Category Archives: Videos

Sailing to the Pitcairn Islands! – Ep. 74

It was with heavy hearts that we left our friends on Rapa Nui behind. But as soon as we got into our passage routine again, our excitement to see new locations started to grow quickly!

Our next destination were the Pitcairn Islands, which include Ducie Atoll, Henderson Island, Oeno Atoll and, of course, the famous Pitcairn Island! Our first stop was Ducie Atoll, which is about 1100 nm away from Rapa Nui.

After over a week at sea, we are met with enormous waves at this remote island: the southernmost atoll in the world. The smell of land is a warm welcome, but the sea isn’t going to let us get our little sinking dinghy anywhere near this place, so we go for a dip as we decide what to do next. Hope You enjoy!

All the best from me (Kimi) as Jamie is still out to sea with s/v Te Vega! If you want to follow his trip, click here…

I hope all of You are doing great, I’m sending You much love from Berlin!
Kim

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Epic footage of Easter Island – Sailing Zingaro Ep. 73

Today we join the crew 1800nm off the coast of Chile on one of the most remote islands in the world: Rapa Nui Easter Island).

One can wonder how, 1000’s of years ago, this island was located, settled, and through the ensuing 2000 years grew, thrived, and ultimately failed through the practices of ancestral worship and deforestation.

Seafarer’s Festival on Rapa Nui

Believed to have been settled between 300-1200 BC, the remaining 6,000 Rapa Nui have a rich and ancient culture. We were invited to a seafarer’s festival when a traditional Polynesian catamaran made landfall from mainland Chile after 32 days on the open ocean, only navigating by the stars! We were privy to talks from the tribe elders, dancing, local music, and even a feast cooked in a traditional underground oven.

Underwater Moai at a Depth of 79 ft

We also try and find the island’s only underwater Moai, located in Hanga Roa Harbor and reported to be at a depth of 24m (79ft). That was the deepest freediving we had ever done to this point, and the challenge was well worth it! This Moai is not authentic, it was a movie prop for the Kevin Reynolds film “Rapa Nui”, starring Kevin Costner.

… and again: Sinky Dink – Sinking Outboard

And what video would be complete without a bit of boat maintenance? Enter Zingaro’s famous “sinky dinky”… our sinking dinghy that we just can’t seem to keep afloat. 😉

We hope you enjoy this final installment of our adventures on Easter Island. Editing this footage brought us back so many memories. We absolutely will return to this magical place, someday… For now we, just like you, will watch these videos with awe and reverence that is the magic of Rapa Nui.

Much love!
Kim & James

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The Monoliths of Easter Island – Ep. 72

In this Episode we visit Ahu Tongariki: the largest Moai site of Easter Island. It has 15 moai lined up and includes the largest moai ever erected on the island.

The Moai Were Swept Inland by a Tsunami

You may have seen pictures, or perhaps been there, but did you know Its moais were toppled during the island’s civil wars, and in the twentieth century the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami?

They have (obviously) since been erected, but the hats that once. dominated the skies were too worn by weather to be able to go back on top. If you pay attention there’s a scene in the video where James is standing near them, and they are 6′ tall!

Zingaro-Crew Nearly Got Arrested!

Fun fact: flying the drone is not allowed here and we didn’t know that before launching it, so we nearly got arrested that morning. Oops. No signs if you come from the water…

“Honey Bird” of Easter Island

Then we, by chance, ran into the honey-man of the island: Omar. He calls his business Manu Meri (translation: honey bird) and I think it’s the best honey I’ve ever tried in the world. We were flush with honey for almost a year after this, and were super sad to eat the last of it. At $30 a (tiny) jar, there’ll be no refill of Manu Meri honey in our immediate future. If you can get your hands on some, it’s amazing. Better than Pitcairn (the next island we’ll take you to).

Hope you like this week’s adventure. This island was full of them. Just magical.

For your love and support, we love you all. Hope this finds you healthy and happy, stay safe.

Hope you enjoy!

Much love
James & Kim

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Diving Deep into the Beauty of Easter Island – Ep. 71

What makes this place so special? And why not everybody comes here?

Anakena – Our Favorite Anchorage

We start this story in the magical land of Anakena. This place has proven to be (and still holds the title) the best anchorage we’ve ever been to. Yes, I said it. Favorite anchorage of all time. Please don’t tell anyone.

“But, James,” you ask, “aren’t all of the anchorages on Easter Island dangerous and rolly?”

When it’s right, it’s right, and brother/sister when this anchorage is calm it is absolutely an amazing place to hang your hook.

If you look closely in the drone shots you can see a very small piece of bright blue water around the boats: that’s the sand. Everything else is coral. Wall-to-wall beautiful coral, with the underwater topography of lava channels, caves, lava tubes, etc. Add that to the 600-900 year old statues towering above and you get this one-of-a-kind location.

While we had the pleasure of staying here, we had a patron come down for a visit and bring us a new autopilot! Thanks Rick!! You rock brother! By the time we got him back to the boat it was time to scoot around to the eastern anchorage of Tongariki.

15 Moai in Tongariki

Tongariki is one of the coolest places on Rapa Nui. With it’s 15 Moai it also holds the title of the most statues in any one location. The scenery here is equally amazing, as you’ll see. The volcano you see behind the statue is the quarry they are made from. We’ll dive into that on a different occasion.

Then it was on to fixing the autopilot… They say cruising is “fixing your boat in exotic locations” and we definitely put that into practice. But, at the end of the day, after many hours of consulting, drawing, and planning – we’ve got a solid plan to get our autopilot back up and running better than ever!

Hope you love this one!

Much love
Kim & James

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A Day in the Life of Cruisers on Rapa Nui – Ep. 70

We finally make it on land in Rapa Nui! If you ever get the chance to go here, please do. It was a magical place. A bit difficult to have a boat, but the people, the food, and the ambiance was amazing.

Definitely a hard place to get provisions on a sailboat. After they close the harbor we need to change anchorages, entering through big swell and surf only to hitchhike the 4 miles to get some fruit and vegetables.

We visit the port captain for another cruiser, and show you around Hanga Roa. Hope you like Rapa Nui!

Stay safe and healthy!

James & Kim

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Rapa Nui – A Difficult Island for Sailors | Ep. 69

Is it worth sailing here? A couple of days after our arrival at Rapa Nui (Easter Island) we realize that the stories about this island were true: Little protection for sailboats and dangerous harbor entrances for dinghies make it a very difficult destination for cruisers.

We still weren’t able to leave Zingaro

When we woke up on day three, the wind had changed to the north and forced everybody to move from Hanga Roa to the other side of the island. We raised the anchor and our sails and got on our way to the southern side of Easter Island. Was the trip to this remote island worth the trouble?

Watch to find out!

Hope you enjoy, much love
James & Kim

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Arriving to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Ep. 68

  • We could smell the land from 20nm out.
  • We had been out to sea for 18 days… 2500nm.
  • We had been hand steering for the final 24 hours.
  • It was worth every bit of trouble.

Three weeks on the Pacific Ocean, all by ourselves, we were fantasizing about a couple different things: Salad with yoghurt dressing and beer on the top of the list.

So close, yet so far: Stuck on our sailboat after our Pacific crossing

When we thought we could enjoy the benefits of being back in civilization as soon as we dropped our anchor, we thought wrong. The immigration procedure at first and finally our own equipment kept us from going ashore for another three days after our arrival.

We appreciated the beauty of the island, observing it from a distance and went diving off of our boat. The stoke of having it made to Rapa Nui, the island furthest away from civilization, was real.

We hope you enjoy our arrival to Rapa Nui. It was one of the best, coolest, and amazing passages we’ve ever taken, and hands down both of our favorite place we’ve ever anchored.

❤ Much love everyone! Hope this finds you all safe and healthy ❤

James & Kim

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Lessons From Our Shipwreck – Livestream

Our catamaran suffered catastrophic damage in a storm on route from Kiribati to Hawaii. In this live stream we will talk about the lessons we learned, and try to shed some light on why/how it happened and what you can learn from it.

I had a livestream to talk about lessons learned from our shipwreck. Here is the upload…

Hope you like it 🙂
James

Sailing to Easter Island (part 3) – Ep. 67

In this video we’re slowly but steadily making our way to the remote Easter Island, we’re dealing with the autopilot and the very moody weather underway. It’s interesting how quickly the conditions can change.

One Minute you’re sailing along nicely and the next you are being chased by a storm and soon after you lose the wind altogether and drift for a whole night.

All that to say that on one passage, you come across many, very different oceans. But see for yourselves in our latest and  l o n g e s t  episode.

Much love from the Zingaro Crew, we hope You enjoy this video!

James & Kim

Sailing to Easter Island (pt. 2 ) | Sailing Zingaro Ep. 66

In this episode we find out exactly, what happens when you lose your autopilot 500nm out to sea on the way to the most remote inhabited island in the world.

In a phrase: You keep going!

But that doesn’t mean that we needed to hand steer the whole time. Please watch to find out what we did, and how far we made it towards this amazing place called Easter Island.

Hope you enjoy!

James & Kim

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From Ecuador to Easter Island – Ep. 65

We’re BACK AT IT! In this episode we provision and start our 2500 nautical mile sail. We leave Ecuador bound for Easter Island (Rapa Nui)!

This will be, by far, the longest passage we’ve ever undertaken. We meet a cable ship and lose our autopilot 450nm out to sea!

Check out this cool episode, hope you love it.

Thank you all for helping keep this dream alive!

Much love,

James & Kim

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How to Live on a Cruising Sailboat. Happily. – Ep. 64

I made this Episode more documentary style and longer than usual. It’s about how to stay sane while sailing around the world and why having fun should be on your to do list!

Only Beer and Bikinis?

The boat will not, I repeat, WILL NOT give you a break from work. Trust me on this one. When you sail around the world, whether solo or in a team, you have to remember to take time out of your schedule to enjoy the reasons you went on this exceptional journey in the first place. It is just as much your duty to keep the boat afloat & safe as it is to keep yourself mentally sound.

This is why in this fabulous video, we as a travel couple are documenting what a healthy working-life-balance looks like when cruising. We don’t always manage to balance work and fun this well. This week we spend in Ecuador sailing around with Ryan was everything we strive for everyday we’re out there.

Lots of Love from Hawai’i
Kim & James

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The Amazon: Kim’s Solo Travel Adventure – Ep. 63

Got a special episode for you today! An epic, 20 minute split-screen extravaganza. We split up and go on separate adventures:

Sea level guy climbs the highest mountain

James attempts to scale the Chimborazo – the highest mountain in Ecuador (and, technically, the highest point on earth – click here for more info) and ends up with some serious altitude sickness. It goes south fast, and James ends up in a bit of trouble…

Kimmi – the Amazonian warrior princess

On this adventure she has to go alone. Kim heads to the Amazon, taking a camera and capturing some amazing scenes of her travels. She gathers her spear, blowgun and the strength needed to trek to one of the most beautiful, wild places on the planet: The Amazonian rainforest.

See how they forage to food, harvest cacao for chocolate and visit a traditional healer in this picturesque location.

Hope you all love it as much as we loved making it!

James & Kim

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From the Coast into the Crater – Hidden Beauty in South America | Ep. 62

In this action packed episode of Sailing Zingaro we’re heading inland to Ecuador: kayaking in a dormant volcano, riding dirtbikes through BaĂąos and checking out the biggest swing in South America! We’re even sailing and spearfishing in the beginning. Fun is to be had by all.

Even a little thank you from Kim and James for being a part of this journey for three years! Here’s to another 3…

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Someone Please Take this Girl Sailing! – Ep. 61

Due to our passage from Tahiti to Kiritimati (Christmas Island) it’s been quite awhile since we’ve been able to upload anything, but here’s the next installment in the Zingaro saga!

It’s rare on a cruising boat to use it for day-sailing, but after a disastrous livestream we pop open the gennaker and take Zingaro for a play day in the bay of Manta, Ecuador. Come join us for some how-to on the asymmetrical spinnaker and fun on the water!

Every once in a while it’s nice to take a break from the hustle and have a little fun. Do us a favor: Go out and have a bit of fun yourselves. 😉

Much love!

James & Kim

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Crazy Fish Market in Ecuador (Ep. 60)

Fillet huge swordfish… Mahi mahi, swordfish, sharks, tuna and squid all cut up right in front of us. The beach is filled with people, all trying to get a piece of their favorite fish. Come experience the Puerto LĂłpez fish market with us!

James and Kim

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Humboldt Current Crossing – Cruising Ecuador (Ep. 59)

This video was taken in Ecuador, when we were beginning to explore the coast and the islands of that beautiful country.

The crew sails 60 miles to a beautiful island, only to be told we CAN’T swim there?! Cruising on a sailboat in Ecuador is harder than you think, there’s all kinds of paperwork, permissions and regulations you need to abide by, but the rewards are amazing!

Actually, in this episode we end up not seeing much and instead scrub the bottom for three days straight, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. Somebody has to do the dirty work.

I hope You enjoy!

Sending You love from Mo’orea (in the middle of the Pacific)
James & Kim

That time we almost dismasted Zingaro

Yeah… so I got installed sweet new 16:1 purchase adjustable backstays and all new rigging. What I didn’t realize was the amount of dyneema that needed to be stretched, and just how fast it would stretch out. Big mistake.

We went on a test run with Zingaro, when we had an accident. 30nm out from our home port in Ecuador the new standing rig stretched faster than it should have. Due to the strong wind and big seas we had to abort our shake down cruise and turn back.

This could have easily led to some serious damage on the boat and we’re lucky, that we could avoid a bigger accident.

Just for the record: our mast is still standing and synthetic rigging is the bomb. You just have to know how to use it…

Check out this episode to see what happened, it wasn’t a good day (even though James says it was).

Much love! Kim & James

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