Help us restoring a boat then explore the world under sail in Valdivia, Chile

Detalhes

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  Descrição

  We're a family who have all been born and bred around sailing boats. For the past 30 years we've been slowly travelling the world under sail aboard our home-built ketch - and when I say slowly, I mean VERY slowly. We zig-zag to and fro; we loop back on ourselves. We're not actually trying to get anywhere. It's all about the lifestyle.
  
  The current crew consists of Dad and Mum and our oldest offspring. Having been born aboard, this one-time 'ship's boy' has worked his way up through the ranks in the usual manner and he is now the captain.
  
  As a family, we have experience in calms and storms and, of course, in the tradewinds. We prefer remote anchorages, where we can have the world to ourselves. This might mean an azure lagoon at the heart of an atoll, or it might mean Point Nemo, in the depths of the South Pacific.
  We're happy sweltering in the tropics and we've also spent time amongst the ice floes and the glaciers of Patagonia. In fact, the captain has spent two seasons working in Antarctica and would like to head back down that way.
  
  Although we don't actually need any help in handling the boat, we certainly enjoy having other people aboard. We're not particularly interested in giving rides to people who just want to get from A to B. We have been known to do just that, but we're happier hosting people who are eager to learn about the cruising lifestyle with a view to buying their own boat. We also welcome scientists who want to use the vessel as a base for marine research (eg. plankton netting, listening to whales, etc)
  
  One of the drawbacks of this lifestyle is that it's financially difficult. We have to find ways to scrape by.
  The only other major hindrance is the amount of work entailed in keeping the boat in good shape. Our home is made from steel, and that's good news when there are uncharted rocks or when the bergy-bit is a bit bigger than it seemed, but it also means that there's always plenty of rust to be cleaned away and metal to be repainted.
  While in harbour, we're eager to hear from people who are skilled welders or carpenters and also anyone who enjoys grinding away old paint and daubing on new.
  
  UPDATE (April 2024) :
  With the help of an absolutely wonderful team of hard-working, happy Workaway volunteers, we have now completed the dirty, noisy work of cleaning old paint and rust from the boat, and we've also given her five coats of new super-protective paint. Especial thanks to Caro, Ferdi, Denise, Marion, Denise, and Melissa, without whom we could not have got the job done in the time available. You are all heroes!
  The boat is now back on the water, but there are still one or two things to do before she can go sailing again.

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  Tipos de ajuda e oportunidades de aprendizado

  Construção/faça você mesmo

  Manutenção geral
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  Oportunidades de intercâmbio cultural e aprendizado

  Travellers visiting us while we work on the boat will certainly learn a lot about boat maintenance and about the ins and outs of the cruising lifestyle. We are always happy to share our knowledge of yacht design as it relates to seaworthiness, boat-speed, and so forth. Indeed, we're ready to answer your questions on any subject related to boats.
  
  Everyone who sails with us does their own watch, after we've taught them how to steer and how to keep a good look-out for other vessels. Those who wish to can also learn more about how the boat sails and how to manage her in different winds. We're also happy to teach people how to navigate with the GPS and/or with a sextant.
  
  We also have a reasonably good knowledge of marine life (especially birds and cetaceans) which we're always glad to share.

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  Ajuda

  The hull has just undergone an extensive refit (January to April 2024) but, as has been explained, there are still a few things which need to be done to make life aboard the boat more comfortable.
  Some of the work requires knowledge which we can easily teach (eg. chipping rust and preparing metal for painting), but we would also be very pleased to hear from a carpenter with the skills needed to make a new table, and we'd be delighted to host someone who is competent with plywood and fibreglass and who can help us to make a simple dog-house (= a protective cover for the helmsman, at the wheel).
  We plan to begin work again in November, when the weather is more settled.
  
  Once the work has been completed, we plan to sail the boat down through the Chilean Channels - through Patagonia to Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn - taking about three months for the adventure. This is a journey which we have made before. It is apt to be cold and wet - and, simultaneously, utterly fantastic. We have a nice little wood-burning stove, and there'll be plenty of wine in the booze locker; so we should be able to stay cosy.
  
  We are particularly keen to hear from any young biologists who might want to grasp the opportunity to study the local wildlife. For example - so far as we know, no one has done a census of the otter population, down there, since the 70s. Then there are the cetaceans. On our last journey we took along a dolphin acoustician who wanted to study the Chilean dolphins; and we'd be thrilled to be able to help someone study the seis which we saw, on an almost daily basis, on our previous expedition.
  The flora of this region is also worthy of investigation. There are places where glacial deposition has created new land, and one can observe the process by which the plants have moved in. It's also astonishing to see how quickly the bright orange moss colonises rocks uncovered by the retreating glaciers.
  The glaciers themselves are awesome - in the literal sense of the word - and it's both wonderful and alarming to stand and watch them disintegrating....
  
  In 2025 we hope to sail the boat to the Antarctic peninsula - and, again, we would be happy to provide an opportunity for a young biologist who wants to study life down there.
  
  In the event that no biologists are available, we'll happily take along somebody else who is fit and enthusiastic, with a happy disposition, and with a life-outlook which meshes well with our own.
  So, what is our outlook? We're obsessed with the environment and with trying to protect it - to be honest, there doesn't seem to be much point in focusing on anything else these days, while eco-systems are collapsing and the climate is falling apart around us - and so we do our best to live clean, green lives, leaving only bubbles in our wake. We use the engine as little as possible. If it takes us all day to beat up a Channel, making 24 tacks, then that's what we'll do.
  Our electricity comes from the wind and the sun.
  
  When we're not aboard the boat we spend our time planting trees and looking after them.
  We're vegetarians, and now that we've begun to spend more time ashore we do our best to grow our own food.
  
  We're non-smokers, and smoking is not permitted aboard the boat.
  
  PLEASE NOTE : Anyone who wishes to join us for a sailing trip would need to have met with us beforehand and, ideally, should also have visited the boat. Priority will go to those who have helped prepare her for the voyage.

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  Idiomas

  Idiomas
  Inglês: Fluente
  Espanhol: Intermediário
  Português: Intermediário
  Francês: Iniciante

  Este anfitrião oferece intercâmbio de idiomas
  Our first language is English. We also speak mediocre French, and we can get by in Spanish and Portuguese.
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  Acomodação

  We have space for two guests in two small cabins in the for'ard (front) part of the boat.
  Please be aware that there is very little privacy on a small boat. There are, for example, no doors anywhere on the boat. (We don't have anything against doors; we've just never got round to making them.)
  Guests should understand that the boat is very seaworthy but also very basic. It's definitely not a charter yacht!

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  Mais alguns detalhes

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    Acesso à internet

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    Acesso à internet limitado

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    Temos mascotes

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    Somos fumantes

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    Pode hospedar famílias

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  Quantos Workawayers pode acomodar?

  2

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  Horas previstas

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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