Thanks for the technical explanations, Brent. Not only do you show your viewers the beauty of the world you travel to but you take the time to teach as well. A wonderful presentation.
Thanks !!! I am not sure what attracts subscribers but I do feel we have quality subscribers here. It's not always in the numbers but in the quality of the numbers! We hope by sharing, more folks will find it easier to embrace technology to be safe at sea. It really amazes me when I sometimes read a post that 'poo poos' devices such as AIS and others that really aid in safety at sea for all. The sea has moods - we need to understand her and respect her - we need to embrace technology that makes it safer to be out here and hopefully we can help folks see what we as cruisers use to be safe on the deep blue. Thanks for the awesome comment though - makes the effort worth our while ... cheers
I have watched several cruiser channels. Yours has a great balance between sharing the romance of the adventure and the technical side of sailing. I would encourage you to include a mix of both in each of your videos. That way we can see how the hard work (technical) pays off in the end (romance). Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Fair winds.
Nice comment guys - Mike, lets see how we can keep that going ... sailing really is a mix of freedom, challenges, leisure but also hard work ... cheers
These videos are exactly what I want to see! True cruising life. Keep up the good work. It's great that you guys don't sugar coat life onboard like most of the other yachtie channels.
Loving your videos. The technical focus on weather and route planning is a fantastic source of information and so very refreshing from the usual sailing vlogs. We are about to buy our first boat and set sail on a journey just like you guys, so are following with great interest . Thank you
We never thought this would be what folks want to see - so we will keep trying to add little bits n pieces into the video until we are told its not cool :) Cheers
Thanks Melody - thats cool of you! Moose is actually doing well - much better than when we last shared a video of him. His eyes are still 'cloudy' but not as much and apparently the cause is what they refer to here as 'electric ants' which are affecting animals in New Caledonia. Apparently these ants are a menace on the island. We should get a better understanding after meeting with one of the guys responsible for New Caledonias listing on the World Heritage Site (UNESCO) and has also been assisting us behind the scenes with care for Moose. It will be interesting to now get some 'first hand feedback' as to how things operate politically 'with animals' in New Caledonia. Cheers
Hey Brent < just wanted to say Hi...... had a couple of down days and found your journey >> thank you so much for taking the time and effort to document it. your vids are so easy to watch and I really love the balance of tech and other cruising info from shopping to maintenance > to watching time pass by with the rol of the ocean. your love of life comes thru so much and the times when you are getting smacked with the elements brings a smile to your face. ..love it !! ..I'm sure you give all of us the confidence to one day embark on such an adventure >
Free lessons and I took notes. Thanks! Got word my grant is funded and I will be purchasing a boat at years end! I am so excited. This will be joint effort to bring small water drills (we invented) that go 400 ft deep to areas that don't have a major port. Plus, I will be bring superfoods and introduce the most nutrient food on planet that grows in aquarium and feeds a family twice a day. Asian people have used this for centuries but have forgotten this medicine as they too have TV. Our mission is to end water and food shortages and help when disaster strikes. This is how we r funding our cruising kitty.
Wow Alice - that is amazing !!! Your projects sound so exciting. I know in South Africa they are pushing super foods and teaching people about it through courses. I really am looking forward to hearing more about your ventures. Are you going to dedicate a TH-cam channel to this? I am sure so many people would follow it ...
Wow, what can I say? Many of the folks have already said it, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to say it again. Thanks Brent for an excellent video on how you guys use satellite imaging for plotting and navigation and then linking it to Impi's system (even when you don't have the internet available - pretty simple work around). Love learning and love how you explain things. Thanks again! 😊👍👍👍😊 Sail on, sail safe! ⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵
Always a pleasure and we know what you mean when you say so many have said it before - but yes, it is nice to hear again as it gives us a measure of what topics people want us to cover in sailing so all good! Thanks for taking the time to respond ... cheers mate!
Hi Michael - thanks for the comment mate - very nice of you! We will keep trying to bring a variety of footage to the channel - some may appeal to certain folks and not to others and then another may have the vice versa effect ... Comments help me to know which route to go so we appreciate that ... Cheers
Once you Use a Sock on the Kite...You Never Go Back....Enjoying your programming interface knowledge.....What a Fabulous Experience.....Enjoy.....Mark S.F., Ca
Hey Orange Whip - Our pleasure mate - so much more we could have shared around that program but I think we shared just enough for folks who want to start using SAS Planet. Cheers
Another flawless and educational video. I really enjoy the tech side of your videos, they are like none other. You could get a job as a movie director! Great job and thank you again.
Absolutely Great! the mix of Tech and scenery perfect balance LOVED it well done my friend !! Needless to say i was downloading SAS Planet before the vid was complete. Thanks again! you guys ROCK
Awesome Phillip - we know how it can be searching through internet media trying to find real info that makes sailing easier - thought we would share what we could not initially find. Hopefully we can make it easier and safer for families to enjoy sailing on the deep blue! Cheers
ryan moeller - Ryan - so sorry I missed this message ! Oh man - such sad news - so sorry to hear this :( I hope you guys are coping - we will chat later but in the meanwhile our heartfelt prayers and thoughts are with your family right now ...
Thanks again for a great video especially showing how you navigate. I will be following your advice with SAS Planet, I looked it up straight away looks like an awsome program. cheers Dean sv Live Louder
Awesome - our pleasure! SAS Planet was not even something that popped up when we first googled it. We actually heard about it from a very adventurous French family who had 'escaped the world' with little to no money and lived by sailing and catching their food at sea sailing remote 'semi charted areas' like the Austral Islands (Gambiers), Tuamotu's and so on. The guy had no navigational equipment to speak of but had his sextant, compass, batteries and a lap top with a GPS Puck and SAS Planet. I was so impressed when he showed me the routes they took into reef systems and so on that I asked him how I could go about getting the program. 'Give me an external hard drive' he said - and this is how we got started on SAS Planet. I tried raising awareness for other sailors through forums and all sorts of outlets but no one ever showed any interest in it - this really surprised me. Then last year, Navionics stepped in and put a stop to the marine chart downloads. I realised the program was becoming more popular. I think being a Russian freeware site, google did not recognise it for the longest time and the developer must have been very frustrated with this, but the guys persevered. I do think Open CPN took a long time to recognise that SAS Planet was going to be successful and I see they actually now refer to SAS Planet on their website so hopefully all these developers are 'working together' to make sailing safer for all. You will be so happy to navigate with SAS Planet as an aid Dean - Live Louder and Live Longer :)
Another great video. I have also been enjoying watching your son a little on the Gone with the Wynns channel. I am taking my 103 104 and 114 test next month. I hope to one day be out following in your footsteps.
Hey Robby - yes, Terry has enjoyed sailing with the Wynns - I think this won't be the last we see of Terry and the Wynns - he really likes them. It is so awesome you are doing the tests and yes, really hope you get to sail the deep blue. It is so rewarding :) Cheers and thanks for commenting.
Great stuff Brent. Looks like Even Keels will be cruising New Caledonia next winter so your videos will be a tremendous resource for planning purposes. Can't wait to try out SAS Planet.
Hey Ben - fantastic to hear Even keels will be out in New Caledonia next winter - these are really nice cruising grounds huh! SAS Planet will make things so pleasurable for you - I really look forward to hearing yours and others thoughts on it to the future. Try get it set up at home if you can and get someone with good IT skills to sort out the Fransons GPS Gate part for you. Its awesome to run programs side by side from one GPS puck. Oh, and if you don't have the GPS Puck, just make sure it is compatible with your system and running GPS for marine software. Cheers mate
Another great video. I had no idea things could interact like that - and use real time GPS on cached sat imagery. With that and depths - what powerful stuff for navigating and planning. Fantastic. Thanks again, and safe travels.
So pleased you enjoyed it. Yes, it is amazing to have what I refer to as an interactive offline Google Earth that positions a vessel in exceptional accuracy on the move - it really has brought another dimension to sailing :) Cheers
Hi Ariel - thanks - we hoped it would be meaningful for folks starting out. The diving is awesome but cold compared to Fiji so we are doing less of it. I guess it is time to get that GoPro under the surface again :)
A MG - I feel really bad I could not reply to your comment but I think your reply settings must exclude anyone from leaving a comment there. I hope you get our message here: Thanks for the awesome comment and sorry four the 'down days' - not nice when that happens to us but pleased you are feeling good again. It is always a pleasure for us to share this journey with others and incredibly special to know it inspires others - thats what its all about. Hang in there - we hope to see you on the deep blue some day :) Cheers and hope the rest of this week is an awesome one for you :)
you guys give so much input in all your vids .thanks for sharing.p.s your son with gone with the wynns.is doing them such a great deed good for him be safe
A little history in the pot there ;) I must say New Caledonia has amazing history to it, and yet we find local folks are so slow to share that with us - we literally have to pry it out of them ... kinda like they have no interest in the history and live for the moment ... which is also kinda cool I guess :) Cheers Sneaky1
Outstanding Overview!!!! on SAS Planet and Open CPN. My navigation days go way way way back to the days of relying on LORAN, (Prior to INS and GPS for both Aviation and Marine Vessels) which was not all that accurate and very much a pain to use. Now you can navigate with much more ease and accuracy PLUS .... much more safer. You are very articulate with good clear technical explanations. Like the previous "Comment" from "moz frank" I too am amazed that you do not have more subscribers. Found you via You-Tube search specifically for Multihulls and Catamarans, but I had to go through several pages of other "You-Tube" presenters before I found yours. I make my living on the water via Merchant Marine in the Gulf of Mexico. Can't wait for my retirement to begin an adventure like yours.... Thanks for the videos and have safe adventures.... stay away from those "FORCE 10's" on the Beaufort's scale, they tend to make for rather bad days .... Chris Bostwick, Corpus Christi, Texas - USA
Thank you for the compliment Chris - much appreciated. Total respect for you guys who navigated with LORAN - it would have driven me to booze :) Regarding subscribers - yeah - perhaps we do not push the channel as hard and in the right audiences, but we think mostly sailing folks who sail from home territories like the USA and around the Bahamas draw an initial 'large pool' of interested people - sailors starting out in the MED have the same thing - we are from a little country called South Africa and only really started You Tubing when we arrived in Fiji - so having sailed in the Pacific we have been fairly remote. Then again, perhaps the other channels have more appealing content - we just keep on sharing irrespective of the numbers - we love that those who are on this channel enjoy us sharing what we are learning. Cheers, and for sure - staying as far away from the Force 10's as possible :) Look forward to seeing you retire and enjoying the ocean in a more leisurely style. Oh, and thank you for letting us know how you found us - interesting! Cheers for now ... Brent
Excellent as usual, you may not consider yourself to have had the best education, but, I'm guessing that was more about the lack of opportunity at the time, as you are clearly very bright. Academic success is but one measure. I love how modern electronic's have dramatically reduced/simplified the workload for either a skipper or pilot and subsequently enhanced the "Chill Quotient". I see Impi got a mention the other day on the Wynn's video when Terry was still with them. Safe sailing...............
Hi Mark - thank you! The education bit is South African humour but your words are indeed accurate about academic success being one measure. Indeed, modern electronics is simplifying the workload for folks at sea. Whilst this is a massive advantage, I guess we need to be cautious in this too, for on the other hand, to let go of the hard earned basic skills we have learnt could spell disaster. I always assume we will have an electronic melt down and am prepared for that to happen. It is prudent to always plan for the worst and hope for the best. Yes, so happy to see Terry enjoying the States and sailing with the Wynns. Nikki and Jason are such an awesome couple huh! Cheers ...
I was watching a sailing video yesterday, Gone with the Wynns, and there was a crew member that looked familiar. Cat Impi immediately came to mind. Turns out, it was you son. HaHa.....indeed a small world it is.
Thanks Alan - I really do think we have a nice set up and I say that humbly ! The reason I can say it is that we do find a certain comfort in sailing difficult areas where we have this technology available. It has also been awesome when at anchor in rain, howling wind and a dark night in reef infested waters. By seeing where we are at with incredible accuracy on the sat images gives us huge comfort. We know a few folks who have lost their boats to reef systems now and in every case it was because they lifted anchor and tried to keep the motors running by holding the yacht off the reefs waiting for daybreak. One gets disorientated very quickly in these conditions in the dark of night and having a program like SAS Planet and an escape plan plotted onto the main ships plotter makes it so much easier. I remember in Fiji we had a similar situation - we engaged the chart plotter and used our escape plan which we had figured out ahead of time, to escape in zero visibility between the bommies and reefs. Worked a charm!
yet another super video, thanks Brent. just wondering how long it took you to understand and use all that IT stuff, you make it sound so easy to use yet I got lost half way through. another excuse to watch your video(s) again ;) safe sailing
Hi Laurent - oh man - you got lost half way through !!! That's a poor reflection on my sharing - LOL The trick is to find someone already using the technology and have them help you if possible. I will copy my response to Donut Dean below ... SAS Planet was not even something that popped up when we first googled it. We actually heard about it from a very adventurous French family who had 'escaped the world' with little to no money and lived by sailing and catching their food at sea sailing remote 'semi charted areas' like the Austral Islands (Gambiers), Tuamotu's and so on. The guy had no navigational equipment to speak of but had his sextant, compass, batteries and a lap top with a GPS Puck and SAS Planet. I was so impressed when he showed me the routes they took into reef systems and so on that I asked him how I could go about getting the program. 'Give me an external hard drive' he said - and this is how we got started on SAS Planet. I tried raising awareness for other sailors through forums and all sorts of outlets but no one ever showed any interest in it - this really surprised me.Then last year, Navionics stepped in and put a stop to the marine chart downloads. I realised the program was becoming more popular. I think being a Russian freeware site, google did not recognise it for the longest time and the developer must have been very frustrated with this, but the guys persevered. I do think Open CPN took a long time to recognise that SAS Planet was going to be successful and I see they actually now refer to SAS Planet on their website so hopefully all these developers are 'working together' to make sailing safer for all. Ok Laurent - back to our discussion ... This family and I could not communicate too well as my French is needing attention and his English was the same, and Ana was tired of being the interpreter all the time - LOL - so he left me to figure the program out which I did quite easily. One just needs to keep working at it because it is INCREDIBLY POWERFUL and has MANY, MANY features that will surprise you when you discover these. We usually 'pull our tracks through the water' on Open CPN - then we save and export those files (GPX) to the computer at a known location. One can then IMPORT that into SAS Planet and refer to the tracks on sat image. So for example, I can pull a track we sailed and export that to a file - send / email that file to you and you can open it in SAS Planet as a co-ordinated route for you to modify or follow as you sail. After some time my system crashed and I lost SAS Planet, and in those times was unable to download a new copy as Google would not find a site - the site I eventually tracked down was Russian so I could not understand it. Then later on I met a guy who needed help on his yacht - Yannick. So I went across to help him remove his mast and we became good friends. I told Yannick how I had used this program called SAS Planet and how much I missed it. He said he had a copy from a friend and could give it to me - Oh Man - I was so excited. Anyway, he introduced me to Franson GPS Gate to run boat position simultaneously on two separate programs with one GPS Puck. Later we met up again with Yannick in Fiji. In Fiji, sailors were being coerced into buying charts in what was being told to us is very difficult and dangerous reef infested areas - and yes, it is reef infested and charts are not accurate. Not all sailors could afford to buy these charts. So Yannick and I got chatting and he being an IT literate guy started a site called cruisingfiji.blogspot.com To get the site going we refused the charts and used SAS Planet to sail to as many areas in Fiji as possible and we used these track files (GPX files) to upload online for other sailors to use free of charge. I think Yannick has taken this to a whole new level but check out the site - its wonderful and has opened the way for folks sailing in Fiji. We recently persuaded a friend to load SAS Planet before he sailed to Fiji. He at first was not keen due to considering himself not computer literate enough for this technology. Anyway, he persevered and wrote to us to say they are SO HAPPY we put them onto this - they are cruising all over FIJI and it is a life saver for them. They say this technology has made it possible for them to explore regions they never would have tried venturing into. In fact - we had two such emails from friends in Fiji now. So - it pays to put effort into this technology - look at the video as many times as you like! This video will get you going but it is still 'the very basics' of what SAS Planet can do. But - I do think my video explains enough for sailors to get the system started and certainly points one in 'the right direction'. Cheers for now Brent
not at all Brent, you did a fantastic job as always. It's just my wee little brain that has failed ;) thanks very much for sharing that story with me (us) very helpful in understanding the world of sailors. I (we) can't wait for you next video :)))
Nice vids Brent! Just found Impi from the Wynns but also saw you on Cruisers Forum where I am krafthaus. Is the satellite image software spelled SasPlanet? Haven't seen that before but I do have Open CPN. I have some work to go to get it going on our boat. Cheers!
Hi Mark - gosh - can't remember when I was last on the forum. The sat image software is SAS Planet. I wrote about it some time ago on a blog after some sailors were asking me for more details around this ... you can see it here cat-impi.blogspot.com/2015/06/navigating-safely-through-uncharted.html Open CPN is great and as you know one can do overlays on Open CPN but having a split screen with the programs alongside each other ... and boat position on each program side by side trumps an overlay on one program in my opinion. Thanks for the comment Mark - if you get stuck with SAS Planet let me know - would be happy to help. With the Franson GPS gate I would recommend getting an IT mate to help out - it can be complicated to set up but once operational its a charm ! Cheers
Thanks Brent. Much appreciated. I really admire the travels that you and your wife have done. We are looking to more time on our boat in the Caribbean this winter. Cheers, Mark.
No worries Mark - I must say though with all the travels we have done, that the Caribbean also present some amazing challenges for sailors as you know. I remeber being in one of the most terrible sea states as we moved off the north side of St Vincent - man - that was wild one. Enjoy the cruising in the Caribbean Mark - I hope its a good one for you ... cheers
Hi Timothy - yes, I believe there is awesome history there as well as in the Marshall Islands. A very good mate of ours spent years diving on tanks, ships with scooters and all sorts still on-board - he says it is fascinating.
That was some vlog on how you took some diesel fuel from a huge ship some place at sea . How did you go about putting the fuel in to your fuel tank ? Did you use a pump to transfer the fuel or did you put in by hand ?
Hi Bob - once w head landed the containers safely onboard - we used our fuel transfer pump. We have a 7m hose with a one way valve - take that to the containers and the pump transfers to whichever tank we select. Thanks for the comment
Hi Brent Glad you hand a transfer pump to put the containers of fuel in one of or both of fuel tanks l. That was really nice you were given the fuel for free and more then you initially asked for . May I ask how did you wind up short on fuel ? Happy sailing . Bob
Lol Bob - good question on how we land up being short of fuel - makes me look bad man :) Sailors usually sail as 'light on the wind' as possible. Water and diesel are heavy so we take enough to get to our destination but not enough if there is an incident like we had. We are able to make water with our desalinisation plant but diesel is another matter. So the passage to New Zealand has plenty of wind - one can bargain on a maximum full days diesel needed to motor through system 'centres' but otherwise there is wind enough. Of course when the mast rigging failed we needed to motor and not sail. Had we been without diesel we would have strapped additional cables to the mast and sailed to NZ but as it happened, we managed to get diesel instead. Cheers
I really loved that video, uneducated man ;) But why only in 480p? Is your current Internet connection bad? Or is it TH-cam again needing years to process the video?
Hi Hans - LOL - I thought the 'uneducated man' bit would make folks smile :) 480P? What? no idea - I shot at 1080 and posted in HD - took about 5 hours to upload so please tell me it got better !
I'm being picky though and would love it if you used something other than the a gopro. Not hating on you but there are some great weather sealed cameras that can give you excellent quality for a very reasonable price. One that comes to mind, Panasonic lumix Fx300. 😉
Hey - no worries and certainly not feeling you 'hating on us' ... we are open to positive criticism and learnt a lot from folks on you Tube regarding music, sound levels and so on because they were honest with us. I hear you regarding he GoPro - we just have so much to buy - would like to get a different drone - you know, one that flies. We have two Splash Drones and they are difficult to fly and then flew my mates Phantom drone - oh man - like chalk and cheese and I definitely need too be buying one of those. Anyway, I will keep a look out for the Panasonic Lumix FX300 and check out the specs. Thanks mate :)
GREAT navigation tutorial...there's more to safely sailing than lifting the 'pick'. Sail on! Time to return to my REAL world...the hummingbird feeder needs filling and they're getting restless. RW
Very true - so much more to sailing than 'lifting the hook' as you say ... Sorry about 'the real world' out there - it has a nasty habit of trying to suck us back in too ... Cheers
Man !!! so sorry but not sure why this movie did not go HD - I wonder if the internet connection played a role. Anyway - it may take some hours but I am reloading the movie HOPEFULLY this time in HD ... thank you for letting me know. Lets hold thumbs it goes properly this time around.
The technical stuff is great, and your use of satellite images is clever and gives the viewer some perspective. I suppose that you know that you need to invest in some new cameras and maybe a drone. Please don't tell us about stuff we can't see, or see well. Find a way to present it or not. Even some still photos would give a sense of the beautiful terrain you describe. Your wife is very beautiful, I take it she is a bit camera shy?
Hi Michael - thanks for the hints my friend. Yes, some folks here have a page to raise funds for a drone for our next visit to New Caledonia. I would appreciate more specifics on the 'Please don't tell us about stuff we can't see, or see well. Find a way to present it or not' ... I am a keen learner and always appreciate creative criticism. Ana is beautiful and yes, she is INCREDIBLY camera shy ... but she is getting better at being seen ;) She does not mind 'still photos'. Cheers my friend Brent
You were pointing out some buoys that I could not spot. You pointed out a number of times about how the go-pro makes the topography of land smaller or flatter (I can't remember) so we can't appreciate how spectacular it was.
Thanks for the technical explanations, Brent. Not only do you show your viewers the beauty of the world you travel to but you take the time to teach as well. A wonderful presentation.
Cheers Dan - always a pleasure for us. We wanted to share more but the internet reception has been awful.
excellent tutorial again brent - i'm amazed that you do not have more subscribers - free lessons from a great communicator
Thanks !!! I am not sure what attracts subscribers but I do feel we have quality subscribers here. It's not always in the numbers but in the quality of the numbers! We hope by sharing, more folks will find it easier to embrace technology to be safe at sea. It really amazes me when I sometimes read a post that 'poo poos' devices such as AIS and others that really aid in safety at sea for all. The sea has moods - we need to understand her and respect her - we need to embrace technology that makes it safer to be out here and hopefully we can help folks see what we as cruisers use to be safe on the deep blue. Thanks for the awesome comment though - makes the effort worth our while ... cheers
Totally seconded
I have watched several cruiser channels. Yours has a great balance between sharing the romance of the adventure and the technical side of sailing. I would encourage you to include a mix of both in each of your videos. That way we can see how the hard work (technical) pays off in the end (romance). Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Fair winds.
Nice comment guys - Mike, lets see how we can keep that going ... sailing really is a mix of freedom, challenges, leisure but also hard work ... cheers
These videos are exactly what I want to see! True cruising life. Keep up the good work. It's great that you guys don't sugar coat life onboard like most of the other yachtie channels.
Cheers Daniel - as with all things in life - there are ALWAYS two sides to the coin :) Cheers mate
Loving your videos. The technical focus on weather and route planning is a fantastic source of information and so very refreshing from the usual sailing vlogs. We are about to buy our first boat and set sail on a journey just like you guys, so are following with great interest . Thank you
Love the technical aspects of sailing you share with us Impi. Keep the videos coming.
We never thought this would be what folks want to see - so we will keep trying to add little bits n pieces into the video until we are told its not cool :) Cheers
Your youtube videos ROCK. Better than tv. Excellent info, great narrating and edited well.
Thanks Skipper 37 (the addition of 99991)
You guys are awesome and even better humans to help Moose! Thanks for sharing! :) 💙💙💙
Thanks Melody - thats cool of you!
Moose is actually doing well - much better than when we last shared a video of him. His eyes are still 'cloudy' but not as much and apparently the cause is what they refer to here as 'electric ants' which are affecting animals in New Caledonia. Apparently these ants are a menace on the island. We should get a better understanding after meeting with one of the guys responsible for New Caledonias listing on the World Heritage Site (UNESCO) and has also been assisting us behind the scenes with care for Moose. It will be interesting to now get some 'first hand feedback' as to how things operate politically 'with animals' in New Caledonia. Cheers
Hey Brent < just wanted to say Hi...... had a couple of down days and found your journey >> thank you so much for taking the time and effort to document it. your vids are so easy to watch and I really love the balance of tech and other cruising info from shopping to maintenance > to watching time pass by with the rol of the ocean. your love of life comes thru so much and the times when you are getting smacked with the elements brings a smile to your face. ..love it !! ..I'm sure you give all of us the confidence to one day embark on such an adventure >
Free lessons and I took notes. Thanks!
Got word my grant is funded and I will be purchasing a boat at years end! I am so excited. This will be joint effort to bring small water drills (we invented) that go 400 ft deep to areas that don't have a major port. Plus, I will be bring superfoods and introduce the most nutrient food on planet that grows in aquarium and feeds a family twice a day. Asian people have used this for centuries but have forgotten this medicine as they too have TV. Our mission is to end water and food shortages and help when disaster strikes. This is how we r funding our cruising kitty.
Wow Alice - that is amazing !!! Your projects sound so exciting. I know in South Africa they are pushing super foods and teaching people about it through courses. I really am looking forward to hearing more about your ventures. Are you going to dedicate a TH-cam channel to this? I am sure so many people would follow it ...
Wow, what can I say? Many of the folks have already said it, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to say it again. Thanks Brent for an excellent video on how you guys use satellite imaging for plotting and navigation and then linking it to Impi's system (even when you don't have the internet available - pretty simple work around). Love learning and love how you explain things. Thanks again! 😊👍👍👍😊 Sail on, sail safe! ⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵
Always a pleasure and we know what you mean when you say so many have said it before - but yes, it is nice to hear again as it gives us a measure of what topics people want us to cover in sailing so all good! Thanks for taking the time to respond ... cheers mate!
Such an interesting lecture on nautical satellite navigation. Beautiful footage. Thank you for taking us along. Hope to see more soon. Safe sailing.
Hi Michael - thanks for the comment mate - very nice of you! We will keep trying to bring a variety of footage to the channel - some may appeal to certain folks and not to others and then another may have the vice versa effect ...
Comments help me to know which route to go so we appreciate that ... Cheers
Once you Use a Sock on the Kite...You Never Go Back....Enjoying your programming interface knowledge.....What a Fabulous Experience.....Enjoy.....Mark S.F., Ca
Hey Mark - thanks for the comment man!
Yeah, that sock works well huh !!!
Cheers mate ... Brent
Wow, great job yet again. Thanks for sharing the chart programs and then backing it up with video. Really enjoy all your videos.
Hey Orange Whip - Our pleasure mate - so much more we could have shared around that program but I think we shared just enough for folks who want to start using SAS Planet. Cheers
Very impressed. Watching Impi = learning.
Cheers Sniper gear. We learn all the time - even by sharing we learn - it makes us look deeper into what otherwise could be taken for granted ...
Another flawless and educational video. I really enjoy the tech side of your videos, they are like none other. You could get a job as a movie director! Great job and thank you again.
Thanks Deane - a movie director - that would be awesome huh! Cheers mate - have a good one !
Excellent vid Brent and Anna, good info on chart plotting, thank you.
Thanks and always our pleasure !!!
Absolutely Great! the mix of Tech and scenery perfect balance LOVED it well done my friend !! Needless to say i was downloading SAS Planet before the vid was complete.
Thanks again! you guys ROCK
Hey James - it is always a nice feeling to know we could share something of value. Thanks for the awesome comment ... cheers amigo .. Brent
learning good things from your vids lately cheers
Awesome Phillip - we know how it can be searching through internet media trying to find real info that makes sailing easier - thought we would share what we could not initially find. Hopefully we can make it easier and safer for families to enjoy sailing on the deep blue! Cheers
Brent, once more thanks. Fascinating.
Absolutely a pleasure for us :)
Great video you two!! Absolutely love watching these videos you post! Look forward to chatting with you some more!! Stay safe and fair winds! :-)
Thanks Ryan - just returned to see Moose and internet has been a bit shoddy. Still - yeah nice chatting with you on email!
Catamaran Impi It's been a rough night. My father in law had a heart attack while driving and was found dead on the side of the road
ryan moeller - Ryan - so sorry I missed this message ! Oh man - such sad news - so sorry to hear this :(
I hope you guys are coping - we will chat later but in the meanwhile our heartfelt prayers and thoughts are with your family right now ...
Catamaran Impi Thank you!! That means a lot!! I hope you two are doing well and you stay safe! Looking forward to talking to you more. Cheers!
ryan moeller - love to the family ...
Thanks for sharing your methods. That was very helpful for a soon to be cruiser.
Hey 'soon to be cruiser' - so happy we could help. We look forward to seeing you cruising - please let us know when that happens :)
Thanks again for a great video especially showing how you navigate. I will be following your advice with SAS Planet, I looked it up straight away looks like an awsome program. cheers Dean sv Live Louder
Awesome - our pleasure! SAS Planet was not even something that popped up when we first googled it. We actually heard about it from a very adventurous French family who had 'escaped the world' with little to no money and lived by sailing and catching their food at sea sailing remote 'semi charted areas' like the Austral Islands (Gambiers), Tuamotu's and so on. The guy had no navigational equipment to speak of but had his sextant, compass, batteries and a lap top with a GPS Puck and SAS Planet. I was so impressed when he showed me the routes they took into reef systems and so on that I asked him how I could go about getting the program. 'Give me an external hard drive' he said - and this is how we got started on SAS Planet. I tried raising awareness for other sailors through forums and all sorts of outlets but no one ever showed any interest in it - this really surprised me.
Then last year, Navionics stepped in and put a stop to the marine chart downloads. I realised the program was becoming more popular.
I think being a Russian freeware site, google did not recognise it for the longest time and the developer must have been very frustrated with this, but the guys persevered.
I do think Open CPN took a long time to recognise that SAS Planet was going to be successful and I see they actually now refer to SAS Planet on their website so hopefully all these developers are 'working together' to make sailing safer for all.
You will be so happy to navigate with SAS Planet as an aid Dean - Live Louder and Live Longer :)
Another great video. I have also been enjoying watching your son a little on the Gone with the Wynns channel. I am taking my 103 104 and 114 test next month. I hope to one day be out following in your footsteps.
Hey Robby - yes, Terry has enjoyed sailing with the Wynns - I think this won't be the last we see of Terry and the Wynns - he really likes them. It is so awesome you are doing the tests and yes, really hope you get to sail the deep blue. It is so rewarding :) Cheers and thanks for commenting.
outstanding video thank you. I downloaded your video to save for a few years now when I start my world Journey thanks again.
Pleasure Lorne ! That's cool - technology is advancing so quickly we may be talking to our boat a year from now :) :) Cheers and have a great weekend
Great stuff Brent. Looks like Even Keels will be cruising New Caledonia next winter so your videos will be a tremendous resource for planning purposes. Can't wait to try out SAS Planet.
Hey Ben - fantastic to hear Even keels will be out in New Caledonia next winter - these are really nice cruising grounds huh! SAS Planet will make things so pleasurable for you - I really look forward to hearing yours and others thoughts on it to the future. Try get it set up at home if you can and get someone with good IT skills to sort out the Fransons GPS Gate part for you. Its awesome to run programs side by side from one GPS puck. Oh, and if you don't have the GPS Puck, just make sure it is compatible with your system and running GPS for marine software. Cheers mate
Another great video. I had no idea things could interact like that - and use real time GPS on cached sat imagery. With that and depths - what powerful stuff for navigating and planning. Fantastic. Thanks again, and safe travels.
So pleased you enjoyed it. Yes, it is amazing to have what I refer to as an interactive offline Google Earth that positions a vessel in exceptional accuracy on the move - it really has brought another dimension to sailing :) Cheers
Brent good instructional video. I like how you superimposed the satellite imagery with the active route. Must be good diving in those reefs.
Hi Ariel - thanks - we hoped it would be meaningful for folks starting out. The diving is awesome but cold compared to Fiji so we are doing less of it. I guess it is time to get that GoPro under the surface again :)
+Catamaran Impi agree dont like cold diving and thick wetsuits.
Great episode. Keep them coming.
Thanks Rob ... will keep em rolling as much as we can :)
I love you and your videos. Thanks for the share.
Cheers Garrett - awesome and always a pleasure to share :)
Great stuff again Brent.
Thanks man !!! :) Hope it did not bore the folks who prefer to see destinations ...
+Catamaran Impi didn't bore me and I fall asleep at the drop of a hat mate. Was a good mix I thought, well done.
Love the detailed walk through. 👍
Thanks - all good then ... will try keep it up :)
A MG - I feel really bad I could not reply to your comment but I think your reply settings must exclude anyone from leaving a comment there. I hope you get our message here:
Thanks for the awesome comment and sorry four the 'down days' - not nice when that happens to us but pleased you are feeling good again. It is always a pleasure for us to share this journey with others and incredibly special to know it inspires others - thats what its all about. Hang in there - we hope to see you on the deep blue some day :) Cheers and hope the rest of this week is an awesome one for you :)
If we ever hit he big blue again, I'm going to view your videos again! Thanx!
Well, we hope you hit the big blue again ... cheers mate ... live the dream :)
you guys give so much input in all your vids .thanks for sharing.p.s your son with gone with the wynns.is doing them such a great deed good for him be safe
Hi Brian - always our pleasure! Yes, Terry has really enjoyed sailing with The Wynns - awesome couple :)
great historical video
A little history in the pot there ;)
I must say New Caledonia has amazing history to it, and yet we find local folks are so slow to share that with us - we literally have to pry it out of them ... kinda like they have no interest in the history and live for the moment ... which is also kinda cool I guess :) Cheers Sneaky1
Outstanding Overview!!!! on SAS Planet and Open CPN. My navigation days go way way way back to the days of relying on LORAN, (Prior to INS and GPS for both Aviation and Marine Vessels) which was not all that accurate and very much a pain to use. Now you can navigate with much more ease and accuracy PLUS .... much more safer. You are very articulate with good clear technical explanations. Like the previous "Comment" from "moz frank" I too am amazed that you do not have more subscribers. Found you via You-Tube search specifically for Multihulls and Catamarans, but I had to go through several pages of other "You-Tube" presenters before I found yours. I make my living on the water via Merchant Marine in the Gulf of Mexico. Can't wait for my retirement to begin an adventure like yours.... Thanks for the videos and have safe adventures.... stay away from those "FORCE 10's" on the Beaufort's scale, they tend to make for rather bad days .... Chris Bostwick, Corpus Christi, Texas - USA
Thank you for the compliment Chris - much appreciated.
Total respect for you guys who navigated with LORAN - it would have driven me to booze :)
Regarding subscribers - yeah - perhaps we do not push the channel as hard and in the right audiences, but we think mostly sailing folks who sail from home territories like the USA and around the Bahamas draw an initial 'large pool' of interested people - sailors starting out in the MED have the same thing - we are from a little country called South Africa and only really started You Tubing when we arrived in Fiji - so having sailed in the Pacific we have been fairly remote. Then again, perhaps the other channels have more appealing content - we just keep on sharing irrespective of the numbers - we love that those who are on this channel enjoy us sharing what we are learning. Cheers, and for sure - staying as far away from the Force 10's as possible :)
Look forward to seeing you retire and enjoying the ocean in a more leisurely style. Oh, and thank you for letting us know how you found us - interesting!
Cheers for now ... Brent
Excellent as usual, you may not consider yourself to have had the best education, but, I'm guessing that was more about the lack of opportunity at the time, as you are clearly very bright. Academic success is but one measure.
I love how modern electronic's have dramatically reduced/simplified the workload for either a skipper or pilot and subsequently enhanced the "Chill Quotient".
I see Impi got a mention the other day on the Wynn's video when Terry was still with them. Safe sailing...............
Hi Mark - thank you! The education bit is South African humour but your words are indeed accurate about academic success being one measure.
Indeed, modern electronics is simplifying the workload for folks at sea. Whilst this is a massive advantage, I guess we need to be cautious in this too, for on the other hand, to let go of the hard earned basic skills we have learnt could spell disaster. I always assume we will have an electronic melt down and am prepared for that to happen. It is prudent to always plan for the worst and hope for the best.
Yes, so happy to see Terry enjoying the States and sailing with the Wynns. Nikki and Jason are such an awesome couple huh! Cheers ...
Another fantastic video! Thank you....
Cheers Dick
I was watching a sailing video yesterday, Gone with the Wynns, and there was a crew member that looked familiar. Cat Impi immediately came to mind. Turns out, it was you son. HaHa.....indeed a small world it is.
LOL Johnny - yes - a small world huh!
Gone with the Wynns - awesome guys !
Excellent, yet again.
Thank you !
great video, my wife and I were like what?it is over so soon?😃, keep them coming!
LOL - Sorry Diego - I realise it was a short one. I am busy posting the next one as I write this comment - cheers
Great job,thank you.
Pleasure Carla - thanks for leaving a comment
you have got a good setup in your sailboat
Thanks Alan - I really do think we have a nice set up and I say that humbly ! The reason I can say it is that we do find a certain comfort in sailing difficult areas where we have this technology available. It has also been awesome when at anchor in rain, howling wind and a dark night in reef infested waters. By seeing where we are at with incredible accuracy on the sat images gives us huge comfort. We know a few folks who have lost their boats to reef systems now and in every case it was because they lifted anchor and tried to keep the motors running by holding the yacht off the reefs waiting for daybreak. One gets disorientated very quickly in these conditions in the dark of night and having a program like SAS Planet and an escape plan plotted onto the main ships plotter makes it so much easier. I remember in Fiji we had a similar situation - we engaged the chart plotter and used our escape plan which we had figured out ahead of time, to escape in zero visibility between the bommies and reefs. Worked a charm!
outstanding..... thanks very much
yet another super video, thanks Brent. just wondering how long it took you to understand and use all that IT stuff, you make it sound so easy to use yet I got lost half way through. another excuse to watch your video(s) again ;) safe sailing
Hi Laurent - oh man - you got lost half way through !!! That's a poor reflection on my sharing - LOL
The trick is to find someone already using the technology and have them help you if possible.
I will copy my response to Donut Dean below ... SAS Planet was not even something that popped up when we first googled it. We actually heard about it from a very adventurous French family who had 'escaped the world' with little to no money and lived by sailing and catching their food at sea sailing remote 'semi charted areas' like the Austral Islands (Gambiers), Tuamotu's and so on. The guy had no navigational equipment to speak of but had his sextant, compass, batteries and a lap top with a GPS Puck and SAS Planet. I was so impressed when he showed me the routes they took into reef systems and so on that I asked him how I could go about getting the program. 'Give me an external hard drive' he said - and this is how we got started on SAS Planet. I tried raising awareness for other sailors through forums and all sorts of outlets but no one ever showed any interest in it - this really surprised me.Then last year, Navionics stepped in and put a stop to the marine chart downloads. I realised the program was becoming more popular.
I think being a Russian freeware site, google did not recognise it for the longest time and the developer must have been very frustrated with this, but the guys persevered.
I do think Open CPN took a long time to recognise that SAS Planet was going to be successful and I see they actually now refer to SAS Planet on their website so hopefully all these developers are 'working together' to make sailing safer for all.
Ok Laurent - back to our discussion ...
This family and I could not communicate too well as my French is needing attention and his English was the same, and Ana was tired of being the interpreter all the time - LOL - so he left me to figure the program out which I did quite easily.
One just needs to keep working at it because it is INCREDIBLY POWERFUL and has MANY, MANY features that will surprise you when you discover these.
We usually 'pull our tracks through the water' on Open CPN - then we save and export those files (GPX) to the computer at a known location. One can then IMPORT that into SAS Planet and refer to the tracks on sat image. So for example, I can pull a track we sailed and export that to a file - send / email that file to you and you can open it in SAS Planet as a co-ordinated route for you to modify or follow as you sail.
After some time my system crashed and I lost SAS Planet, and in those times was unable to download a new copy as Google would not find a site - the site I eventually tracked down was Russian so I could not understand it.
Then later on I met a guy who needed help on his yacht - Yannick.
So I went across to help him remove his mast and we became good friends. I told Yannick how I had used this program called SAS Planet and how much I missed it. He said he had a copy from a friend and could give it to me - Oh Man - I was so excited. Anyway, he introduced me to Franson GPS Gate to run boat position simultaneously on two separate programs with one GPS Puck.
Later we met up again with Yannick in Fiji.
In Fiji, sailors were being coerced into buying charts in what was being told to us is very difficult and dangerous reef infested areas - and yes, it is reef infested and charts are not accurate. Not all sailors could afford to buy these charts.
So Yannick and I got chatting and he being an IT literate guy started a site called cruisingfiji.blogspot.com
To get the site going we refused the charts and used SAS Planet to sail to as many areas in Fiji as possible and we used these track files (GPX files) to upload online for other sailors to use free of charge.
I think Yannick has taken this to a whole new level but check out the site - its wonderful and has opened the way for folks sailing in Fiji.
We recently persuaded a friend to load SAS Planet before he sailed to Fiji. He at first was not keen due to considering himself not computer literate enough for this technology.
Anyway, he persevered and wrote to us to say they are SO HAPPY we put them onto this - they are cruising all over FIJI and it is a life saver for them. They say this technology has made it possible for them to explore regions they never would have tried venturing into. In fact - we had two such emails from friends in Fiji now.
So - it pays to put effort into this technology - look at the video as many times as you like! This video will get you going but it is still 'the very basics' of what SAS Planet can do. But - I do think my video explains enough for sailors to get the system started and certainly points one in 'the right direction'.
Cheers for now
Brent
not at all Brent, you did a fantastic job as always. It's just my wee little brain that has failed ;)
thanks very much for sharing that story with me (us) very helpful in understanding the world of sailors. I (we) can't wait for you next video :)))
This is great stuff!
Nice vids Brent! Just found Impi from the Wynns but also saw you on Cruisers Forum where I am krafthaus. Is the satellite image software spelled SasPlanet? Haven't seen that before but I do have Open CPN. I have some work to go to get it going on our boat. Cheers!
Hi Mark - gosh - can't remember when I was last on the forum. The sat image software is SAS Planet. I wrote about it some time ago on a blog after some sailors were asking me for more details around this ... you can see it here cat-impi.blogspot.com/2015/06/navigating-safely-through-uncharted.html
Open CPN is great and as you know one can do overlays on Open CPN but having a split screen with the programs alongside each other ... and boat position on each program side by side trumps an overlay on one program in my opinion.
Thanks for the comment Mark - if you get stuck with SAS Planet let me know - would be happy to help.
With the Franson GPS gate I would recommend getting an IT mate to help out - it can be complicated to set up but once operational its a charm ! Cheers
Thanks Brent.
Much appreciated. I really admire the travels that you and your wife have done. We are looking to more time on our boat in the Caribbean this winter.
Cheers,
Mark.
No worries Mark - I must say though with all the travels we have done, that the Caribbean also present some amazing challenges for sailors as you know. I remeber being in one of the most terrible sea states as we moved off the north side of St Vincent - man - that was wild one.
Enjoy the cruising in the Caribbean Mark - I hope its a good one for you ... cheers
Thanks Brent. Some excellent ww2 history in the Solomons, but don't get any ideas from me.
Hi Timothy - yes, I believe there is awesome history there as well as in the Marshall Islands. A very good mate of ours spent years diving on tanks, ships with scooters and all sorts still on-board - he says it is fascinating.
That was some vlog on how you took some diesel fuel from a huge ship some place at sea . How did you go about putting the fuel in to your fuel tank ? Did you use a pump to transfer the fuel or did you put in by hand ?
Hi Bob - once w head landed the containers safely onboard - we used our fuel transfer pump. We have a 7m hose with a one way valve - take that to the containers and the pump transfers to whichever tank we select. Thanks for the comment
Hi Brent
Glad you hand a transfer pump to put the containers of fuel in one of or both of fuel tanks l. That was really nice you were given the fuel for free and more then you initially asked for . May I ask how did you wind up short on fuel ? Happy sailing .
Bob
Lol Bob - good question on how we land up being short of fuel - makes me look bad man :)
Sailors usually sail as 'light on the wind' as possible. Water and diesel are heavy so we take enough to get to our destination but not enough if there is an incident like we had. We are able to make water with our desalinisation plant but diesel is another matter. So the passage to New Zealand has plenty of wind - one can bargain on a maximum full days diesel needed to motor through system 'centres' but otherwise there is wind enough. Of course when the mast rigging failed we needed to motor and not sail. Had we been without diesel we would have strapped additional cables to the mast and sailed to NZ but as it happened, we managed to get diesel instead. Cheers
I really loved that video, uneducated man ;) But why only in 480p? Is your current Internet connection bad? Or is it TH-cam again needing years to process the video?
Hi Hans - LOL - I thought the 'uneducated man' bit would make folks smile :)
480P? What? no idea - I shot at 1080 and posted in HD - took about 5 hours to upload so please tell me it got better !
I also smiled about that part, please don't get me wrong. But I just looked again and it's still only available in 480p (at least for me)
I'm being picky though and would love it if you used something other than the a gopro. Not hating on you but there are some great weather sealed cameras that can give you excellent quality for a very reasonable price. One that comes to mind, Panasonic lumix Fx300. 😉
Hey - no worries and certainly not feeling you 'hating on us' ... we are open to positive criticism and learnt a lot from folks on you Tube regarding music, sound levels and so on because they were honest with us. I hear you regarding he GoPro - we just have so much to buy - would like to get a different drone - you know, one that flies. We have two Splash Drones and they are difficult to fly and then flew my mates Phantom drone - oh man - like chalk and cheese and I definitely need too be buying one of those. Anyway, I will keep a look out for the Panasonic Lumix FX300 and check out the specs. Thanks mate :)
GREAT navigation tutorial...there's more to safely sailing than lifting the 'pick'.
Sail on!
Time to return to my REAL world...the hummingbird feeder needs filling and they're getting restless.
RW
Very true - so much more to sailing than 'lifting the hook' as you say ...
Sorry about 'the real world' out there - it has a nasty habit of trying to suck us back in too ...
Cheers
480p ? Usually Cat Impi is hi-def Still awesome nonetheless. Really appreciate the tutorial.
Man !!! so sorry but not sure why this movie did not go HD - I wonder if the internet connection played a role. Anyway - it may take some hours but I am reloading the movie HOPEFULLY this time in HD ... thank you for letting me know. Lets hold thumbs it goes properly this time around.
Brent = Smart Cookie!
LOL ! How do I reply to that ! Learning everyday - sharing as much a see can ...
The technical stuff is great, and your use of satellite images is clever and gives the viewer some perspective. I suppose that you know that you need to invest in some new cameras and maybe a drone. Please don't tell us about stuff we can't see, or see well. Find a way to present it or not. Even some still photos would give a sense of the beautiful terrain you describe. Your wife is very beautiful, I take it she is a bit camera shy?
Hi Michael - thanks for the hints my friend. Yes, some folks here have a page to raise funds for a drone for our next visit to New Caledonia. I would appreciate more specifics on the 'Please don't tell us about stuff we can't see, or see well. Find a way to present it or not' ... I am a keen learner and always appreciate creative criticism.
Ana is beautiful and yes, she is INCREDIBLY camera shy ... but she is getting better at being seen ;) She does not mind 'still photos'.
Cheers my friend
Brent
You were pointing out some buoys that I could not spot. You pointed out a number of times about how the go-pro makes the topography of land smaller or flatter (I can't remember) so we can't appreciate how spectacular it was.