Archives
This is the second part of a two-part mini-series of The Resourceful Sailor and Murrelet. This one is like the title says, The Resourceful Sailor: Stepping a Small Sailboat Mast Using a Tripod. Thank you to Josh and Small Craft Advisor for republishing it on August 18, 2025, just in time for the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. It was originally published on August 15, 2025, on ‘Lectronic Latitude. Click HERE to… Read More
I have been sorting through some archival footage from my 2019 transit of the Northwest Passage aboard Oliver Huin’s Breskell. Maybe this will be fun for the armchair sailors. Maybe it will be helpful for those planning a future trip. Like Jimmy Cornell’s: The High Latitude Challenge 2026-2027 I’ve heard it said that fewer people have transited the Northwest Passage by boat than have climbed Mount Everest. If true, I suspect that… Read More
Sampaguita had a couple Fin whales(I think) swimming with her for about a half an hour a few hundred miles west of Washington State. They clearly knew what they were doing and would get very close. In this instance I didn’t worry. No tails came up and they were clearly swimming WITH Sampaguita and fully aware of her. Unfortunately it was dusk, so no video. You’ll have to take my word for… Read More
Here is another installment of A Flicka Sails Herself. This one shows the wind vane at work in the light air and the improvised bimini and weather cloths. And then nothing but the Big Blue. I saw a few cargo ships in the first days of the passage in the NE trades. Then it was weeks of seeing no other boats. Not even on the AIS. (When I was looking.) It wasn’t… Read More
The solar charging system is working like a charm with spares to boot. Thank you so much to those who helped to contribute. I’ve ordered 16 SHOM (Service hydrographique et océanographique de la marine) paper charts of French Polynesia, printed on 02/06/2024 at $42US each on the credit card. They should arrive in a couple days. I mention this so you know how any near future donations will help Sampaguita and the expedition…. Read More
This is a bit of a feedback loop, but upon discovering their generous words, I raised their colors. Sampaguita sits at anchor in a windy and choppy La Paz anchorage. Her Mexican flag is showing the tatters of time, prone to flogging on the stays, part of being a small boat. The lowest flag is a Flicka flag displaying the filigree which helps define the breed. I appreciate PTSA’s consideration and support…. Read More
Whether that be Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, or something else I’m not educated to know about. For Sampaguita and I, it’s Happy Holiday. So that is what we wish. Here in Mexico, it is definitely Merry Christmas. Funny meeting. My anchor neighbors here in Bahia De Los Muertos are on a boat named Opale. I met them first when on Breskell transiting the Northwest Passage in 2019. A small… Read More
Sampaguita has her mast lowered again this week for a port shroud replacement and thorough inspection. The port shroud had some conflict with a sail ring during my Vancouver Island rounding and neither got out unscathed. I decided it was worthy of refreshing and the sailmaker has the sail in hand. I reviewed some of my old video in prepping for today’s lowering. It’s important and easier to not cut corners on… Read More
A new Resourceful Sailor Series installment is here! After a rig refit, the mast of Sampaguita, a Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20, needed to go back up. Could it be done at the dock? Could it be done single-handed? You betcha. Latitude 38‘s online magazine, ‘Lectronic Latitude, has published “Raising the Mast of a Small Sailboat with the Resourceful Sailor – The Solo Version” on December 17, 2021. This article and video go… Read More
More Video! Check out the new Resourceful Sailor Series piece, “Lowering The Mast Of A Small Boat,” published by Latitude 38’s online magazine, ‘Lectronic Latitude. In this one I highlight an advantage to going small by lowering the deck-stepped mast of Sampaguita, a Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20 at the dock. No cranes, no fees, and if you are really ambitious you can do it single-handed. It does take some set-up, research, and… Read More
sailingwithjosh
Sailing With Josh 