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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He had it coming. He was such a bugger… Very difficult to live with, constantly complaining, a real nightmare. So, we did the only thing two sane people living on a boat together can do: we got rid of the problem! Who needs cold beer? 😀
The rest of this video is pretty fun as well, we’re refitting our catamaran to go across the Pacific in Ecuador – a place that is very difficult to refit a boat.
Hope you like.
Kim
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This is an all-sailing episode! We go over how to sail safer, specifically on a catamaran. If you guys like to sail fast you like this episode!
Sailing a catamaran is a bit different than sailing on a monohull. We explain while crossing the equator into Ecuador. Come join us for this informative and funny example of what (not) to do when cruising around the world on a catamaran.
Also, this was one of our best and fastes crossings ever. 83 hours for 600nm. Woohoo!
Next stop: Mainland Ecuador. What a place!
-James & Kim
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🙂 This is Kim’s very best episode so far: the intro, the endscreen, incredible underwater footage, narration and the choice of music… Check it out 🙂
Tiger sharks, Galapagos sharks and hammerhead sharks swim right under our sailboat all night and day long! Isla del Coco National Park is way better than we expected it and we’re glad we took the ‘detour’.
Sailing here was not easy, but that’s part of traveling the world as a live-aboard: Nothing is ever easy!
We jump in and freedive until our lungs couldn’t take it anymore! If you’ve ever been shark diving You’ll understand the thrill!
Sailing a catamaran is scary sometimes. Especially when you’re trying to go as fast as physically possible! Join us as we’re making record time to Isla del Coco.
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With a sordid past of pirates, mutiny, and buried treasure, accessible only by boat, the pirate island of Isla del Coco is the island that the book “Jurassic Park” is based on! We sail the 400nm to see what kind of adventure we can get into. Come join us in Isla Del Coco, Costa Rica.
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If you remember in the last episode, we were just about ready to drop the boat back in the water…. BUT (and there’s always a but) the “Biocide-free” paint we used didn’t dry. Ever.
What are we suppose to do now? Sail away? Wait in the boatyard? Start going crazy on the paint manufacturing company? We’ll see. Watch and find out.
We made sure to follow the directions perfectly, but after 27 hours it’s still wet. Damn. So we let her stay up on the trailer for another 5 days while we try to get a refund for the paint, and see if it will ever dry (it didn’t, we got a refund 6 months later).
After we finally splash Zingaro Kimmi is in heaven being out to sea again, and the boat is WAY faster than it had been, and much safer.
We now just need to check out of Costa Rica, and head for the PIRATE ISLAND of Isla Del Coco 🙂
Every cruiser’s nightmare: thieves. They stole our drone, radio, tools. Now the police are here investigating, taking fingerprints, and for what? Watch and find out…
See how the crew of Zingaro handled it in this installment of the life and times of Zingaro!
I take a Tico (that’s what they call a local Costa Rican guy – girls are Ticas) on a 200nm sail from Isla Caño to Isla Murcíalagos. What a great time. Here’s the real story on that one…
So we get up to this beautiful island chain, the “Bat” islands – named because of the shape of a bat made by the second island (you can see this very clearly at 2:39). This island chain is very rarely visited, mostly because it lays in a very dangerous zone – the Papagayo wind zone. This is an area of the Central American peninsula where the eastern trade winds from the Caribbean shoot through the mountains and make their way (very strongly) to the Pacific. Within 5 nm of land you are subject to 40kt catabolic winds, sometimes out of nowhere. Needless to say, it’s a dangerous place to bring a boat… so we went!
I laid out two anchors, about 60degrees from each other, and faced the boat dead east in a little cove (also visible in the drone shot). Super cool spot, but ass puckering dangerous. We were so close to the rocks that I barely slept, always coming out to shine a light and check to make sure the anchors were holding. It’s one thing to be anchored in 40kt winds, it’s another to be anchored 20ft from rocks, in 6ft of water, in 40kt winds.
But OMG the diving! It was amazing. We talked to the rangers, and got permission to spearfish. I actually took a shot at a mahi-mahi while we were out. We ended up getting lots of fish, and bringing the rangers a bunch, to which they were very thankful, as they had no boat to fish so were eating canned foods for weeks. Ugh. Great view though.
Bottom line: If you are ever in Costa Rica, try to get out to the Murcíalagos Islands. They are very special. Bucket list item for sure. Climb to the top of one of the islands and watch the sunset. You may get lucky like us and see whales breaching right afterward. What a night… Why is this not in the vid, you ask? We had the footage on our failed hard drive, not backed up. 100 videos are gone. That sucks, but you get the real story here.
The rest of the film is pretty self explanatory, Kim comes back (Happy Captain!), and we haul the boat…
– James
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After sailing all the way to Costa Rica just to find a cheap yard to haul out, they kick us out!?!?! The dude does not abide. What are we going to do now? We need to repair the bottom of the boat and nobody will let us in!!! Well, there’s only one thing to do… We hoist the sails and go SAILING!
Much love
James and Kim
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Can you see what’s wrong with this picture? Find out in this week’s adventure sailing around Costa Rica on a plywood catamaran. The where, why, and when of one of life’s most intriguing questions: When will Zingaro’s dinghy die??
In this episode you’ll see “the incident” that finally killed our outboard. We ended up giving it away to a dock worker when we arrived in Ecuador. Funny enough, I needed some parts off of it later on and we were able to track it down and get the little pieces I needed for the new one.
Hope you like! This is a LONG episode, and took us quite a while to make. We think it’s got just about everything you’d need to get your sailing/maintenance/adventure fix today!
-James & Kimmi
PS: Big thanks to Sue and Pirate Pawl of Pitcairn island for the hospitality, food, drink, and love. We have some lifelong friends on one of the most remote islands in the world.
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Ever wonder how long line fishing works? We met Arturo while we were hanging out in Costa Rica, and asked him what he did all night. He invited us to come along, and we couldn’t say no (though when he told us what time we were leaving we had second thoughts).
We hauled in a lot of fish that night, slept on a lancha (Spanish for dinghy, uncomfortable as hell), almost got stuck by numerous hooks, and got a very fast ride in/out of the bay.
We are exhausted by the end of the day, but pull in over 40 mahi mahi, and even get to take home the biggest one! It was definitely an experience.
Big thanks to Arturo for inviting us into his life and taking us on this adventure! Muchas gracias Arturo!
Much love, Pura Vida!
Kim and James
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We’re loosing our crew! You guys have no idea how bad it’ll get without Lucie. She was the only cook aboard. She came, she cooked, she conquered. Bye, bye Lucie!
We’re just getting to Costa Rica at the end of this episode, and good times await us here! We’re going to sail the entire coast, all the way to Nicaragua. Islas Caño, Merciàlago, and even the elusive Cocos… Stay tuned!
We had some amazing adventures in CR. It was beautiful, expensive, crazy, locals came to the boat, Kimmi went back to Berlin, and James and a local went on a spearfishing/sailing adventure with a friend. We can’t wait to share all of this with you.
But, first, hope you like this one.
Pura Vida!
James & Kim
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This is the very last Panama video, it is our longest (and best) episode to date, and it has a bit of everything you guys love in a sailing video: storm sailing and spearfishing on this uninhabited island (Isla Montuosa), when we run into the navy! Watch what happens, you won’t believe it!
We also go to Isla Coiba and show you some amazing dive footage from there. What a beautiful place.
In the next episode we’re finally leaving for Costa Rica.
Much love!
James & Kimmi
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Lucie comes back from Chile, and we head out to the islands again (I see a recurring theme).
We spearfish and sail through the south coast of Panama as we prepare for our journey to Costa Rica! We visit Islas Secas, Montuosa, and Jicaron, and have another cruiser over for a catch & cook fish taco dinner.
This is the second-to-last video in Pacific Panama. We decided to see as many of the islands we could before leaving. Great idea.
Stay tuned for next episode, where we visit Isla Coiba and leave for Costa Rica!
Hope you like! Much love from Kimmi and me!!!!
James
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[sponsored post] How cool is it that? We’re the first and only channel to be sponsored by Spectra? Wow.
You’ve ever wondered how watermakers turn saltwater to fresh, drinkable water, how to install one in your boat or how much work this really is? This video will teach you everything you want to know about watermakers. We’re installing a Spectra Ventura 150C watermaker including layout, plumbing, wiring, operation, and connecting wirelessly through your computer/phone/tablet.
Took me all week, and a lot of sweat equity, but man it’s nice to not have to worry about water anymore.
This video is brought to you by Sailing Zingaro and Spectra Watermakers.
Fishing fail: That mahi mahi threw a knife at us! Tune in to find out just how the heck we got ourselves in this precarious situation, and if we got the fish if the fish got us…
We’re sailing in the Seca Islands, Panama: Cruising, fishing, storms and diving – This one has a bit of everything.
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Theres nobody here. It’s paradise. The weather is perfect, the sea is calm, and the spearfishing is amazing. Follow us for an amazing journey into the untouched and rarely visited Isla Secas.
They’re often passed up by cruisers, because it’s hard to slog up the coast towards Costa Rica. Furthermore, there isn’t any widespread knowledge about these islands.
That is the kinda place I want to be. And this time it worked out so well… What a beautiful island chain. It’s very close to Isla Coiba (World Heritage site and same underwater archipelago as Galapagoes). Just amazing.
Hope you like!
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Close your eyes and hold on! Shipping lane crossing at night, no fresh food, no water.
On our search for a boatyard we spend seven days sailing the southern Coast of Panama. The wind was in our favor most of the time and we had a blast. But our range without a farm and a watermaker on the boat is limited, so we had to eventually end our trip in Boca Chica.
The girls take the catamaran through the Panama Canal! We get some new linehandlers, struggle to get diesel, and finally get through the canal to the Pacific! What an adventure it has been so far.
As we say goodbye to the Caribbean ocean, we reflect on the memories we’ve made, the troubles, trials, and friendships. It’s hard to say goodbye, but exiting to start a new adventure in the biggest ocean on the Planet: Season 2 – PACIFIC.
Making this episode and looking back on the TWO YEARS we have spent cruising has touched us deeply.
