Dani/Tate-- another great video... Sooo happy for you both splashing down again!! I hope you will find some rest soon-- and enjoy Panama while you grow your sea legs back. I must say-- I am always shocked at the comments some people make on TH-cam sailing channels. I am grateful you are apart of our SAILING community-- and appreciate your candor and class in your responses to people less deserving and simply 'ignorant'. Your positivity and character shines through-- NEVER GIVE UP YOUR BRAND! Look forward to your next vid of you two back in the water! Cheers 🍻, Thomas S/Y Explorar Conmigo
+SY Explorar Conmigo Hi Thomas, thank you so much for your very kind comment. I'm not sure what gets into people on You Tube! We've never had such issues with our blog. But thankfully there are people like you out there who enjoy our stories. That makes it all worth it. Sure we'll battle with negativity as we continue to make movies but oh well. We'll brush it aside and continue forward enjoying this beautiful lifestyle. We have rested up quite a bit now and are enjoying this time back in San Blas in the Swimming Pool area diving and fishing. As you know with cruising we are meeting lots of people..sometimes its hard to find time to edit the videos, lol. I have a lot of love in my heart to make these travel love vlogs...I feel im creating art and I cant wait to show you what we are seeing out here. Drop by anytime:) Tate and Dani
OMG y'all... I sat on this one for a while til I felt like it was time to lean back and relax a while and hang out with the 2 of you! Sundowner looks so sharp and pretty w/that paint job. I'll never forget almost sniffling when I saw the New Orleans (label? stencil?) go on her years ago. I felt a little like that just now when I saw her all shiny and pretty again!
I love those almond butter biscuits! I also think that might have been the first time I've heard Tate laugh when he was describing the conditions lol sorry it's so humid there but the boat looks great! You did a good job wrapping everything in plastic!
I have to say your vids are the best on You Tube. Of course i too live aboard my Westsail 32 and have also spent some time in Panama so i can relate. Thanks for sharing and love to see my sister ship and crew exploring new worlds.
+Cheshire Canary (Ronda) I know right? I already feel like it's not enough. Yeah she let out a loud groan but I accidentally cut the end out of the video.
Okay, I get that you guys wanted to go exploring in an R/V. I really wanted to buy one and explore, too. We had one for a year and drove all over Southern California. Loved it! I also get that it was "time" to get back to the boat. We sold ours about six months back and refocused on getting the sailboat ready. It is really great to see you two back on the boat. Seems we parallel on a few things, but we are still at the marina in the middle of a repower. Really looking forward to seeing where you go next. By the way, where are you going next? (Disclaimer: if I have asked this before, disregard. I was under the influence of some aged Scotch).
+Sail Before Sunset I bet you could spend years in Southern California! The RV trip was great and it helpd refresh us for the rest of our cruising trip. Goodluck with the repower! We did the same back in 2011. Never regretted it:) We are in San Blas currently and plan to do the Pacific next March and then the other side of the world.
Great video. Just curious how much for your boat or boats go be on the mooring ball? Future adventure in planning. Oh I just found their website and rates on the site
+Chris Lee Thanks! The slips in the water are pretty cheap, I think it's $6ft per month? $9ft per month In long term storage. There are always boats for sale here. 3 40ish boats for sale right in the boatyard.
Hello Tate & Danni, good to see your boat back in the water, I look forward to following your adventure on youtube. You mentioned your lack of Spanish language skills, you might like to check out a free language learning app called duo lingo, using it everyday along with google translate to give you translations of specific names of things, or terms you need to use in conversations, you would be surprised how much you can learn in a few months.
+Dvseire Hello! Thanks for the recommendation on the app, we used it for a while back in the States but can't really use it while traveling as we barely have internet and its inconsistent, has limits, and expensive. We bascially reserve all the internet for the management of this you tube channel and our blog. But I (Dani) do have 13 Spanish books onboard that Ive studied over the years. I would say I'm a bit past beginner (I took it in highschool and also college for 2 years). I am rusty though and Tate isnt quiye as proficient so there was some confusion. I was later howeve able to say "Do you have a hand pump for diesel" and I was able to get one! For the win...that's in the next video.
+Dvseire Great tip on both programs. I have and use both. I also use memrise. Unfortunately duo uses bandwidth and so I don't run it out here in the islands.
I suppose the lack of available internet is a problem alright. the problem I have found with books is, not having the motivation to study everyday, that is a definite advantage with an app because it reminds you that its time to study. You could of course do the same using the books, but you would have to be self motivating and disciplined about studying everyday. Thanks for sharing your videos, and safe travels.
+Dvseire Are you good at other languages? French and Spanish seem to be the biggest around here (Western Caribbean). Ive spoken a lot with French people using Spanish because they know it but not English.
Sundowner Sails Again My Spanish is pretty good and getting better all the time, but I am not fluent yet. You are right about French and Spanish being widespread, they historically along with English, Portuguese and Dutch, are the languages of the European nations which colonised/occupied the continents of the world, and as a result they have left a cultural and language legacy behind.
Nice getting the boat back in the water. Did I see a Rainman water makers in the cockpit? If so, could you tell me real quick your experience with it and if you'd recommend it to other cruisers?
It was a great day. YES, I was wondering if anyone would notice the Rainman. We do LOVE it. We just recommissioned it after 10 months pickled and made water. I wrote about it here. sundownersailsagain.com/rainman-reverse-osmosis-or-how-we-were-saved/ Tell them Tate and Dani SV Sundowner sent ya.
Sundowner Sails Again thanks for the link. I've been looking at them for a while. think we'll go with the electric model we have a Honda generator already.
Was the Westsail 32 a kit boat that you built or was she already built? 30 Years ago I was interested in the famed double-ender kit after seeing the Westsail at West End in New Orleans. Having kids seemed to put a damper on the project.
+Rock Daddy hi! Sorry for the delay, we are just seeing your comment. Sundowner was factory finished in North Carolina. Are you going to get back out there and sail?
+Grandpa's Farm- Going Sailing It was a great day. Yeah we freedive a lot. That's pretty much what we are doing out here. No tanks. Tate spearfishes. We go about 50 to 60 feet on a good day:) Sorry we cant watch videos while traveling. What is the poseiden Re breather?
It is a piece of scuba gear that replaces regular tanks and recycles and scrubs your exhaled breaths so you scan breath again. Very quiet and no bubbles.
+Grandpa's Farm- Going Sailing interesting! We had thought about getting a hooka rig but just freediving is soich easier with less hassle. You just have to work on holding your breath. It must be a new thing. Are you a diver?
Yes I am. I have dove all over the world. From the carib to the Persian gulf. I do a lot of underwater video and include them with my sailing and conservation VLOGS
+Grandpa's Farm- Going Sailing Wow the Persian Gulf huh? We are looking forward to diving in the Pacific. We have open celled wetsuits but hoping there arent too many bug boy sharks with the spearfishing. The shark population here is minimal. Today Tate shot a 15 Dog Snapper! I ate a bit chopped up raw with veggies and we gave a lot to neighboring boats. I would love to chat about underwater video. I've taken tons of pictures and a little video last year when we were here but now I have a much better camera and I wonder what the best settings are for it underwater as I am limited by the case for all the settings.
Congrats on being homeless once again. The US considers full time RV'ers, and I would guess full time floaters to be homeless as well. We were tagged as being homeless in Alaska While We Lived In Our motorcoach. I bet you're glad to be home. My wife and I are seriously talking about living back in the motorcoach once again. Thanks for the new video. Have a relaxing evening with a nice drink and think of us poor land locked folks. Looking forward to seeing more videos.
+RC We often joke about being homeless. However technically we have an address with a family member as to not be officially homeless. Good luck getting back in the coach. We had a great time in ours, but alas, I think the sea is our home.
+RC Yeah the classifications of homeless are a little silly. There are whole communities in indochina who live primarily on the water. Anyways it feels GREAT to be back in our home. Rving was nice too with the flexibility of going where you wantes at anytime. It's hard for me to imagine owning a home in one spot, unless it had an incredible view!
With the way the US is now I don't want to own. We've been renting here for a little while. We don't have anything holding us back from taking off for the weekends if we lived in it. The savings from rent to RV space will offset mire than enough fuel. I couldn't believe that Alaska considered us homeless. My coach is nicer than most apartments. Just because it's not bolted to the ground. That's the amazement of our government. Enough complaining. Have a wonderful, Wonderful evening.
You say it's $30 a day to park on the hard. I hear there's a lot of owners out to get away from the storage cost that you can get into a Sail Boat really cheap at times.
Sundowner Sails Again I think I'll take all my Carpentry tools to the west coast and travel from one boat yard to the next working on boats tell I find something I can buy.
+TheMonkeyrock77 Yeah! Are you looking to buy a boat? We've found many great deals outside of the States, Panamarina right now has 3 40ish foot boats for sale. You can live and work in your boat right there. Lots of people do it. I wish you were around...we could definitely use some carpentry aboard Sundowner in a couple of places. That's a GREAT skill to have and if you can work on boats you'll always have work. Male yourself little business cards and as you travel hand them out. Especially out here cruising.
Oh my God, this has got to be the most depressing site about sailing I have ever seen. I hope the best for you, and I will personally apologize, if I should ever run across your wake on the sea, but WOW; What a disaster. Can't sleep together because of the heat? Beard is sunscreen? Cannot survive without movie XYZ? Maybe you should both go back to Twin Peaks and figure out who killed Laura Palmer. On the other hand, you do have a boat, and you are that far in front of me.
+Ric Gaston I'm not reallu sure how to respond to this horribly rude comment. We love our sailing like life and have the most beautiful scenery and experiences. Who cares if there are a few inconveniences. No need to apologize to us, we are living the dream. Feel free to never come back and let the rest enjoy our story with you interjecting your negativity.
Wow @Sundowner Sails Again! You could not have responded better! What a complete ASS! How ironic that Ric tries to tie your site to being depressing, yet his post is filled with nothing but depressing rubbish! I find these videos very refreshing because it shows all the hard work and sacrifice that goes into this lifestyle, whereas a lot of sites only show the fun side of things. I appreciate seeing a "realistic" view. Just keep doing what you're doing, and bless you both for having the courage to get out there and actually do it! As for Ric, he sounds like a silver spoon spoiled little shit who doesn't know what real responsibility is, and I can guarantee you he's never sailed on a boat that's needed any blood, sweat, and tears to make it his own. The only boat he's most likely ever dreamed about was a brand new shiny gift from mom and dad that needed only a rich prick captain to jump aboard. Why the eff people like Dic, I mean Ric even watch these videos is beyond me!
This is a bit boring. It's like watching your parents do their weekly food shop. You don't seem to convey any joy in your situation? I think Patreon should pay me to watch this.
+Sailing Myall Lots of people like different things. It's ok if you dont like our style. We are always trying to improve though as we make more of these travel vlogs.
+Sailing Myall this is Tate. Always looking for feedback. You must have watched enough to find it boring. May I ask if there is something that would make it more enjoyable? As far as joy, Dani was sick and I was working like a dog in the heat. We tried to smile a lot but it was a tough time. I think we conveyed that. I think other sailors that have been there and done that might find it boring but a lot of our audience is in planning phase and day to day life on a small boat is a mystery. We hope to show good and bad to them. So please share constructive ideas to make the channel better.
That's a fair response and I'm not expert but....I suppose you have to ask yourself why are you posting videos? Is it for the money (Patreon)? Or do you love posting vids? If it's the latter then I would say you need to think more carefully about the whole composition of your vids? Is it really acceptable to just monologue to the camera? There's soo much white noise out there - every tom dick and harry is doing a monologue to the camera about the sailboat they bought but don't have a clue about that I just switch off....I'm in the UK in the middle of winter...I'd love to know about your boat etc.. and the 'gritty' realism but I'd also like to know about that area of panama, the people, the food, what's the history? What about the locals? They seem to be ghosts in everybody's vlogs and I'd like to more about them? Also...The Westsail 32 is labelled the 'wetsnail'...perhaps you could dispell this myth? Focus on a piece of your boat each week...maybe the furling system...how it works or doesn't - as an experienced sailor that would be interesting...Or you could have a segment at the end where you muse on the cruising life with beard and pipe in hand ...'comments form the cockpit'...or similar. But whatever you do take more time effort and thought to make it as good as it can possibly be....?????
Thanks for the great feedback. This is Dani. We post videos because we do some really cool stuff and want to share it with people as well as have a memory of our travels. Videos are WAY more expensive and time consuming to make so Patreon is good way to help us offset the costs of filming (camera, computers, software, microphones, lights, lens, mounts, UPLOAD costs, and on and on). Filming is also more intrusive into the traveling lifestyle so we try to balance vlogging with the carefree lifestyle that we worked and saved for. These videos are a lot of work to film and produce so we are careful with how much of our time goes to them. We've had our Blog www.Sundownersailsagain.com since 2010 where we documented the 5 year refit and eventual leave to go cruising on a 5 year or so sabbatical from work. We had lots of blog followers and we enjoyed sharing our stories with pictures with no incentive in mind other than to connect with others and help them to realize their own dreams. We know our boat very well and replaced every system before we left including the motor and rig. Sundowner has also been around the world 3 times with the previous owners over the course of 27 years. There are lots of things about the boat and our story that we will reveal as the vlogs continue but right at first here we didn't want to get too far behind so wanted to show what was going on without the long dragging into that we've been trying to avoid. I agree that the history of places and technical stuff on the boat are interesting and have a place. We want the videos to be a mix of relaxing, amazing scenery and also information and details for those interested in that. I guess in our short videos (upcoming ones are 7 mins because we can't upload much offshore here) it's hard to fit all the words necessary for all that. The people we meet both cruisers and locals are of interest but filming people you have just met and getting them to be on camera is not easy. I try all the time to figure out how to film people. I've got some good stuff coming up... Currently we are anchored 15 miles offshore in little coconut islands owned by short little Indians who row around in little dugout canoes. Tate shot a 15 pound Dog Snapper on the outer reef and today we went to a nearby white sand beach and had lobster on the grill and fish ceviche. We swam in the water and watched Pelicans sitting on top of palm trees as the sun went down. Should be nice in an upcoming video.
Dani/Tate-- another great video... Sooo happy for you both splashing down again!! I hope you will find some rest soon-- and enjoy Panama while you grow your sea legs back.
I must say-- I am always shocked at the comments some people make on TH-cam sailing channels. I am grateful you are apart of our SAILING community-- and appreciate your candor and class in your responses to people less deserving and simply 'ignorant'. Your positivity and character shines through-- NEVER GIVE UP YOUR BRAND!
Look forward to your next vid of you two back in the water!
Cheers 🍻,
Thomas
S/Y Explorar Conmigo
+SY Explorar Conmigo Hi Thomas, thank you so much for your very kind comment. I'm not sure what gets into people on You Tube! We've never had such issues with our blog. But thankfully there are people like you out there who enjoy our stories. That makes it all worth it. Sure we'll battle with negativity as we continue to make movies but oh well. We'll brush it aside and continue forward enjoying this beautiful lifestyle. We have rested up quite a bit now and are enjoying this time back in San Blas in the Swimming Pool area diving and fishing. As you know with cruising we are meeting lots of people..sometimes its hard to find time to edit the videos, lol. I have a lot of love in my heart to make these travel love vlogs...I feel im creating art and I cant wait to show you what we are seeing out here. Drop by anytime:) Tate and Dani
OMG y'all... I sat on this one for a while til I felt like it was time to lean back and relax a while and hang out with the 2 of you! Sundowner looks so sharp and pretty w/that paint job. I'll never forget almost sniffling when I saw the New Orleans (label? stencil?) go on her years ago. I felt a little like that just now when I saw her all shiny and pretty again!
+sinistre aww we love you so much Michele!
I love those almond butter biscuits! I also think that might have been the first time I've heard Tate laugh when he was describing the conditions lol sorry it's so humid there but the boat looks great! You did a good job wrapping everything in plastic!
+SVRagnarok It was so hot and humid that the only thing I could do was laugh about it!
Glad to see her back on the water, she's looking great!
and the boats nice too.
She feels much better in the water. You could hear the audible groan when she floated off the trailer.
you two looked extremely tired & so happy sitting there once launched , Safe Travels
I have to say your vids are the best on You Tube. Of course i too live aboard my Westsail 32 and have also spent some time in Panama so i can relate. Thanks for sharing and love to see my sister ship and crew exploring new worlds.
+Curtis Westsail Glad you enjoy them! When are you coming back?😆
Curtis what happened to you I was following your TH-cam channel and 4 months ago you disappeared.
I can't wait to see the videos on the San Blas islands. 😍
+zzzx xzzz It's so beautiful here. The next video...
Looking forward to the next vlog. Edinburgh Scotland
+murray fleming Aw, can't wait to you the cool stuff our here!
nice guys,I'm sure its great to be back on the boat an water
+paul stratton A huge relief indeed.
good luck you guys thanks for sharing
+Barry Sonha Much appreciated!
Good wind for you two,like your life vision.best Rgds from downunder Eric⚓️⛵️🌅
+Eric Bernut Thanks Eric. Cheers from the Caribbean
I could hear her "sigh" once she got back in the water. You need more chocolate. LOL! Fair winds.
+Cheshire Canary (Ronda) I know right? I already feel like it's not enough. Yeah she let out a loud groan but I accidentally cut the end out of the video.
Great video!
How much was the room?
How much was staying on the hard?
Okay, I get that you guys wanted to go exploring in an R/V. I really wanted to buy one and explore, too. We had one for a year and drove all over Southern California. Loved it! I also get that it was "time" to get back to the boat. We sold ours about six months back and refocused on getting the sailboat ready.
It is really great to see you two back on the boat. Seems we parallel on a few things, but we are still at the marina in the middle of a repower.
Really looking forward to seeing where you go next. By the way, where are you going next? (Disclaimer: if I have asked this before, disregard. I was under the influence of some aged Scotch).
+Sail Before Sunset I bet you could spend years in Southern California! The RV trip was great and it helpd refresh us for the rest of our cruising trip. Goodluck with the repower! We did the same back in 2011. Never regretted it:) We are in San Blas currently and plan to do the Pacific next March and then the other side of the world.
Great video. Just curious how much for your boat or boats go be on the mooring ball? Future adventure in planning. Oh I just found their website and rates on the site
+Chris Lee Thanks! The slips in the water are pretty cheap, I think it's $6ft per month? $9ft per month In long term storage. There are always boats for sale here. 3 40ish boats for sale right in the boatyard.
Porto bello is known to be the rainiest in panama. Especially November.
+John Frank We found that out the hard way! Everyone says this year is more rainy than usual too.
A beard in the tropic's ? I would die .
+Dale Buckley It is like free sunscreen for my face.
Hello Tate & Danni,
good to see your boat back in the water, I look forward to following your adventure on youtube. You mentioned your lack of Spanish language skills, you might like to check out a free language learning app called duo lingo, using it everyday along with google translate to give you translations of specific names of things, or terms you need to use in conversations, you would be surprised how much you can learn in a few months.
+Dvseire Hello! Thanks for the recommendation on the app, we used it for a while back in the States but can't really use it while traveling as we barely have internet and its inconsistent, has limits, and expensive. We bascially reserve all the internet for the management of this you tube channel and our blog. But I (Dani) do have 13 Spanish books onboard that Ive studied over the years. I would say I'm a bit past beginner (I took it in highschool and also college for 2 years). I am rusty though and Tate isnt quiye as proficient so there was some confusion. I was later howeve able to say "Do you have a hand pump for diesel" and I was able to get one! For the win...that's in the next video.
+Dvseire Great tip on both programs. I have and use both. I also use memrise. Unfortunately duo uses bandwidth and so I don't run it out here in the islands.
I suppose the lack of available internet is a problem alright.
the problem I have found with books is, not having the motivation to study everyday, that is a definite advantage with an app because it reminds you that its time to study. You could of course do the same using the books, but you would have to be self motivating and disciplined about studying everyday. Thanks for sharing your videos, and safe travels.
+Dvseire Are you good at other languages? French and Spanish seem to be the biggest around here (Western Caribbean). Ive spoken a lot with French people using Spanish because they know it but not English.
Sundowner Sails Again
My Spanish is pretty good and getting better all the time, but I am not fluent yet.
You are right about French and Spanish being widespread, they historically along with English, Portuguese and Dutch, are the languages of the European nations which colonised/occupied the continents of the world, and as a result they have left a cultural and language legacy behind.
Nice getting the boat back in the water. Did I see a Rainman water makers in the cockpit? If so, could you tell me real quick your experience with it and if you'd recommend it to other cruisers?
It was a great day. YES, I was wondering if anyone would notice the Rainman. We do LOVE it. We just recommissioned it after 10 months pickled and made water. I wrote about it here. sundownersailsagain.com/rainman-reverse-osmosis-or-how-we-were-saved/ Tell them Tate and Dani SV Sundowner sent ya.
Sundowner Sails Again thanks for the link. I've been looking at them for a while. think we'll go with the electric model we have a Honda generator already.
Was the Westsail 32 a kit boat that you built or was she already built? 30 Years ago I was interested in the famed double-ender kit after seeing the Westsail at West End in New Orleans. Having kids seemed to put a damper on the project.
+Rock Daddy hi! Sorry for the delay, we are just seeing your comment. Sundowner was factory finished in North Carolina. Are you going to get back out there and sail?
RVing right now but anything is possible.
What part of Louisiana are y'all from?
Glad to see you guys splashed. Do you guys do any diving? I just uploaded a video about the Poseidon Re breather.
+Grandpa's Farm- Going Sailing It was a great day. Yeah we freedive a lot. That's pretty much what we are doing out here. No tanks. Tate spearfishes. We go about 50 to 60 feet on a good day:) Sorry we cant watch videos while traveling. What is the poseiden Re breather?
It is a piece of scuba gear that replaces regular tanks and recycles and scrubs your exhaled breaths so you scan breath again. Very quiet and no bubbles.
+Grandpa's Farm- Going Sailing interesting! We had thought about getting a hooka rig but just freediving is soich easier with less hassle. You just have to work on holding your breath. It must be a new thing. Are you a diver?
Yes I am. I have dove all over the world. From the carib to the Persian gulf. I do a lot of underwater video and include them with my sailing and conservation VLOGS
+Grandpa's Farm- Going Sailing Wow the Persian Gulf huh? We are looking forward to diving in the Pacific. We have open celled wetsuits but hoping there arent too many bug boy sharks with the spearfishing. The shark population here is minimal. Today Tate shot a 15 Dog Snapper! I ate a bit chopped up raw with veggies and we gave a lot to neighboring boats. I would love to chat about underwater video. I've taken tons of pictures and a little video last year when we were here but now I have a much better camera and I wonder what the best settings are for it underwater as I am limited by the case for all the settings.
Congrats on being homeless once again. The US considers full time RV'ers, and I would guess full time floaters to be homeless as well. We were tagged as being homeless in Alaska While We Lived In Our motorcoach. I bet you're glad to be home. My wife and I are seriously talking about living back in the motorcoach once again. Thanks for the new video. Have a relaxing evening with a nice drink and think of us poor land locked folks. Looking forward to seeing more videos.
+RC We often joke about being homeless. However technically we have an address with a family member as to not be officially homeless. Good luck getting back in the coach. We had a great time in ours, but alas, I think the sea is our home.
+RC Yeah the classifications of homeless are a little silly. There are whole communities in indochina who live primarily on the water. Anyways it feels GREAT to be back in our home. Rving was nice too with the flexibility of going where you wantes at anytime. It's hard for me to imagine owning a home in one spot, unless it had an incredible view!
With the way the US is now I don't want to own. We've been renting here for a little while. We don't have anything holding us back from taking off for the weekends if we lived in it. The savings from rent to RV space will offset mire than enough fuel. I couldn't believe that Alaska considered us homeless. My coach is nicer than most apartments. Just because it's not bolted to the ground. That's the amazement of our government. Enough complaining. Have a wonderful, Wonderful evening.
You say it's $30 a day to park on the hard. I hear there's a lot of owners out to get away from the storage cost that you can get into a Sail Boat really cheap at times.
+TheMonkeyrock77 it's $300 a month for the storage, $9 ft...$30 was just the labor to have a guy sand the bottom for 6 hours.
Sundowner Sails Again I think I'll take all my Carpentry tools to the west coast and travel from one boat yard to the next working on boats tell I find something I can buy.
+TheMonkeyrock77 Yeah! Are you looking to buy a boat? We've found many great deals outside of the States, Panamarina right now has 3 40ish foot boats for sale. You can live and work in your boat right there. Lots of people do it. I wish you were around...we could definitely use some carpentry aboard Sundowner in a couple of places. That's a GREAT skill to have and if you can work on boats you'll always have work. Male yourself little business cards and as you travel hand them out. Especially out here cruising.
The raspy voice is hot. lol Feel better.
+Michael Samuel :) I was sick for like 11 days! But I'm better now thank you.
Glad you're better. Cheers.
Oh my God, this has got to be the most depressing site about sailing I have ever seen. I hope the best for you, and I will personally apologize, if I should ever run across your wake on the sea, but WOW; What a disaster. Can't sleep together because of the heat? Beard is sunscreen? Cannot survive without movie XYZ? Maybe you should both go back to Twin Peaks and figure out who killed Laura Palmer. On the other hand, you do have a boat, and you are that far in front of me.
I feel you brotha...
+Ric Gaston I'm not reallu sure how to respond to this horribly rude comment. We love our sailing like life and have the most beautiful scenery and experiences. Who cares if there are a few inconveniences. No need to apologize to us, we are living the dream. Feel free to never come back and let the rest enjoy our story with you interjecting your negativity.
Wow @Sundowner Sails Again! You could not have responded better! What a complete ASS! How ironic that Ric tries to tie your site to being depressing, yet his post is filled with nothing but depressing rubbish! I find these videos very refreshing because it shows all the hard work and sacrifice that goes into this lifestyle, whereas a lot of sites only show the fun side of things. I appreciate seeing a "realistic" view. Just keep doing what you're doing, and bless you both for having the courage to get out there and actually do it! As for Ric, he sounds like a silver spoon spoiled little shit who doesn't know what real responsibility is, and I can guarantee you he's never sailed on a boat that's needed any blood, sweat, and tears to make it his own. The only boat he's most likely ever dreamed about was a brand new shiny gift from mom and dad that needed only a rich prick captain to jump aboard. Why the eff people like Dic, I mean Ric even watch these videos is beyond me!
This is a bit boring. It's like watching your parents do their weekly food shop. You don't seem to convey any joy in your situation? I think Patreon should pay me to watch this.
+Sailing Myall Lots of people like different things. It's ok if you dont like our style. We are always trying to improve though as we make more of these travel vlogs.
fair enough....fair winds and all that....
+Sailing Myall this is Tate. Always looking for feedback. You must have watched enough to find it boring. May I ask if there is something that would make it more enjoyable? As far as joy, Dani was sick and I was working like a dog in the heat. We tried to smile a lot but it was a tough time. I think we conveyed that. I think other sailors that have been there and done that might find it boring but a lot of our audience is in planning phase and day to day life on a small boat is a mystery. We hope to show good and bad to them. So please share constructive ideas to make the channel better.
That's a fair response and I'm not expert but....I suppose you have to ask yourself why are you posting videos? Is it for the money (Patreon)? Or do you love posting vids? If it's the latter then I would say you need to think more carefully about the whole composition of your vids? Is it really acceptable to just monologue to the camera? There's soo much white noise out there - every tom dick and harry is doing a monologue to the camera about the sailboat they bought but don't have a clue about that I just switch off....I'm in the UK in the middle of winter...I'd love to know about your boat etc.. and the 'gritty' realism but I'd also like to know about that area of panama, the people, the food, what's the history? What about the locals? They seem to be ghosts in everybody's vlogs and I'd like to more about them? Also...The Westsail 32 is labelled the 'wetsnail'...perhaps you could dispell this myth? Focus on a piece of your boat each week...maybe the furling system...how it works or doesn't - as an experienced sailor that would be interesting...Or you could have a segment at the end where you muse on the cruising life with beard and pipe in hand ...'comments form the cockpit'...or similar. But whatever you do take more time effort and thought to make it as good as it can possibly be....?????
Thanks for the great feedback. This is Dani. We post videos because we do some really cool stuff and want to share it with people as well as have a memory of our travels. Videos are WAY more expensive and time consuming to make so Patreon is good way to help us offset the costs of filming (camera, computers, software, microphones, lights, lens, mounts, UPLOAD costs, and on and on). Filming is also more intrusive into the traveling lifestyle so we try to balance vlogging with the carefree lifestyle that we worked and saved for. These videos are a lot of work to film and produce so we are careful with how much of our time goes to them.
We've had our Blog www.Sundownersailsagain.com since 2010 where we documented the 5 year refit and eventual leave to go cruising on a 5 year or so sabbatical from work. We had lots of blog followers and we enjoyed sharing our stories with pictures with no incentive in mind other than to connect with others and help them to realize their own dreams.
We know our boat very well and replaced every system before we left including the motor and rig. Sundowner has also been around the world 3 times with the previous owners over the course of 27 years. There are lots of things about the boat and our story that we will reveal as the vlogs continue but right at first here we didn't want to get too far behind so wanted to show what was going on without the long dragging into that we've been trying to avoid.
I agree that the history of places and technical stuff on the boat are interesting and have a place. We want the videos to be a mix of relaxing, amazing scenery and also information and details for those interested in that. I guess in our short videos (upcoming ones are 7 mins because we can't upload much offshore here) it's hard to fit all the words necessary for all that.
The people we meet both cruisers and locals are of interest but filming people you have just met and getting them to be on camera is not easy. I try all the time to figure out how to film people. I've got some good stuff coming up...
Currently we are anchored 15 miles offshore in little coconut islands owned by short little Indians who row around in little dugout canoes. Tate shot a 15 pound Dog Snapper on the outer reef and today we went to a nearby white sand beach and had lobster on the grill and fish ceviche. We swam in the water and watched Pelicans sitting on top of palm trees as the sun went down. Should be nice in an upcoming video.