympic class) and was always treated with utmost respect when sailing her in and out harbors (it was also an 90 year old wooden one so that could have something to do with it too). Nice to see a YT channel around true seamanship! The difference is I mostly had a crew-member and the Dragon can be turned on a dime. Fair sailing!

Bloody cool mate. NZ

Love this guy already

Aah, thank you, aah, for this beautiful, aah, video, about, aah, sailing, aah, without a, aah, engine, aah, but aah, you know what ? Aah, tou are talking like a, aah, bloody frenchmen !

good video, i can relate to sailing alot in confined water, my first 10 years were sharpening my skills by playing chicken,lol. i had a 24' and then a 25 ' sailboat and the motor was called Conky,lol, it kept Conking out on me,lol. couldnt trust it at all and the second i depended on it, it would fail,lol. now i have a 36 Cataliina, shes a bit more to handle but all those skills i learned back in the day still apply. i used to count down boat lengths before the next tack because of the depth. i still do alot of river sailing but mostly bat sailing. the man i brought my boat from was not much of a sailer, he would often motor the boat everywere,lol. i assume he brought a stink pot,lol. the 36 cattalina is everything i ever wanted in a sailboat, shes fast, heavy and very sea friendly. i trust her alot, great in light air also.

Impressive resume bro. Also great narration very instructive.

Good job, first time I've seen your vids but will follow. Thanks

It’s pretty cool you’re cruising without an engine. I’m from VA and about to buy a boat on the Chesapeake.

Real nice Kev, good waterman y'are indeed mate!

Excellent video. I often wondered how the massive tall ships would get near shore.

I watched it twice it's that good! Some comments below had me in stitches about clic-bait. For what is worth I'm a retired professional mariner and your delivery is excellent. Also enjoy the guitar riffs!

Great video.

Also, less holes in the hull. & no boat needs a toilet either. (even more unnecessary holes) 🙄 Good stuff! 🙏👌

very much enjoyed thanks

Good sailing!

Thank you so much Capt!! Blessings🌴😎

wow. Great skills, learning is knowing, and the knowing gives you the confidence.

I wanna get a sailboat, so much freedom :) especially what you said at the end. Just started sailing, and it became an overnight trip

That was cool to watch

Many thanks for your suggestions. I've not wanted the hassle of a motor for my little 14-foot daysailer. An oar means one less hassle.

I've watched a couple of videos and subscribed. I should've subscribed sooner. Great video as always. You sir are a true sailor. Thank you for sharing 🙂

I love this short tacking stuff... it just generates good and efficient sail handling. I am so so glad we have a self tending club footed stay sail... In fact the only sail that needs to be tacked is our yankee... one out of four sails is a bonus. One thing about harbors... Here in Australia, it is illegal to sail in many commercial harbors, the local water police will speak to you if you were seen to be doing this.

You make it look so easy. :D

Superb!!

"Without scaring yourself and everyone else half to death" YOU HEARD ME LOL

Great video, very helpful. Have been looking for engineless sailing and sculling for a while now, not much on the subject. I have a 32 footer myself with a small outboard but prefer the ability to sail without using an engine.

This is real sailing! My dream!

New subscriber here. Great content in this one!

It's true you can sail around the world without an engine, but in certain places, the combination of no wind, strong currents, tides, poor holding etc can create very difficult challenges. You need to learn a great deal in order to overcome these challenges, mostly about patience and forethought. Having crew and guests on board will complicate things further. It becomes a management exercise. By all means go for it, you can do it. It's like reading Tolstoy, difficult but rewarding.

Makes ya want to swear off your iron jib to make more room for swag! All ya need is a 14ft hoar! and a little sand in yur gut! Great Video!!!It was the custom of Joshua Slocum in his later years to do just as you do ,summers on east coast winters in the Caribbean.Sail on sailor!

Great video. Thanks for the cool tips.

loved your video I had a 30 ft full keel planked danish 1950's it had a 3hp outboard most gas used it a season was 2gal in a 7 year period like you hated to run motor if I had wanted to get any where quick would have bought a Motor boat. I belive you get the when you get there the world is in to much of a rush. practice so I could pull up to docks under sail. Had my own mooring that I sailed from an to. I also sailed a 30ft. 3 masted Chinese Junk it had 15 ft oras for no wind condition. thank you will keep watching.

Wow, what a dick. He went off with your dockline AND left a sailor in need behind. Especially after initially helping. Is there more? I like this video... :) Thanks for uploading it.

Thank You! Great content :-) I have only one suggestion ums& ahs please don't take this wrong I love your teaching style

Honestly i'm surprised that all the youtubers that are sailing videos that motor because it seems to me that i would sit and fish until the wind picked up again and then i would still fish.

Cool man!

I think I'm goin to do this asmuch as possible to get my confidence up

Cool 100%

I can hear the engine running 😂

capt Cook sailed and charted a large part of the world without an engine

Love your video. Very informative. Keep it up and stay safe. Greetings from Scotland :)

Subscribed. Thank you.

Best sailing videos I've seen. Keep it up

Had an outboard and after a year of trying to keep it reliable I just gave up any hope and just sailed on.

Wonderful. Very educational. I am considering disposal of my atomi 4 engine

Enjoying your channel. Strategizing how to get a keel boat and in the “starter” category I’ve seen a lot of old boats, fair hull but the engine is shot. Tempted to reconsider , although the idea of a slip with no motor is intimidating. Outboard perhaps. Thanks again!

I am not an experienced sailor and this was very interesting.

You are my hero.

if you add a curve to the sculling oar, or attach the rope to a fixed bar at the right offset from the center of the oar, you gain a lot of efficiency because you no longer need to manually twist the oar each stroke. I can scull against 15 knots of wind, and traveling at 1.5 knots for hours at a time.

Interesting. I have a 7,000 lbs 32 footer and have thought about yanking out the diesel and installing a couple of 12 foot sweeps. At 67, others counsel me otherwise. The boat is an Aphrodite 101, Averisera.

very well done video.. thanks for sharing :)

That's my flukey harbor.. Dt hampton VA. I think I've seen you with a giant oar.

maestro!

At least this means you can get an extra couple of feet living space rather than engine bay also cheap to fix and less to go wrong exclamation mark

Wow! Livaboard Cruisers(who all depend on their engines and electronics) with hundreds of thousands more subscribers could learn a lot from your videos! My father taught me to scull. ( He had raced S-Boats.) One of our dinghies had a sculling oarlock in the stern. I wish we had had one on the sailboat. There were a few times I was becalmed close to the mooring where it would have been nice to scull the rest of the way instead of having to wait hours for the wind to pick up to sail the rest of the way to the mooring (because we never used the engine). Another time the tiller came loose from the rudder when I was only just 7-8 boat lengths from the mooring...a sculling oar might have come in handy. Luckily I had a more experienced crew who knew how to steer the boat with just the sails (as I should have also having learned to windsurf).

I would be wary of those reefing cords hanging below the boom. I recently managed to get one caught on the brass rail on which the roof slides and it bent the rail fromthe horizontal to about 45 degrees.

Sir, is that a curly W on your mainsail? Ok, regardless… Love your channel. Inspiration!

18years and 35000 miles on a 37 ft tayanna I heard "help tow me in "by some of the most famous basic sailors

Neil de Grasse Tyson defined the meaning of awesome. Your knowledge and skill has to be in the realm

Awesome learned a lot!