sailing the farm - a seagypsy tribe of tomorrow!

[zeyang]

Newsletter March 2015. .

Dear Sea Gypsies,

First, apology for delayed newsletter. The winter has been a busy one
and it hasn't been that much time to keep up with the Newsletter, but
we must say we are superhappy to get so many postcards and hear from
all of you volunteers who have been here.....

To be Norway its been quite a mild winter, the good thing is that
heating has been running minside the boat whole winter so we have
hardly felt the cold outside - a good test to see if our heating
system inside the boat is ready to stand up for sailing in Antarctica.

The sun is starting to heat up the farm and us slowly, the last week
we really can feel the spring is coming. Our chicken is happy outside
during daytime and seems to enjoy the sun as much as we do.

Our metal working skills and diesel engine skills (mostly lack of) has
been put to a test. We are more or less been busy doing brainsurgery
on our 500 kg spare diesel engine to check how it looks inside and
learning how those are working. Those parts we think will stop working
will be brought onboard, (spare waterpumps, piston rings, gaskets etc)
It gives a good feeling to know how that machine is working and even
if we are a sailors, one day we will be happy to be pushed up the
Amazon river or other places with the help of that engine . The one
we will use seems to seems to be ok (we have been testing diesel
injectors, compressions etc on the farm) The good thing bringing such
test-equipment means we can help other volunteer-farms whith diesel
engine problems...

Rigging the boat is also on the list, since we make mostly everything
ourselves we will make our own woodblocks for the rig. Its a classical
gaff-rig with around 105 m2 sails which will be our main propulsion.
It will be quite interesting when we are doing the sea trail to see if
its well balanced.. hopefully our calculation is correct and it wont
sail upside down or backwards as someone is thinking....

If you want to join us sailing around the world or helping up on the
farm please dont hesitate to contact us. Here are some pictures from
last months pluss a nice ones from last summer/autumn which shows how
real Norway looks like. (that is the westcoast)

Lastly we wish you all a happy spring.

Love from sailing the farm
A seagypsy tribe of tomorrow.


Pictures.

a: The woofers hiking to troll-tunga summer 2014 (westcoast norway)
b: Our engine. (sabb 2j) There is a video of it running on youtube.
[video=youtube;S2fXI1TQcsU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2fXI1TQcsU[/video]
c: chickens on they way out to enjoy the spring sun.

And plenty more pictures for the last years can be found here.
https://instagram.com/sailingthefarm/

 

[zeyang]

Dear old and new volunteers,

There are lots of very exciting things happening at Sailing the Farm right
now.

We are happy to report that after many long and character-building years of
boat-building, we're well on our way to sailing later this year.

Here's an overview of what's been happening up here lately:

- Our aluminum Colin Archer sailboat is taking shape. She is starting to
look like a boat, and a good looking boat at that. She is as yet unnamed
and suggestions that we call her The Unsinkable have fallen on deaf ears
(to the disappointment of our Irish volunteer). Any and all naming
suggestions welcome!

- We have begun to machine sheaves for the boat. Our red sails arrive soon
so it's all go, go, go in the workshop these days.

- The heads is progressing quickly and soon it will be possible to take a
shower on board. Our Belgian volunteer has fashioned fancy toothbrush
holders for all future sea gypsies.

- Last week we cut open a section of the boat shed so that we can move the
engine on board. This will be a huge milestone for the project.

- In April, we had our first official government visit. We are happy to
report that she passed with flying colours.

- Our volunteers have started watching movies on deck every Thursday night.
Their 'Movies on Board' programme is limited to sailing movies (of course).
They've watched '180 degrees south' and 'All is Lost' so far. Both come
stamped with The Sailing the Farm seal of approval. If you've any sailing
movie recommendations, please send them on to us!

- Some of our current volunteers/gluttons for punishment are training for
the Lillehammer half-marathon in June. At the moment they are getting up at
6:30 to run in the woods before tucking into a breakfast of hearty porridge
and a day of boat-building. Some even manage to fit in a spot of meditation
before breakfast.

- The snow has thawed and we have started to turn the potato field. Our
bathroom has been transformed into a temporary nursery while we wait to
start planting. Our very versatile bathroom is also home to seven chirpy
baby chickens!

Our long-serving captain's To-Do-List is diminishing every week, but
there's a lot of hard work still to do. We'd love to welcome more
volunteers (old and new) this summer. A can-do attitude and lots of
enthusiasm are the only skills we require (though more specific skills are
very welcome also). So if you are free and can commit to a month, please
get in contact with us ASAP so that we can book you in to help.

There will be a launch party in Oslo later on this year when she takes to
the water. Watch this space!

Love,
Sailing the Farm.

p.s. Now that we're almost there with this boat, we're starting to think
about the next stage of the project (we plan to find a farm base away from
the Polar winds – somewhere sunnier and closer to the sea where we can
build more boats). We are on the lookout for funding ideas and inspiration
so if you have any suggestions or experience in this area, please let us
know - no ideas too small or crazy (building a boat with volunteers is
crazy already!).

Pictures

a: English girl making blocks for the boat.
b: movie night on the boat
c: irish girl silicone up inside the boat.
d: scaffold building
e: early morning mediation (hong-kong girl)
f: first crew is already onboard.

 

[zeyang]

May/June 2015

Ahoy Sea Gypsies!

It has been a busy May and start of June on the farm.

Biggest news first: The red sails have arrived! You'll see them in the
picture below. They look fantastic and it's a great help to see them all
laid out so that we can imagine ourselves on the high seas (instead of on
high grass as they are now).

We are also happy to report that we managed to get the engine on board! At
the moment we are in the process of getting it *into* the boat and all
hooked up.

More news:

– We had a bit of an unexpected delay late last month as we had to refit
the diesel tanks, but they are all good now and it's full steam (or should
we say 'sails'?) ahead for Oslo this September we hope.

– We also had a close shave with our welding machine. Our last one appeared
to give up the ghost, until an emergency transplant (from another dead
welding machine) got it up and running again. Our skipper's vision of
heaven is a world with nothing but brand new welding machines that never
break down.

– Life on the farm continues apace. Since we last wrote to you, the
Norwegian countryside has exploded into summer. The snow is finally gone
and everything is green and dappled with wildflowers. The bees are very
happy. Our baby chickens are babies no longer. They are big and bold and
getting braver by the day. Every morning they expand their wanderings a
little further and yesterday we spotted one looking curiously at the big
aluminum monster in the boat-shed. We'll make boat-builders of them yet.

– There is drama in the hen-house. Our two roosters, who have been at peace
for over a year, have just declared war on each other.

– The volunteers are keeping very busy in the sunshine. At the moment we
have an Irish woman, an English woman, a Belgian man, a Welshman and a
Swede in residence on the farm. A full crew at the moment - but we still
have some space for July and August so get in touch if you've a free month
and you'd like to help out.

– It doesn't get dark until at least midnight now, and even then it's just
for a few short hours. More light to build boats in

Thank you for your suggestions for sailing movies and boat names. We have
them all lined up on our summer schedule. In the meantime we've watched
Mutiny on the Bounty (the one with Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson) and
Troll Hunter (not a sailing movie, but a Norwegian one, so it's been
approved on that basis by the captain).

Happy almost mid-summer from Sailing the Farm!

Pictures:
a: happy gang of boatbuilders.
b: sails are ready.
c: welding lady
d: playing guitar in pyjamas.
e: the girls dragging the engine onboard.

a :

b:

c:

d:

e:

 

[Sailing_Swagman]

What an awesome inspirational project! Will continue to keep an eye on this. Best of luck from a fellow Boatie

 

[zeyang]

Newsletter late July 2015

Dear all

The bees are busy and so are we. We're hoping to move the boat to the
water this year so it's all go, go, go our boat-building farm these
days. The engine has made it to its final resting place!
Hallelujah. Hopefully we won't have to use it all that much, but its
installation marks a big step in the project.

The rudder is taking shape and looking fantastic thanks to our Welsh
volunteer, Our Hong Kong volunteer has returned for another
boat-building stint, this time with her Swedish boyfriend in tow – a
chef by profession so as well as contributing to the boat-building,
he's been keeping us well-fed with delicious lunches on the porch.

The farm itself has been neglected a little this summer in favour of
the great big aluminum monster in the boat-shed, but we have been
enjoying lots of nettle-based dishes (it helps to have a professional
chef around!).

The volunteers took a well-deserved break from boat-building last
month and went on a road-trip to Galdhopiggen, the highest peak in
Scandinavia. The sun shone for the entire trip (and pretty much hasn't
been seen since) and left some of the fairer-skinned crew completely
sunburned. Highlights included an ice cave, a moose sighting and
unbelievable sunsets across the huge Norwegian sky.

Now that the sea is in our sights, we've started hand-painting guest
flags on the evenings and weekends.

Our latest favourite sailing movie is the questionable masterpiece
that is Waterworld. It's given us lots of ideas for modifications for
our boat.

We've named the boat! Thank you all for your suggestions. After a lot
of thought we decided to go for Sailing the Farm. It sounds a little
bonkers to native English speakers, but that's kind of why we love it!
We've cut out the letters in aluminium and they are due to be welded
in very soon.

We are still on the hunt for volunteers - particularly those with
sailing experience - and especially those who've worked on gaff rigs
before.

Exciting times, and even more exciting times to come. Thank you all
for your support, it's been a long time coming, but the end is in
sight!

Pictures of the month.

- Making letters for the boat.
- chinese weekend visit. checking the boat project.
- Welding lady making more boxes for the deck. Need endless amount of storage.
- Guest flag production. This is the welsh one.
- Rudder is getting installed.

http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175381&stc=1&d=1438503826
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175391&stc=1&d=1438503835
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175401&stc=1&d=1438503843
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175411&stc=1&d=1438503850
http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1175421&stc=1&d=1438503858

Love from Sailing the Farm
- A seagypsy tribe of tomorrow.

 

[zeyang]

Sailing the Farm late september 2015

Hi everyone!

Another productive month and our boat hopefully soon to be in water.

Farm news:

The bee-seeason is finished for this year, each hive have got around
20 kg, so now they are ready to have their well-deserved winter
holiday for next 7 months. The potatoes is still in the soil, but we
will harvest them pretty soon.

Boat News.

Still some days delays with the shipment of the boat to Oslo.
The engine is ready to start soon. we just need a little work with the
dry exhaust. Else it looks really good.

All welding work outside the hull is finished. We will paint the
underwater part of the boat with expoxy primer this week. Then start
to tear down the boatshed. Soon our metal-lady will see the sun for
the first time.

We still look for potential crew for the first leg of sailing,
especially if you have good knowledge of gaff-rig adjustment and
sailing, we would love to hear from you. Also look for some last
minute volunters to help clean up the farm for the winter. Please
contact us if you have some spare time in october.

Pictures of the month:

a: Flagmaking lady working on even more guestflags. Still a little
work until we have them all.
b: engine is in and wired up. Just need some work on the exhaust part
before its ready to push us up Amazon river and beyond.
c: welding lady at work.
d: making wooden box for binocular.
e: welding up the locking mechanism of the main-hatch

Love from Sailing the farm

 

[zeyang]

sunset

 

[Harlequin1974]

Wonderful to see it in the water after all your hard work: hugest of congratulations!

 

[forrestdweller]

Wow-what an interesting project..... .shame i'm on the other side of the world-otherwise i'd be tempted to have a look in person... uppy_dog

 

[Tony]

Let's have some more pics, it's great to see her in the water after all these years

 

[crosslandkelly]

Thanks for sharing this with us these past years, amazing to see the boat finally in the water.

 

[zeyang]

sailing the farm is on her way south from norway to scotland and beyond. if you want to come please contact us: zeyang@laowai.no

 

[bopdude]

Have an amazing voyage on the high seas, look forward to updates on your journey, how many people have you onboard ?

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[Leshy]

What an amazing project!
Well done to all those involved, she's a beauty!

 

[Tengu]

Its a great boat but wouldnt a junk rig be more user friendly and efficient?

Are you comming to Cornwall? We have lots of boat friendly places round here

 

[khain]

Is it made of solid gold? Seriously, why is it so shiny?

How does the collective ownership of this boat work? I sincerely hope everybody involved has a share.

 

[zeyang]

Newsletter Sailing the Farm september.

Dear All

Short update.

We plan to leave for Inverness in Scotland soon. After our journey to
Denmark and back the list of to-do stuff on the boat is getting
smaller by day.

Its still space on board along coast of Europe, across to South
America and onwards if you want to join us! Just send an email to
zeyang00@gmail.com to get our application form. Everyone including
your chickes, cats, kids and seadogs are welcome to join!

Things on todo last couple of weeks.

- The deck was way too slippery. We mixed in sandblasting sand and
sticky paint. It looks good sofar. hopefully it will stop us from
sliding off the boat.

- Our rope chewing rig has been tamed. She was eating ropes like
spaghetti. The journey to Inverness will tell if her meny still
contains tasty poly-ropes.

- Paddle for Monitor Windwave broke straight off. Can be found on 400
meters deep in Kattegat. New one has been ordered. will be replaced
in UK or further south.

- Electronic charts have been installed. it will be two separate
system: one with Navionics on tablets (with a spare tablet hiding in
the pressure cooker) + open CPN. Then we have a few thousand paper
charts if everything else fails.

- AIS transponder is onboard: You can follow "SAILING THE FARM" on
marinetraffic.com or similar places which receive AIS signals and post
them on internet. Far offshore we are using HAM-radio to transmit
position. (different link will be posted later when have been testing
this) (I think it will be this:
http://services.wlw.winlink.org/maps/positionreports.aspx…)

- For those shortwave radio heads out there: We are transmitting for
the first time!! We can now communicate far offshore. Plan is to have
a regular radio schedule with our friends and family back on land. You
can tune and listen or talk to us soon. We will keep you updated which
trasmitting frequency we are sending on. (system is Yaesu FT-897 with
FC-40 tuner, 6 meter fishing pole on the aft rail and
winlink/rms-express for receiving weatherfax/grib-files and
sending/receiving email). We are really grateful for help from the
local HAM-radio club in Kristiansand, Norway. This stuff is pretty
complictated - but fun.

Wish us fair winds and following seas.

love from Sailing the Farm

http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1504511&d=1473447488

 

[Leshy]

Fair winds and godspeed guys!

What an amazing journey and project!

👍

 

[zeyang]

Dear All

Short update.

We plan to leave for Inverness in Scotland 11th of september. After
our serious seatrail to Denmark the list of to-do stuff on the boat is
getting smaller by day.

Its still space on board along coast of Europe, across to South
America and onwards if you want to join us! Just send an email to
zeyang@laowai.no to get our application form. Everyone including your
chickes, cats, lovely kids and seadogs are welcome to join!

Things on todo last couple of weeks.

- The deck was way too slippery. We mixed in sandblasting sand and
sticky paint. It looks good sofar. hopefully it will stop us from
sliding off the boat.

- Our rope chewing rig has been tamed. She was eating ropes like
spaghetti. The journey to Inverness will tell if her meny still
contains tasty poly-ropes.

- Paddle for Monitor Windwave broke straight off. Can be found on 400
meters deep in Kattegat. New one has been ordered. will be replaced in
UK or further south.

- Electronic charts have been installed. it will be two separate
system: one with Navionics on tablets (with a spare tablet hiding in
the pressure cooker) + open CPN. Then we have a few thousand paper
charts if everything else fails.

- AIS transponder is onboard: You can follow "SAILING THE FARM" on
marinetraffic.com or similar places which receive AIS signals and post
them on internet. Far offshore we are using HAM-radio to transmit
position. (different link will be posted later when have been testing
this)

- For those shortwave radio heads out there: We are transmitting for
the first time!! We can now communicate far offshore. Plan is to have
a regular radio schedule with our friends and family back on land. You
can tune and listen soon. We will keep you updated which trasmitting
frequency we are sending on. (system is Yaesu FT-897 with FC-40
tuner, 6 meter fishing pole on the aft rail and winlink/rms-express
for receiving weatherfax/grib-files and sending/receiving email). We
are really grateful for help from LA3ZH at local HAM-radio club in
Kristiansand, Norway. This stuff is pretty complictated - but fun.

Wish us fair winds and following seas across to UK/Scotland.

love from Sailing the Farm



-

 

[bopdude]

Thanks for the update, following with interest and a lot of envy, No chance of joining you though, happy travels to you all.

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