Sailing the Farm - come join our sailing/boatbuilding coop.

[zeyang]

working on measure curve of deck. (plate is just template)
it will be nonskid type.

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm tribe march 2011

Dear friends.

The coldest months are behind us thankfully. Daylight get longer
every day and soon the springtime will be here. It has been maybe
10-15 very nice wannabee sea-gypsies here last 2-3 months and we have
made good progress.

We have been working hard on the boat and farm since last
newsletter. Since last time we are more or less finished with the
dieseltanks and watertanks inside the boat and also fixed the position
of the small engine we plan to install.

Making stuff for beehives is more or less finished. Cleaning and make
wax-moulds for 200 bee-hive boxes took a lot of time but only a few
days away finish up this step.

Of less serious business, as tradition on the farm goes - we made
another igloo this year and its a popular place to sleep during
night. Even if its -20 celcius its cozy and warm inside the
igloo. Skiing is also a popular pasttime.

When spring is coming we plan to grow potatoes, carrots and onion to
get more selfsufficient on food. Welding up the deck has also high
priority so until then - have a nice early spring (or autumn/winter
for those of you in the southern hemisphere!)


If you are interested in joining sailing the farm project please
contact us!

Pictures from last time.

1. The ladies are making wax-moulds for the bees.
2. Cutting wood for next winter.
3. A nice Igloo, very popular indeed!
4. Our birds are taking sun-bath.
5. Out skiing in nice winter weather.

http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1300028959
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1300028966
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1300028970
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1300028976
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1300028980

--
If you want to join our sea gypsy tribe, please contact us.
Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse
If you want to receive our newsletter on email:
http://list.nett.org/mailman/listinfo/sailing-the-farm

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm tribe march 2011

Dear friends.

Spring is slowly coming and even if it is still snowing it usually
melt a little every day. We are into summertime so sun goes down after
2000 so we have long days ahead of us thankfully.

There has been many nice wannabee seagypsies last weeks on farm and
everyone talks eagerly about the future life of roaming the seas. We
have a huge stocks of sailingbooks on the farm so its easy to dream
about distance shores and nice sunsets.

The work goes forward as normal, we are melting lead for the ballast
keel (totally around 4500 tonns). It will be in big V-shaped form,
with average weight of around 60 kg. It makes it easier to take them
out in emergency. Lead is quite poisonous so we are using masks and
work outside. It melts around 300 degress, so easy to use a wood
burning stove.

The wax-melting process for the bees is finished thankfully. Now we
have 150 boxes with clean organic wax. We started this process in
october so it was a long and tedious work.


If you are interested in joining sailing the farm project please
contact us!

Comments to the pictures.

1: 3 hardworking seagypsies taking a rest on the couch.
2. the girl with the rooster. Look at the matching colors. The rooster
might think they belong to the same tribe.
3. Our Igloo got a nice shaped door.
4. Balancing on a line. A little cold without shoes.
5. Melting lead for the boat. Each weight 60 kg.
6. Time to hit the road again. Our professional hitchhiking girl
decide to go south after many month on farm. Deeply missed.


http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815379
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815386
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815392
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815403
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815409
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815494

--
If you want to join our sea gypsy tribe, please contact us.
Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse
If you want to receive our newsletter on email:
http://list.nett.org/mailman/listinfo/sailing-the-farm

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm tribe early april 2011

Dear friends.

Spring is slowly coming and even if it is still snowing it usually
melt a little every day. We are into summertime so sun goes down after
2000 so we have long days ahead of us thankfully.

There has been many nice wannabee seagypsies last weeks on farm and
everyone talks eagerly about the future life of roaming the seas. We
have a huge stocks of sailingbooks on the farm so its easy to dream
about distance shores and nice sunsets.

The work goes forward as normal, we are melting lead for the ballast
keel (totally around 4500 kg). It will be in big V-shaped form,
with average weight of around 60 kg. It makes it easier to take them
out in emergency. Lead is quite poisonous so we are using masks and
work outside. It melts around 300 degress, so easy to use a wood
burning stove.

The wax-melting process for the bees is finished thankfully. Now we
have 150 boxes with clean organic wax. We started this process in
october so it was a long and tedious work.


If you are interested in joining sailing the farm project please
contact us!

Comments to the pictures.

1: 3 hardworking seagypsies taking a rest on the couch.
2. the girl with the rooster. Look at the matching colors. The rooster
might think they belong to the same tribe.
3. Our Igloo got a nice shaped door.
4. Balancing on a line. A little cold without shoes.
5. Melting lead for the boat. Each weight 60 kg.
6. Time to hit the road again. Our professional hitchhiking girl
decide to go south after many month on farm. Deeply missed.


http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815379
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815386
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815392
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815403
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815409
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1301815494

--
If you want to join our sea gypsy tribe, please contact us.
Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse
If you want to receive our newsletter on email:
http://list.nett.org/mailman/listinfo/sailing-the-farm

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm tribe late april 2011

Dear sea gypsy friends.

Hard to believe but summer arrived early this year! it has been 15-16
degrees last days and we are still talking april! This looks good, our
sea gypsies even complain its a little too warm in the boatshed. How
fast we forget our frostbitten toes!

We are still into lead melting. Biggest problem is actually getting
scrap lead to a price we are willing to pay. It seems china is driving
up the prices so much so its hard to get scrap metal cheap anymore,
but we are more or less halfway through this process.

Latest news on farm is: We are now almost selfsufficient on eggs!! we
get one each day!!! just incredible. Will soon start to plow the field
and start planting potatoes, pacelia (for the bees) and raspberries.

Happy easter!


If you are interested in joining sailing the farm project please
contact us!


And as usual some pictures from the last weeks:

1. this girl is a serious sea gypsy. even have a fisherman anchor on
her left leg. so together with our 4 other fisherman anchor I think
we have enough!
2. second batch of chickens.Its incredible how fast they grow - almost
magic.
3. Yes, Spring time is here, cleaning and painting antofouling on the
small sailboat.
4. Easter dinner. What else than chinese hotpot! For those
landlubbers out there. this kerosene stove is stolen from the
boat to simulate that we have a real hotpot table.

http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1303641976
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1303641983
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1303641990
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1303641996


--
If you want to join our sea gypsy tribe, please contact us.
Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse
If you want to receive our newsletter on email:
http://list.nett.org/mailman/listinfo/sailing-the-farm

[Newfie]

Cool stuff Zen. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

I have passed your links on to a couple of other folks. Just so you know that it is moving around.

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm tribe mid May 2011

Dear wannabe sea gypsies,

Its been really nice weather for the last 2 weeks. The bees are busy
collecting pollen, and we have been working out on the fields for the
last days. The potatoe field is finished so now its just to wait
until october to see the result.

We found we probably needed mast for the sea gypsy community so we
started planting 700 small spruce-trees. Then its just to sit down and
wait - some 80 years. It is the sea gypsies of the future who will
appreciate this step - but its good to think longterm. who
knows. maybe it will be hundreds of boats roaming the seven seas some
time in distant future?

We are still working on the lead smelter, it will be some time until
this step is finished, but goes slowly forward. Finding good lead is
biggest problem.

If you think you have some skills who could be useful to us and wants
to become a part of our happy seagypsy community please dont hesitate
to contact us.

Minutes from last weeks:

1. two hardworking kiwi/aussie guys on their way to the field to pick
rocks!

2. Cooling down the lead smelter with water. the obligatory safetymask
is on. getting lead poison is no fun.

3. Preparing the potato field. quite good soil (you can see some
beehives in the background there)

4. Planting 700 spruce trees. The seagypsy dog watch the process
closely.

http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1305179959
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1305179965
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1305179972
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1305179978

--
Want to receive our newsletter on email:
http://list.nett.org/mailman/listinfo/sailing-the-farm

[Newfie]

Z,

There is this fellow over here, Dimitri Orlov who is into life aquatic. I posted a link he did below this short bio. I thought you might find it of interest.

Dmitry Orlov (born 1962) is an engineer and a writer on subjects related to "potential economic, ecological and political decline and collapse in the United States," something he has called “permanent crisis”.[1] Orlov believes collapse will be the result of huge military budgets, government deficits, an unresponsive political system and declining oil production.[2]

Orlov was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and moved to the United States at the age of 12. He has a BS in Computer Engineering and an MA in Applied Linguistics. He was an eyewitness to the collapse of the Soviet Union over several extended visits to his Russian homeland between the late 1980s and mid-1990s.[3]

In 2005 and 2006 Orlov wrote a number of articles comparing the collapse-preparedness of the U.S. and the Soviet Union published on small Peak Oil related sites.[4] Orlov’s article "Closing the 'Collapse Gap': the USSR was better prepared for collapse than the US" was very popular at EnergyBulletin.Net.[5][6]

In 2006 Orlov published an online manifesto, "The New Age of Sail." In 2007 he and his wife sold their apartment in Boston and bought a sailboat, fitted with solar panels and six months supply of propane, and capable of storing a large quantity of food stuffs. He calls it a “survival capsule.” He uses a bicycle for transportation. Having bartered vodka for necessities during one of his trips to the post-collapse Russia, he says "When faced with a collapsing economy, one should stop thinking of wealth in terms of money." [7]

He continues to write regularly on his “Club Orlov” blog and at EnergyBulletin.Net.[8]

http://peakoil.com/consumption/dmitry-o ... gy-elves/#

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm tribe mid August 2011


Dear wannabe sea gypsies,

Still pouring down, last night it rained 50 mm/m2, which makes the
potato field a little wet, but still some time until we have a
beachfront at 400 meter above sealevel

Its been 5-6 hardworking seagypsis from Malaysia, New Zealand, USA,
France and Sweden here now for a long time and . We have spent time
painting the barracks which looks really cozy and nice, then we have
been working out on the field and also slowly preparing for winter.

When it comes to boatwork we got hold of 1 tonns more lead and will
continue making ballast for the boat.

If you think you have some skills who could be useful to us and wants
to become a part of our happy seagypsy community please dont hesitate
to contact us.

Minutes from last weeks:

a. Kiwi-girl painting the barracks inside.
b. Directly arrived from Jordan. A mix of norwegian winterclothes and
traditional jordan wedding costume maybe
c. Biking to the lake to go swimming. Whopping 16 degrees C in the water.
d. Painting the barracks outside.
e. As usual on thursdays - swedish peasoup and waffels.

http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1313417403
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1313417409
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1313417416
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1313417421
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1313417429

--
Want to receive our newsletter on email:
http://list.nett.org/mailman/listinfo/sailing-the-farm

[Sixstrings]

I've never actually read through this thread. Sounds like a fun group of international bohemians. Get a bunch of euros and Aussies and Kiwis and canucks and a few Americans together and a good time is a sure thing..

Good times..

EDIT: checked out that website, couchsurfing.org, oh that's interesting. Looks like a co-op hippie meetup thing very cool. Wow look at the boat:



I know zip about boats but that looks like unusual construction. Is it safe? (ah looks like this is in Norway I thought that looked like a Viking boat )

Some more from their website:

Couch Available: Yes
Preferred Gender: Any
Max Surfers Per Night: 10

Shared Sleeping Surface: No
Shared Room: Yes


have caravans and sleeping-barracks
on the farm with bunkbeds and single beds. we try to have separate room for boys/girls according to availability.

showers and toilet in the barn. we share the meals in a big tent. make meals on turn.

Have some spare matresses and emergency beds available.

If you are just looking for a place to sleep and watch the boatbuilding for a day please dont send us a message. we really dont have time at this stage for sightseeing, sorry.

(please respect this, if you cant stay for some weeks please dont contact us.)

Fairly young people have joined mostly from Europe but we strive to have equal opportunity and invite all sorts of people,age, race, religous background, skills/education/profession to join.


our farm is eco friendly, queer friendly and vegetarian/vegan friendly.


we have animals cat/dogs/chickens and live in a very animal friendly environment. Bring your pet please. They will love this place

no smoking inside house please.

we have bikes/tent/skis available if you like hiking in weekends. (endless of forest around here)

We need people with different skills.

-mechanics.
-metalworkers (know how to run lathe/metalmill etc)
- experimenting hydrophonic system (to be selfsufficient while on sea)
- sail-sewing
-fundraising skills.
- webdesigners (especially wordpress)
- DIY guys/gals good at working with your hands.
- alloy welding (TIG/MIG)
- farming (organic/permaculture)
- upholstry
- woodworking/cabinetmaking
- beekeeper/queen breeders.
- skilled in mandarine (oral/written)
- guitar/harmonica players and social skills people good at cracking jokes.
- people with strong personality and good at pushing dreams into reality.

We strive to have more diversity and would encourage more males or people above 30 yo to apply to join our sea gypsy tribe of tomorrow!
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/sailing-the-farm

[Newfie]

Six,

This guy is doing something very unusual. This is a very old design boat, Swedish life saving vessel, think coast guard cutter before diesel.

He is building it our of aluminum where it is essentially to the original plans and he is cutting the 'planks' out of sheet aluminum. When he is done he will have a very strong and sea worth boat, and never want to see a welding outfit again.

But, yes, way cool.

He also posts here. Check it out.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f92 ... post752487

[zeyang]

uSailing the farm tribe mid sept 2011


Dear wannabe seagypsies.

The first real frostnights have been visiting us, so winter is slowly
coming our way. we have had quite a lot of asian volunteers this month
and celebrated the full moon with moon cake some weeks ago. (chinese
tradition)

Last weeks have been mostly used to harvest and prepare for
winter. Jam-producion is up to full speed and hopefully we will have
enough homemade jam for the whole winter. The bees have got their
sugar so they are also ready for a long winter. Most important step
now is finish up the roof and also make a new shower/bathroom which
will be warm.

So until next newsletter, have a nice autumn!

Minutes from last weeks.

a. A seagypsy girl from Taiwain
b. two proud seagypsies just waiting to launch their home!
c. Apple harvest. We got 72 kg of jam!
d. Lingon-berry harvest. that was totally 26 kg sofar, and still more berries out there.
e. The roof had to be fixed. We are getting there!
f. Cleaning out the barn for making winter bathroom.
g. Wood cutting. We are not sure but we think we got around 20-30 m3
of wood ready for winter.

http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1316286909
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1316286915
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1316286922
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1316286927
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1316286933
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1316287007
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1316287013

[Newfie]

Zey,

Thanks for the posts. It is really great to see someone who is DOING something.

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm Newsletter

October 2011

Dear Sea Gypsies,

The snow is almost here! September and October have been productive
months here on the farm, as we have been working hard to prepare for
the coming winter. The roof on the main house is nearly finished
(with lines so straight it is almost sea-worthy!) The trench for the
winter bathroom has been dug; once the pipes are in, these
hard-working WWoofers will have no more excuses not to shower! All
that’s left will be to install the wood-burning heaters in the
barracks, and then it will be so toasty warm it wont even feel like
winter. We even have a homemade hot tub, nicknamed "The Potato Pot",
and once the sauna is built, our luxury spa will be complete! What
better way to watch the Northern Lights, than steaming in a hot tub
(that was once a milk storage tank, heated by the magic of a Swedish
potato cooker)? Especially when (to the delight of some, and horror
of others) we discovered that it is possible to measure the volume of
its occupants. Maybe life is getting a little too easy on farm and we
have too much time on our hands?

Harvest season is over and we are enjoying the bounty of home-grown
potatoes, lingonberry jam and apple sauce. Our honey is jarred and
stored for the winter, and it makes a delicious accomplishment to the
morning porridge. There has been a spate of biscuit making, which is
definitely helping us to gain some well-needed winter insulation
around the stomach area! However we are already looking forward to
next spring, and are busy making plans, dividing the fields into
potential orchards, turnips, peas, maybe even pumpkins. There is talk
of installing both a greenhouse (for those of you who cannot seem to
do without a few tomatoes) and a heated space for growing mushrooms.
If you know anything about permaculture, we are very anxious to hear
from you, because we need all the help we can get!

Finally, we want to welcome six new babies to the farm. Chicks "
three white, one brown and two black" have arrived and are giving us
constant entertainment. Turns out, chicken TV is much more addictive
than the normal kind! Four of the chicks are currently living in the
girls' barracks, the last arrived this morning with the first snowfall
and we are calling him Tuff, in the hopes that he is tough enough to
survive the winter.

That's everything from the Sea Gypsy tribe this month. We hope
everyone out there is well, and enjoying the autumn! Please take a
look at our photos and remember, if you have some spare time, there's
always room on our farm for an extra WWoofer or two. The cold is
coming, and that means work is about to begin again on the boat. She
has been much neglected over the summer, and requires some
well-deserved attention!

PHOTOS:

a.The epitomy of a Sea Gypsy farmer, wearing a stylish hat and riding
a 52 model Massey Ferguson tractor.

b.Making apple sauce with our steam heater.

c.The trial run of our machine of the month, an old-style food
processor (acquired for free and in perfect working order, although
there was a long evening of head scratching before we realized we were
using it upside down).

d.Two happy WWoofers, boiling in the Potato Pot.

e.Moving home the grass in the fields.


http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186087
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186091
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186096
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186145
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186152

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm Newsletter

October 2011

Dear Sea Gypsies,

The snow is almost here! September and October have been productive
months here on the farm, as we have been working hard to prepare for
the coming winter. The roof on the main house is nearly finished
(with lines so straight it is almost sea-worthy!) The trench for the
winter bathroom has been dug; once the pipes are in, these
hard-working WWoofers will have no more excuses not to shower! All
that’s left will be to install the wood-burning heaters in the
barracks, and then it will be so toasty warm it wont even feel like
winter. We even have a homemade hot tub, nicknamed "The Potato Pot",
and once the sauna is built, our luxury spa will be complete! What
better way to watch the Northern Lights, than steaming in a hot tub
(that was once a milk storage tank, heated by the magic of a Swedish
potato cooker)? Especially when (to the delight of some, and horror
of others) we discovered that it is possible to measure the volume of
its occupants. Maybe life is getting a little too easy on farm and we
have too much time on our hands?

Harvest season is over and we are enjoying the bounty of home-grown
potatoes, lingonberry jam and apple sauce. Our honey is jarred and
stored for the winter, and it makes a delicious accomplishment to the
morning porridge. There has been a spate of biscuit making, which is
definitely helping us to gain some well-needed winter insulation
around the stomach area! However we are already looking forward to
next spring, and are busy making plans, dividing the fields into
potential orchards, turnips, peas, maybe even pumpkins. There is talk
of installing both a greenhouse (for those of you who cannot seem to
do without a few tomatoes) and a heated space for growing mushrooms.
If you know anything about permaculture, we are very anxious to hear
from you, because we need all the help we can get!

Finally, we want to welcome six new babies to the farm. Chicks "
three white, one brown and two black" have arrived and are giving us
constant entertainment. Turns out, chicken TV is much more addictive
than the normal kind! Four of the chicks are currently living in the
girls' barracks, the last arrived this morning with the first snowfall
and we are calling him Tuff, in the hopes that he is tough enough to
survive the winter.

That's everything from the Sea Gypsy tribe this month. We hope
everyone out there is well, and enjoying the autumn! Please take a
look at our photos and remember, if you have some spare time, there's
always room on our farm for an extra WWoofer or two. The cold is
coming, and that means work is about to begin again on the boat. She
has been much neglected over the summer, and requires some
well-deserved attention!

PHOTOS:

a.The epitomy of a Sea Gypsy farmer, wearing a stylish hat and riding
a 52 model Massey Ferguson tractor.

b.Making apple sauce with our steam heater.

c.The trial run of our machine of the month, an old-style food
processor (acquired for free and in perfect working order, although
there was a long evening of head scratching before we realized we were
using it upside down).

d.Two happy WWoofers, boiling in the Potato Pot.

e.Moving home the grass in the fields.


http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186087
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186091
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186096
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186145
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1318186152

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm Newsletter
November 2011

Dear Sea Gypsies,

November has been an exciting month here on the farm. We've had
Americans, Australians, Spaniards, French, Dutch, English... all of us
wwoofers staring at the sky, waiting for the snow to come! It has
been unseasonably warm, and we are still working hard to finish all
the things that need to be finished before winter arrives. It's
already snowing on the mountains, so skiing, ice-fishing and igloo
building are just around the corner.

The roof is not quite finished, although we hope that by the end of
the week we will be eating "Roof Cake" to celebrate its completion.
Turns out a 100-year-old roof is hard to fix! But once all the tiles
are straight, we will move onto the winter bathroom and then the boat.
Other projects this month have included fixing up the chicken coop,
turning it into 5 star luxury accommodation. Only the best for our
chickens! We have also tried our hand at plowing, which is
surprisingly difficult. Maybe there's a reason farmers decided to
swap horses for tractors... although we definitely prefer the horses!
It might just take a bit of practice to get those furrows straight.

Other news... the northern lights have been putting on quite a show this
month. Wwoofers have been busy, hunting for trolls in the forest and
sending each other on scavenger hunts around the farm. One brave
wwoofer attempted to walk along the ancient pilgrim trail that runs
through the farm, back to Oslo.

If you are interested in coming to help us out here on the farm,
please let us know. There is always space, just send us an email if
you want to try your hand at roof tiling, giant igloo building,
welding, plowing... and of course boat building!

We hope all of you are well and looking forward to winter!

Check out our photos from this month:

a.Slowly scaling down the farm, this English girl worries about life
without diesel for our tractor... this guy works best on grass and
plenty of oats.

b.Wrestling with giant snakes in the trench!

c.Safety regulations are by the book. Everyone is wearing earmuffs
these days.

d.Happy sea gypsies feasting (Australia, France, US, England).


http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1320694322
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1320694327
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1320694332
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?at ... 1320694337

[zeyang]

Newsletter December 2011.

Dear Sea Gypsies,

Things are looking very Christmassy now, as the snow falls and we
prepare to delve into the forest on the hunt for the perfect Christmas
tree. Snow isnt quite at head-height yet, since its been a tropical
December. Today shows a toasty -10 on the thermometer. Woofers are
holding their breath, waiting to see some proper winter-conditions,
thus facilitating giant snowmen, igloo-building, skiing, and perhaps a
model sailing ship crafted from snow and ice? Anything is possible on
the farm!

This month however has been a sad one. Our friend and one of the
seagipsy family, Casper, died a few weeks ago. At almost 14 years
old, he was happy, eating many waffles, until the end of his life. We
buried him in a peaceful spot overlooking the raspberry patch. He was
a beautiful dog with a beautiful heart; we know many of you loved
Casper and he will always be remembered.

Other news is that, after a much-needed trip to the Canaries for some
of us for some serious sailboat spotting, we are back and working hard
to...yes, you guessed it, work of the roof which is now thankfully
finished! Otherwise we have been trench-digging, honey-stirring,
shed-cleaning and wall-painting, trying to finish everything that
needs doing before our beards and toes start to freeze. All of us are
itching to get back into the boat shed however, desperate as we are to
start sewing the sails, melting the ballast, carving the mast and
welding the deck...only a few more steps until our beautiful sailboat
is ready for her maiden voyage!

If you want to join our happy sea-gypsy tribe, feel free to drop us a
line.

Have a good Christmas everyone, and remember to put out a big bowl of
porridge for the Fjosnisse. This gnome lives in the barn and he can
get cranky if he doesn't get his fair share at Christmas!

Pictures of the month

a: Finding a nice christmas tree in the forest.
b. two pretty mermaids painting the storage shed inside.
c. Casper, our beloved sailboat dog passed away this month.
d. and again, merry christmas to all of you from all of us!


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[Newfie]

Z,

Saw you over on CF also. Good stuff.

Happy Holidays.

How's the boat coming? Launch date?

[zeyang]

hi,
if all goes as planned we will launch in 2012.

ze

[Newfie]

Good stuff, then onto something completely different.

Our plans keep going back and forth. Today's version calls for me to take a sabbatical (at least) and do an extended trip to Greenland this summer.

We have two boats; a 44'er here in Philadelphia area, and a 33'er in Newfoundland. I was going to take the 33, which is pretty much kitted out for single handing. But events have shifted to cause me to take the 44 from Philadelphia, a longer trip.

So I have been going through the kitting out process. Autopilot, radar, ais, bigger winches, drifter(?), pactor modem, etc.

It all adds up to quite a bit. Much of this because I will be solo, so I need the additional help.

We will haul in March, do a bottom job and some welding. I need to stiffen the radar arch, move the radar, do some work on the sprit, etc.

Then splash and go.

Yesterday I bought a 12lb (4kilo) roast beef and 'canned' it (put up in vacume glass bottles in a pressure cooker) for the trip. There is a lot of work in prepping for a voyage.